Happy New Year to All

"Children are our hope for the future and it is up to us to pave the way so that their future is bright. Come one, come all and join together to make this world a better place for us and the generations to follow...Children and music bring us hope for a better future." (Playing for Change)
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!!!

On Children

Your children are not your children. 
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself. 
They come through you but not from you, 
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you. 
You may give them your love but not your thoughts, 
For they have their own thoughts. 
You may house their bodies but not their souls, 
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, 
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams. 
You may strive to be like them, 
but seek not to make them like you. 
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday. 
You are the bows from which your children 
as living arrows are sent forth. 
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, 
and He bends you with His might 
that His arrows may go swift and far. 
Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness; 
For even as He loves the arrow that flies, 
so He loves also the bow that is stable.

(The Prophet, Kahlil Gibran)

A Better Place

"No matter who you are - what religion, race, cast or gender - no matter where you live, each one of us has the right to live in freedom, dignity and peace"
Playing For Change is a movement created to inspire and connect the world through music. The idea for this project came from a common belief that music has the power to break down boundaries and overcome distances between people. True change for the good of everyone always comes from the hearts of the people, and PFC believes that with music we can unite together to make the world A Better Place.

Happy Holidays...

...and Special Wishes to All...

The Pale Blue Dot

“The significance of our lives and our fragile planet is then determined only by our own wisdom and courage. We are the custodians of life's meaning. We long for a Parent to care for us, to forgive us our errors, to save us from our childish mistakes. But knowledge is preferable to ignorance. Better by far to embrace the hard truth than a reassuring fable. If we crave some cosmic purpose, then let us find ourselves a worthy goal.” ― Carl Sagan
Carl Sagan gives an inspiring speech about humanity and how foolish we behave. Pale Blue Dot is one of the most important and reflective speeches about the human condition and our place in the Universe. The Pale Blue Dot is a photograph of Earth taken in 1990 by the Voyager 1 space probe from a record distance of about 6 billion kilometers from Earth, as part of the solar system Family Portrait series of images.

HUMAN

What is it that makes us human ? Is it that we love, that we fight ? That we laugh ? Cry ? Our curiosity ? The quest for discovery ? Driven by these questions, filmmaker and artist Yann Arthus-Bertrand spent three years collecting real-life stories from 2,000 women and men in 60 countries. Working with a dedicated team of translators, journalists and cameramen, Yann captures deeply personal and emotional accounts of topics that unite us all; struggles with poverty, war, homophobia, and the future of our planet mixed with moments of love and happiness.
- Human volume 1 deals with love, women, work and poverty.
- Human volume 2 deals with war, forgiving, homosexuality, family and life after death.
- Human volume 3 deals with happiness, education, disability, immigration, corruption and the meaning of life.

December 10 - Human Rights Day 2015

Fifty years ago, the United Nations General Assembly adopted two international treaties that would forever shape international human rights: The International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Created in the aftermath of WWII, the two Covenants along with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights became the International Bill of Human Rights setting out the civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights that are the birth right of all human beings. Since that time a fundamental sea change has occurred across the world, with many countries recognizing human rights and the rule of law as the basis for truly resilient and stable societies. To promote and raise awareness of the two Covenants on their 50th anniversary, the UN Human Rights Office is launching on Human Rights Day “Our Rights. Our Freedoms. Always." a year-long campaign to shine a light on the inalienable and inherent rights of global citizens -- now, and always. “Our Rights. Our Freedoms. Always.” revolves around the timeless themes of rights and freedom and the relevance of the work that continues in securing and ensuring them. At its core, FREEDOM, underpins the International Bill of Human Rights – freedom from fear, freedom of speech, freedom of worship and freedom from want. (from: United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner website)

Music that has changed the world

"Music is a universal language that we all understand. By appealing to our emotions, it has the ability to break down complex issues into things we can all relate to like love, friendship, fear, or loss. In this way music expands our horizons and opens our minds to new ideas. In my opinion, using music as a tool to build movement is one of the most important aspects to Global Citizen and is something that I believe makes the organization unique. That said, we are hardly the first or the last to use music to inspire and empower. Music can change the world, and here are 16 examples that prove it..." -- READ FULL ARTICLE ON GC
(by Christina Nuñez on Global Citizen - July 27, 2015)

The World’s Largest Lesson

World Leaders have committed to 17 Global Goals to achieve 3 extraordinary things in the next 15 years. End extreme poverty. Fight inequality and injustice. Fix climate change. The Global Goals for sustainable development could get these things done. In all countries. For all people. If the Goals are going to work, everyone needs to know about them. TELL EVERYONE.
If every school in the world teaches children about these goals, we will help them become the generation that changed the world. The Global Goals Campaign has partnered with UNICEF (and a host of children’s heroes such as Serena Williams, Neymar, Dani Alves, Kolo Touré and Nancy Ajram!) to come together to create the World’s Largest Lesson (Written by Sir Ken Robinson)
-- Read about it on ONE, an international campaigning and advocacy organization cofounded by Bono

The Worlds Largest Lesson from World's Largest Lesson on Vimeo.