Citizens of the Earth

As a contribution to International Peace Day, The Prem Rawat Foundation (TPRF) is offering Citizens of the Earth, featuring the words of its founder, Prem Rawat: "The time has come that every citizen of planet earth needs to take responsibility for the benefit of all mankind." This video is the centerpiece of its "Peace for People 2014" initiative. The mission of TPRF is to address the fundamental human needs of food, water and peace so that people can live with dignity, peace and prosperity.

EU Children of Peace

Children are among the most vulnerable victims of conflict. Following the receipt of the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize for its achievements in peace on the European continent, the EU dedicated the prize money to help girls and boys around the world who are deprived of the opportunity to grow up in peace. The EU Children of Peace initiative aims to address a severely underfunded sector: education in emergencies. In its first two years the EU has, through the initiative and its partner organisations, reached more than 108 000 girls and boys in 12 countries around the world.

Coloring my Future

Syria’s civil war is now in its fourth year - and the conflict is having a devastating impact on children and young people. War Child Holland has given a platform to Syrian children to share their perspectives and demands for a normal life. It is a powerful new booklet highlighting Syrian children’s own perspectives on their daily situation. The booklet brings together drawings, stories and quotes from the children themselves and highlights their demands for a better future.
VERY POWERFUL AND TOUCHING.
Click on image below or here to browse Booklet

Ride the Wave

In Bermuda and around the world, Music and the Arts in general remain on the margins of education. Young people whose families cannot afford the expense of extra-curricular programs therefore have little opportunity to explore their creative passion and potential.
Ride the Wave, a Bermuda charity founded in conjunction with the first Bermuda Peace Day Concert, is launching its music and arts sponsorship program to ensure that all of Bermuda's youth have opportunities to pursue music and the arts. We know that involvement in the arts not only builds the creativity of our young people but also improves general academic performance and social skills. The sponsorship program provides bursaries for up to three terms of extra-curricular classes in music, art, drama, or dance. Please support us in encouraging a new generation of artists to pursue their creative passions and reach their greatest potential.
-- read about Music + Art benefits

Ride the Wave Charity # 949 is launching its sponsorship program at 12 noon September 16th, 2014.
PLEASE SUPPORT RIDE THE  WAVE AS WE SUPPORT PROGRAMS TO KEEP THE ARTS WITHIN REACH OF BERMUDA'S CHILDREN.

Peace is a human right

Video for the international codification of human right to peace. The participants are: Juanes, Miguel Bosé, Alejandro Sanz, Eva Longoria, Paulina Rubio, Juan Luis Guerra, Amaia Montero, Daniel Martin, Pau Gasol and Rafael Nadal. Directed by Miguel Alcantud.
-- go to Paz Sin Fronteras (Peace without Borders)

Peace Day and the Arts

“One of the most calming and powerful actions you can do to intervene in a stormy world is to stand up and show your soul.” -- Clarissa Pinkola Estés
Engaging in arts activities is a great way to observe Peace Day! Art, music, dance, theater, poetry, creative writing, photography and film are engaging and powerful ways to express our thoughts, emotions and visions about peace. Art has the power to affect us deeply, whether we are in the role of creator or viewer, and to connect us to our common humanity. The arts give creative voice to our human experience and can connect us in ways dialogue sometimes cannot (from Peace Day Philly)
THE PEACE CRANE PROJECT - Armed with the Arts invites every child in the world to fold an origami crane or dove, write and draw a message of peace on it, then share it with friends or someone far away through their Peace Crane Exchange.
-- DOWNLOAD the Peace Crane Project PDF

