Brussels, 27 May 2026

IMPALA is excited to announce that the winner of its 2026 Changemaker Award is Popkollo, a Swedish organisation that runs music camps and activities for girls and trans youth. The camps are mainly targeted at 10 to 18 year olds, but are also open to women and trans people over 18. 

Through their “Do It Together” (DIT) approach, inspired by DIY culture, Popkollo encourages collective creativity, shared learning, and wider participation in music, in line with the guiding idea that culture and artistic expression should be accessible to everyone. 

At Popkollo camps, participants learn to play instruments, form bands, write songs, participate in workshops and perform live, with no previous experience required. 

Popkollo also runs producer programmes, workshops, supervised rehearsals, and genre-specific camps, including jazz and punk camps. 

Matilda Köpcke – Operations Coordinator of Popkollo at the national level commented: “We are very proud of our volunteers and our ‘Do It Together approach’. Popkollo is built on collective effort through local communities and everything we do comes from people working together on the ground. Our main focus is to create safe spaces where people can be creative and feel free to express themselves. This is a shared achievement, not something that belongs to any one person or part of the organisation does alone. We want music and artistic expression to be open to everyone, not just a small or privileged group.”

Eva Karman Reinhold, co-chair of IMPALA’s EDI taskforce and chair of SOM, Sweden commented: “For more than twenty years, Popkollo has tirelessly created opportunities for girls and trans youth in music, transforming music into collective power. Their producer education for adult women and trans people – ”Who gets to be a producer?” – opens doors, builds confidence and changes lives through music and community. Popkollo is definitely a Changemaker.”

Gee Davy, co-chair of IMPALA’s EDI taskforce and chief executive of AIM UK added: “What stood out about Popkollo was that the project can work in lots of different places and for different communities, while still feeling very connected to the people taking part. They also understand that people experience barriers to music in different ways, and that’s reflected in how they run their activities.”

Nastasja Prévost, IMPALA EDI lead concluded: “Popkollo is a great example of a grassroots, non-commercial initiative that has grown through local communities and people working together. Through the Changemaker Award we aim to bring more visibility not only to Popkollo, but also to the many inspiring projects featured on the IMPALA Changemaker page. This year’s nominees showed the wide range of work being done across Europe to make the sector more diverse and inclusive.”

About Popkollo
Popkollo is a Swedish non-profit organisation that runs music camps, workshops and other creative activities for girls and trans youth. Founded in Hultsfred in 2003, the organisation works to make music more accessible and encourage more people to take part. 

Most activities are aimed at young people aged 10 to 18, although some programmes are also open to adults, including a programme and network for adults in music production and audio engineering. Participants can learn instruments, start bands, write songs, produce music and perform live, with no previous experience needed.

Popkollo’s work is based on a “Do It Together” (DIT) approach inspired by DIY culture, with a strong focus on collaboration, local community work and creating spaces where people feel comfortable expressing themselves creatively.

Today, Popkollo brings together eight local non-profit associations across Sweden. Much of the work is organised by volunteers through local planning groups and boards, with support from a national office based in Stockholm.

More about IMPALA’s Changemaker Award
Launched in May 2022, the Changemaker award runs yearly during European Diversity Month. Projects are nominated by IMPALA members, and the equity, diversity and inclusion task force vote the winner. Check our Changemakers webpage with previous winners and other projects, to get inspired and take action. 

Since 2025, the winner receives €1,000 from IMPALA to work together on messaging on shared values as an organisation with a cause. This is a project under IMPALA’s EU cultural network grant, which also included a revamp of IMPALA’s awards. In parallel, IMPALA will carry out dedicated social media campaigns highlighting key resources, best practices, and reinforcing the role of Europe’s independent music sector in social transformation. 

See more info on all of IMPALA’s awards here.