Makaton users take centre stage in new community song for Makaton International Awareness Day

The Makaton Charity collaborated with award-winning charity Electric Umbrella to create a brand-new community song for Makaton International Awareness Day on Friday 28 August 2026 – with Makaton users at the heart of the creative process. Created around this year’s Makaton International Awareness Day theme, Together, the song celebrates communication, creativity and connection, bringing the Makaton community together through music, signs and shared experiences.

The collaboration began with a special online songwriting workshop in April, where Makaton users were invited to lead the way in creating the new song. Electric Umbrella, which is known for creating joyful, inclusive music in collaboration with its members, worked with participants to explore the ideas, experiences, themes and signs they wanted the song to represent.

The creative direction came directly from the Makaton users taking part. Their ideas, experiences and creativity provided the foundations for the song, with Electric Umbrella taking the group’s contributions and developing them into the first version of the track. Participants heard the song inspired by the ideas generated during the first workshop and continued shaping it together, helping to refine the lyrics, signs and musical moments that would bring it to life.

The second workshop also gave participants opportunities to contribute to the recording process, ensuring that Makaton users remained at the heart of the project from the first ideas through to the finished song. The collaboration between The Makaton Charity and Electric Umbrella reflects both organisations’ commitment to creating opportunities for people to communicate, participate, express themselves and be heard.

Following the workshops, the project was opened up to the wider Makaton community, with Makaton users, families, friends and supporters invited to record themselves signing along to the song. These contributions will help create the official Makaton Song music video, showcasing Makaton users and supporters and celebrating the many different people who make up the Makaton community.

The finished song and music video was launched as part of Makaton International Awareness Day on 28 August 2026.