Right of Peoples to Peace

Each year the International Day of Peace is observed around the world on 21 September. The General Assembly has declared this as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, both within and among all nations and peoples. It is also a day of global ceasefire and non-violence, which is crucial for humanitarian aid access. To inaugurate the day, the United Nations Peace Bell is rung at UN Headquarters (in New York City). The bell is cast from coins donated by children from all continents except Africa, and was a gift from the United Nations Association of Japan, as “a reminder of the human cost of war”; the inscription on its side reads, “Long live absolute world peace“.
To mark the 30th anniversary of the General Assembly Declaration on the Right of Peoples to Peace, the theme of this year’s International Day of Peace is the “Right of Peoples to Peace”. The Declaration on the Right of Peoples to Peace recognizes that the promotion of peace is vital for the full enjoyment of all human rights.
Last year theme was "Education for Peace". In his speech Secretary General Ban Ki-moon stated that education is vital for fostering global citizenship and building peaceful societies. "On this International Day of Peace, let us pledge to teach our children the value of tolerance and mutual respect. Let us invest in the schools and teachers that will build a fair and inclusive world that embraces diversity. Let us fight for peace and defend it with all our might."
He launched the Global Education First Initiative (GEFI) in September 2012 to spur renewed efforts to reach global education goals. By rallying a broad spectrum of world leaders and advocates, GEFI aims to raise the political profile of education, inspire new partnerships and mobilize additional funding to deliver on the promise of Education for All.

What if there was a World without Art?

"This is Art. We participate in a World of Ideas"

# PeaceRocks

As well as winning the David Lynch Foundation's Peace and Love award, Ringo Starr has worked with designer John Varvatos as the face of his autumn/winter 2014 campaign, and all his profits will feed back into the film director's philanthropic organization.
The David Lynch Foundation provides the stress-reducing, evidence-based Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique to inner-city students, veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress, and women and children who are victims of violence and abuse. This is a cause Ringo has supported after his own experiences with and enthusiasm for the practice after the Beatles studied with the Maharishi in 1968.
To kick off Ringo’s 74th birthday, John Varvatos is launching #PeaceRocks, a charitable, social media-based initiative wherein Varvatos will donate $1 to The Ringo Starr Peace and Love Fund for every peace-sign selfie that is posted to either Facebook, Twitter or Instagram and is tagged with hashtag #PeaceRocks. “We are encouraging fans and supporters around the world to share their own ‘peace and love’ moment by posting on their social media outlets and spreading [Ringo’s] universal message of peace and love” says Varvatos
-- read on digital journal
-- read on InStyle

Global Peace Index 2014

Despite living in the most peaceful time in human history, the world has become less peaceful over the last seven years, according to the 2014 Global Peace Index. The Global Peace Index (GPI) is the world’s leading measure of national peacefulness. Now in its eighth year, it ranks 162 nations according to their ‘absence of violence’.
Vision of Humanity brings peace research to life, with interactive peace maps, ground breaking reports and the very latest news and videos pertaining to peace.



Steve Killelea, Founder and Executive Chairman of the Institute for Economics and Peace, talks about the importance of peace research. He highlights the use and significance of measuring peace, and explore the Institute's flagship study: the Global Peace Index.

The World is coming to an End

"So yes, the world is coming to an end / And the path towards a new beginning starts within you"

PRINCE EA - Richard Williams, better known by his stage name Prince EA, is an American rapper, music video director and rights activist from St Louis, Missouri.
-- read lyrics here

We've Been Asking Questions

"When it comes right down to it, it's up to you / The future of the world depends on what you do."
-- We've Been Asking Questions by John Phillips (Mamas and Papas)
Scott McKenzie was an American singer and songwriter best known for his 1967 hit single and generational anthem, "San Francisco". He performs a song that was written by John Phillips (Mamas & Papas) just before his death in 2001.

The Strangest Dream

"And if peace is what we pray for / and peace is what we give / then peace will be the way we are / and peace the way we live"
-- John Denver - The Peace Poem

The Heart of the Matter

"We live in a world characterized by change—and therefore a world dependent on the humanities and social sciences. How do we understand and manage change if we have no notion of the past? How do we understand ourselves if we have no notion of a society, a culture, or a world different from the one in which we live? How do we ensure our security and competitiveness in the global community? A fully balanced curriculum—including the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences—provides opportunities for integrative thinking and imagination, for creativity and discovery, and for good citizenship. The humanities and social sciences are not merely elective, nor are they elite or elitist. They go beyond the immediate and instrumental to help us understand the past and the future. They are critical to a democratic society and they require our support."

PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO WATCH THIS VIDEO CLIP.
-- THE HEART OF THE MATTER, Report by the Commission on the Humanities and Social Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Science.


The Heart of the Matter from americanacad on Vimeo.

The Arts Are Essential

"Given how much greater a role the arts and humanities play in their own right -- the arts for arts' sake -- they certainly don't need to be justified by their utility as servants of science. How unfortunate, then, that arts and humanities scholarship receives so little recognition and funding, and so infrequently finds its way into the national discourse..."
"Take, for example, music, which has been an important part of my own life since my teen years...Music as an art form is at once complex, evolving, up to the minute in its currency, and yet primal, basic, and eminently human. It is among the most universal of art forms, among the most organic of experiences. According to Michael Thaut in his book Rhythm, Music, and the Brain, "Throughout human history, music has been considered a form of communication. However, the nature of what and how music communicates has been the subject of long-standing and fascinating inquiries in philosophy, religion, the arts, and the sciences." Music is a communicator, a transducer of emotion, a stimulator of understanding -- explicit or implicit. Music teaches in a way that we cannot replicate with words. Pedagogically complex, music transforms us, touches us alone or in a shared experience, whether planned or improvised. What of the place of plans and improvisation in art, in life? Can anything teach that point more clearly than music? The seamless juxtaposition of the planned and the extemporaneous -- musician to musician, musician to audience, audience to musician -- are vividly evident in the live act of creating and receiving".
"I believe deeply that arts education is of great value in and of itself, not only instrumentally; I believe just as emphatically that education in the arts is the business of all of us, from the home and the family to the neighborhood and the village, from the P-12 school system to higher education to lifelong learning, culminating in the great and defining legacy of our public culture."
David J. Skortons is an American professor of medicine and engineering and an academic administrator. He presently serves as the 12th president of Cornell University, a position he has held since 2006. In this opinion he explains why teaching creativity in schools is not a luxury.
A MUST READ.
-- Read opinion in full on Edutopia

Art for Peace

The Dreams of Stockwell project brought together local residents to design and create a mural representing their 'dreams of Stockwell'. The project was developed by international peacebuilding organisation International Alert and community development organization Stockwell Partnership, and implemented in collaboration with community arts organisation Art4Space.
International Alert is one of the world’s leading peacebuilding organisations, with nearly 30 years of experience laying the foundations for peace. They work with local people in over 25 countries around the world to help them build peace. They believe peace is possible when people can live in safety, have fair and effective laws, participate in shaping political decisions, make a decent living and secure their wellbeing.
Art4Space is leading Community Arts Organisation established in 1999 to address social, education and health issues using the arts to inspire and strengthen communities. Their philosophy reinforces the Every Child Matters Agenda by providing projects to children and young people that support the 5 outcomes: be healthy, stay safe, enjoy and achieve, make a positive contribution and achieve economic well being.
Nice project - use art to build a peaceful community.

Peace, Love And Understanding

(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace Love And Understanding
Elvis Costello and Nick Lowe
As I walk through / This wicked world / Searchin' for light in the darkness of insanity / I ask myself / Is all hope lost? / Is there only pain and hatred, and misery?

Is World Peace possible #2

Psychologist and cognitive scientist Steven Pinker thinks it is completely conceivable that wars between countries might go the way of slave auctions, debtors’ prisons and other barbaric customs. He argues that while there is plenty of violence around the world, and more ways of killing each other, we have witnessed fewer and fewer wars between countries since 1945. Not only, is war is at an all-time low, rates of homicide are far lower than they were in the Middle Ages, and issues like domestic violence are no longer seen as being acceptable.
Steven Pinker is a Johnstone Family Professor in the Department of Psychology at Harvard University. He conducts research on language and cognition, writes for publications such as the New York Times, Time and The New Republic, and is the author of eight books, including most recently The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined.
Hard to believe, but interesting point of view.
 -- read article on BBC Future

Click on image below to watch VIDEO CLIP:

John Lennon - Art

Funny. British funny :)
-- from the David Frost show

Peace Through Music

Peace Through Music is a film that explores our connections in a world overwhelmed with division. Through the process of making this film we traveled around the world and discovered that music opens the door to a place where we can come together as a human race. Music helps us to persevere through struggles and celebrate our differences which changes the world into a more peaceful place.

