My name is Dr Fiorella Montero-Diaz and I am a Senior Lecturer in Ethnomusicology based at Keele University, in the United Kingdom. I am honoured to take up the position as Chair of the BFE, an organisation that has been responsible for some of the most significant events in my working life, including my first ever job associated with Higher Education.

I still remember when my MMus mentor Prof. John Baily sent me to my first ever Ethnomusicology Conference in Cardiff, back in 2008. There I met many of the senior colleagues and peers who were, and continue to be, supportive of my career, my research, and my well-being. It was also back in 2014 that Prof. Amanda Villepastour, then BFE Chair, offered me the post of BFE administrator. I continued working for the BFE, first as an administrator and then as Development Strategy Officer on the BFE Executive Committee for several years.

For me the BFE is home, a close group of colleagues and friends who are supportive, academically curious, open to challenges, and fun. I am taking over from Prof. Byron Dueck, a long-term colleague and friend; and I am committed to continue making the BFE a welcoming and inclusive place to all researchers – a task that Byron started as Chair with the formation of the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Working Group and with deep reflections on the decolonisation of Ethnomusicology. The proof of that work is me standing here today, so proud to be the first brown, non-binary, non-British born, non-native English speaker to Chair the BFE. This shows that times change and that such a diverse association can also be represented by diverse scholars. I am not alone, and I know that I will be able to draw on guidance from members of the Committee, and from wonderful colleagues in the wider BFE community. Thank you for this opportunity.

This is the BFE in a nutshell: a very supportive, generous, and diligent network of colleagues who work hard to find some musical truths, together, through rigorous conversations and debates; passionate arguments (and sometimes disagreements); and lots of music making, dancing and fun.

It is now more important than ever to use these networks and friendships to build united fronts against severe cuts to music at many universities, to raise our voices against injustice, racism, discrimination, homophobia, and abuse, and to build a stronger community that cares not only about research in itself, but also cares about the people we study, collaborate and co-produce with as well as the colleagues who help us and work together with us. Let’s build a more cohesive, caring, and hopeful community working very hard from whichever angle and role we have in the world.

The BFE Committee is very proud to announce that we have recently participated in our first bystander training session. To my knowledge, this is the first ever training of this kind for the BFE Committee. We really hope this training will help us to think about ways of building an inclusive and fair community for all BFE members here in the UK and around the world, as well as developing more inclusive workplaces.

Please remember that we are committed to ensuring that all our conferences, events and outputs are free from harassment for everyone, regardless of sex, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, race, age, disciplinary affiliation, or religion or belief. The BFE is a friendly forum, so let’s all work together to make this a safe and friendly space of knowledge sharing, deep conversations, and discussions on the study of musical life in its full richness and diversity.