Road to Peace

"I believe that every human being has to take a concern about humanity, about the world"
Experience the nature and wisdom of the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet, and discover how he inspires millions of people of all nationalities and creeds to live more meaningful lives in harmony with each other, and with the planet. Road to Peace captures the simple, human and humorous side of the Dalai Lama and reveals his personal and powerful legacy for this and future generations.

Adopt the Arts

Adopt the Arts is a non-profit funding arts programs in public elementary schools. Co-founded by former Guns n' Roses drummer, Matt Sorum. Supported by Jane Lynch and others. It is the mission of Adopt the Arts Foundation to bring together well-known artists, public figures, entrepreneurs, policy makers, and the general public to save the arts in America's public schools. They believe that it is morally and ethically incumbent upon us to foster the creativity, dreams, hopes, and imaginations of our children. Their "Adopt a School" program is a very smart way to quickly give schools flexible arts and music programs.

Is World Peace Possible?

"The awareness that we are all human beings together has become lost in war and politics. We have reached the point of regarding each other only as members of a people either allied with us or against us and our approach: prejudice, sympathy, or antipathy are all conditioned by that. Now we must rediscover the fact that we - all together - are human beings, and that we must strive to give to each other what moral capacity we have." - Albert Schweitzer, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate

Thirty-one-year-old West Point graduate, author, and former army captain Paul Chappell discusses if world peace is possible and whether human beings are naturally violent or peaceful.
Chappell now works at the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation and travels the country talking about the necessity of ending war and “waging peace.” He is involved with the American Unity Project, which features a free online series of documentaries about waging peace. He also trains peace activists — a pursuit he believes should be undertaken with at least as much forethought and strategy as training soldiers for war (read article here)

So who will you make Peace with this year?

Do you know Peace Day is 21 September, every year? In this video clip, the founder of Peace One Day, Jeremy Gilley, talks about his journey creating a day of ceasefire and non-violence on a fixed calendar date, Peace Day, 21 September.
-- read about POD 2014 celebration

Peace Through Kindness

World peace doesn’t have to be achieved through drastic measures, or by some huge process. Sometimes a kind gesture, or even just a smile can help to brighten someone’s day. Rather than return the favor, this video asks others to “pass it on”. If we can start a chain reaction of good deeds, eventually it can spread. This is more than just a school thing. This is a human thing. If one simple action is all it takes, then let’s take that step to get there. We fight to stop wars, and we fight to end injustices around the world. But maybe, if we can start with just the people around us, and if we can get that to expand, maybe then we won’t need to work so hard to achieve peace. Because we will already be there.


Peace Through Kindness. Pass It On. from Myrtle Janine on Vimeo.

The Arts as a Path to Opportunity

"Arts are a path to opportunity. Businesses benefit from the creativity, perseverance and problem-solving skills that Americans develop through the arts. The arts drive private-sector investment and job creation. Every dollar of N.E.A. (National Endowment for the Arts) funding generates $9 of non-federal money to the arts, and the nonprofit arts industry generates 4.1 million jobs"
ROBERT L. LYNCH
ROBERT REDFORD
Washington, Feb. 7, 2014
-- read opinion on NY Times

Imagine ☮ Peace

International Day of Peace (21 September) - Peace Day should be devoted to commemorating and strengthening the ideals of peace both within and among all nations and peoples... Nice video.
-- video uploaded by Vusal Rahimli

More on El Sistema

In 1975, José Antonio Abreu, conductor, composer and economist, developed the idea of improving social conditions in his country through classical music, by giving children an alternative to life on the streets. In Caracas, he founded the first Venezuelan children's orchestra with twelve children from the barrios, the illegal suburban slums. Since then, he has built a network of orchestras and music centres - El Sistema - throughout the country; each of these teaches in the same unique way. Maestro Abreu has been able to build upon and expand his vision continuously over the course of more than three decades. The children's orchestras turned into youth orchestras and the music centres into academies where highly talented musicians study. During recent years, El Sistema has produced a whole series of internationally successful conductors, the most well-known of which is surely Gustavo Dudamel. At the present time, there are 286 music centres in Venezuela, the so-called nucléos, usually located at the edge of a barrio. Today, the Fundación Musical Simón Bolívar unites almost 400,000 members throughout the entire country in a system of preschool orchestras, children's orchestras, and youth orchestras, all the way to adult symphony orchestras and choruses. 75 % of the children and teenagers participating in the programme live below the poverty line. As part of the 2013 Salzburg Festival, this visionary and exemplary project was presented for the first time in a larger context and in its full diversity outside of Venezuela. To achieve this goal, the Salzburg Festival invited not only the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra - the orchestral training programme's flagship, which has appeared previously in Salzburg - but also five of El Sistema's other ensembles.
-- Watch José Antonio Abreu's TED talk
-- Watch "El Sistema: Changing Lives Through Music"

A System to Fight Poverty with Music

Inspired by "El Sistema" of Venezuela Adam Johnston and iCAN created great music and arts programs for the children in Santa Barbara, California. The mission of the Incredible Children's Art Network (iCAN) is to bring high quality arts programs to children in Santa Barbara County, particularly those least likely to receive them. Through sustained creative learning opportunities that emphasize both artistic excellence and access, iCAN seeks to affect positive social change in the communities it serves. The iCAN Visual Arts Program is committed to inspiring and sustaining quality arts instruction as a fundamental part of every child’s education regardless of their experience, income or location. Now entering its third year, the iCAN Music Program serves over 120 1st - 6th Grade students at Franklin Elementary School, located in Santa Barbara’s East Side. The program operates every weekday during the school year for three hours, directly after school. Students receive intensive musical instruction, as well as time and support for homework completion.
-- read "A System to Fight Poverty with Music, at the Santa Barbara Foundation"



Here is a visit to the Visual Art program at Franklin School, prepared for Sir Ken Robinson's visit, where Teaching Artist Shannon McCain Jaffe is in the middle of a project of making mobiles from found objects.

Why Kids Love Art

"If I did not have art I would be very sad"

Listen to what students say about why art is important to them. From pizza cats to Chinese dragons, to dogs made from the number nine anything is possible in an Art in Action lesson.
Art in Action is a nonprofit organization dedicated since 1982 to bringing visual arts education to the classroom. Art in Action fosters the educational development and creativity of children across America through innovative visual arts programs and communities. They believe that a quality art education is critical for every student's preparation for success in the 21st century, and they actively assist schools in implementing a comprehensive, standards-based visual art program.

Leading the Cause for Music Education

The Opus Project is a community based music program for at-risk youth in San Diego County. It was designed as a free after-school instrumental music program to demonstrate the positive affects that learning and performing music has on students, engage parents and teachers, build community support for music education, and advocate for its return to schools. The program began with 65 third-graders at two schools in the Chula Vista Elementary School District, which had cut its music program many years earlier. SDYS’ strategy worked! After less than three years of the program, the District was convinced of music’s tremendous value and committed to returning its in-school music education program for all of its students. Today, more than 3,000 students are learning music as part of their regular curriculum. The District’s goal is to return music to all students by 2025.
"According to Dalouge Smith, president and CEO of the San Diego Youth Symphony, not only have principals at Community Opus participating schools reported a decline in classroom disruptions and improved motivation, behavior, and attendance among students studying instruments, but these students also performed significantly better on fourth grade math and reading proficiency tests than students not receiving music instruction".
-- read "Using Music to Close the Academic Gap" by Lori Miller Kase

Music for Peace

"When music speaks, everybody understands". The tagline for the new EMMA (or Euro Mediterranean Music Academy) for Peace is a simple but powerful mantra. Music, it suggests, can succeed where language simply can’t. It can excite, thrill, console and comfort without the need for words, and it has the ultimate ability to unite disparate and often opposing communities. EMMA’s aim, according to its founder, a young Italian called Paolo Petrocelli, is to have a ‘positive impact’ on young people throughout the religiously and politically diverse Middle East and Mediterranean regions through, according to its website, "a network of music institutions, universities and philanthropic foundations brought together in the shared interest of music and the promotion of peace". EMMA for Peace was launched at the 13th World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates.
-- read article on Classical-music.com (The official website of BBC Music Magazine)




EMMA for Peace at the 13th World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates from EMMA for Peace on Vimeo.

The Forbidden Education (La Educación Prohibida)

The Forbidden Education (Spanish: La Educación Prohibida) is an independent documentary released in 2012. This documentary film questions the logic of modern schooling—and our very understanding of education—by highlighting different and unconventional educational experiments that suggest the need of a new educational paradigm. It is a learning project that was created by a group of young people who interviewed more than 90 alternative education teachers in 8 countries. The film was released under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license and became the first released movie in Spanish to be funded under a crowdfunding methodology.
The Forbidden Education aims to inspire thoughtful societal debate about the fundamental structure of school, encouraging the development of a comprehensive education centered on love, respect, freedom and learning.

Hope dies last

In 1999 a group of children, devastated by the war between Kosovo and Serbia, found their hope in music. Learning, playing, singing and performing together to create something positive in their lives. Ten years later they are taking their gift of music to children who are victims of war in Uganda, spreading hope to a new generation and helping them build their tomorrow. One generation, one country, helping the next.
The Shropshire Music Foundation provides free musical instruments and instruction to former child soldiers and refugees in some of the world’s most wartorn places: Kosovo, Uganda, and Northern Ireland. Since 1999, they have taught more than 10,000 young people that through music they can bring healing, hope, and peace to their communities.
Hope dies the last is a A documentary Film by Paul Kakert in production for DocumentaryTV.com



Vegan and Vesa, two teenagers who live in Gjakova Kosovo and survived a war with Serbia as young children, perform in 2008. Both are volunteers with the Shropshire Music Foundation that teaches hope for the future through music. This performance is from the documentary Hope Dies the Last, from Director Paul Kakert and DocumentaryTV.com, produced by Storytellers International and EDPvideo.com.

Preserving Art & Music Education in Public Schools

"Students who can use art and music to think big, those are the global changers to me"- Jahi
51Oakland is a non-profit charitable organization whose mission is to inspire Student learning, creativity, hard work, and self-esteem by strengthening the role of Music and Arts Education in Oakland Public Schools. Partnering with Yoshi’s Jazz Club, 51Oakland provides Oakland Public School students with access to programs, resources, supplies, instruction, mentoring and training in Music and the Arts. Their hope is that 51Oakland’s commitment to supporting educational Music and Arts programs will foster a community that nurtures growth, creativity, and self-expression for youth, and will help instill core values in program participants – strong work ethic, discipline, teamwork, and self-actualization. Click on image below to watch on VIMEO

Syrian Children Fight War with Play

Play it, Like it, Share it. If this video reaches 250,000 VIEWS by September 3rd Guerilla Aid will donate a futbol field so these kids have a safe place to play!
-- by GoBokaPlay - video produced in collaboration with Make Life Better Foundation and War Child, an organization contributing to a peaceful future for children and young people affected by armed conflict.

Why the Arts Matter

The arts are important. They strengthen social bonds and communities, allow both groups and individuals a means to express themselves, and they establish a sense of community identity, which can be expressed at home and abroad. Simply stated, the arts matter. The video below was created in partnership between the Saskatchewan Arts Alliance and the Saskatchewan Filmpool Cooperative.



And let's also see what younger people say...

Teaching one child at a time

"Our dream is very simple: to send each of these kids, get them prepared to be educated but also to live peacefully, contented in this conflict-ridden chaotic globalized world."
Educating the poor is more than just a numbers game, says Shukla Bose. She tells the story of her groundbreaking Parikrma Humanity Foundation, which brings hope to India's slums by looking past the daunting statistics and focusing on treating each child as an individual.
Shukla is the founder and head of this Foundation, a nonprofit that runs four extraordinary schools for poor children. The word "Parikrma" implies a full revolution, a complete path around -- and Parikrma Humanity Foundation offers literally that to kids in poor urban areas around Bangalore. Parikrma's four Schools of Hope teach the full, standard Indian curriculum to children who might not otherwise see the inside of a classroom, with impressive results. Equally important, the schools build an "end-to-end" environment that supports learning -- offering lunch every day, health-care and family support. They also promote a unique fund-raising initiative called Heart For Art that showcases their children's art to the world. They have already held 3 art shows in the US - two in Manhattan, NY and one in San Francisco. Inspiring people, inspiring results.
"When I started Parikrma I began with a great deal of arrogance of transforming the world. But today I have been transformed. I have been changed with my children. I've learned so much from them: love, compassion, imagination and such creativity."

Thank you

"You know what music is? God’s little reminder that there’s something else besides us in this universe; harmonic connection between all living beings, everywhere, even the stars."
- Robin Williams

Thank you for all the good times.

-- Artists Around The World Pay Tribute To Robin Williams with Wonderful Artworks

Music gives hope

We might have posted this earlier this year but it is worth watching it again. How music programs can be crucial in saving the lives of children in difficult situations giving them confidence, hope and opportunities.
-- visit Harmony Project website



Harmony Project: Peer Mentor Program

I love music, I just feel my heart beat

"I love music, I just feel my heart beat." 
"Music is beautiful, it's been here with me -- been here through all my troubles. It is like my homey, my friend. We can just talk. He'll talk and I'll listen." 
"Music is like my meditation, music has just opened my eyes." 
-- Scotty Way

Music has the power to soothe the soul, raise the spirit and, in the case of a Los Angeles teenager, lift a life out of poverty. Harmony Project is Los Angeles’ largest nonprofit organization solely dedicated to music education for youth in low-income communities.
-- Read article on CBS News

How music transforms lives

Nordoff Robbins is a national music charity dedicated to transforming the lives of vulnerable children and adults across the UK. Their trained network of music therapists work with people of all ages and with a range of conditions. They deliver thousands of music therapy sessions per year in care homes, day centres, hospitals, schools and our own centres and are also developing a range of other music and health projects aimed at bringing music to more and more people in local communities.



- Suffering from advanced dementia, Kath couldn't speak and was isolated from the world.
Watch how music therapy helped Kath find a connection - watch video on VIMEO
- Jack has severe learning difficulties and is autistic. Music therapy helps him to communicate and express himself. Watch how Jack engages through music - watch video on VIMEO

The importance of Arts Education

Michael Feinstein is an American singer, pianist, and music revivalist. He is an interpreter of, and an anthropologist and archivist for, the repertoire known as the Great American Songbook. He is the founder of The Great American Songbook Initiative, a non-profit organization with a mission to inspire and educate by celebrating the Great American Songbook. In this video he discusses the importance of Arts Education in schools.

Project Music International

Project Music International is a program at Oakland International High School produced by Integrated Music which fosters unity and learning through music. Their mission is to engage people and institutions to work cooperatively across cultures through music to support and create happy, healthy, and sustained musical communities now and into the future.

International Zouk Flashmob 2013

The International Zouk Flashmob has grown to become the LARGEST WORLDWIDE FLASHMOB IN HISTORY! In this second edition, there were 127 cities, a total of 43 countries from all over the world dancing as one! It was carried out on the 21st September 2013 in order to commemorate the International Day of Peace.
- tweeted by Jeremy Gilley, Peace One Day

Peace Begins with Me

In June of 2013, a group of 15 individuals, known as Team Next Generation Yoga, went to Kenya to be Ambassadors for Africa Yoga Project. Here is some of their journey...
-- Africa Yoga Project

Peace on Earth

"Everybody can be somebody / Everybody is free to make a difference in this world"
"Peace on Earth, that's what we want / Peace on Earth,that's what we all say"

Guitarist and singer Raul Midon blends flamenco, jazz and R&B to create a category-defying sound. His life story is as inspiring as his musical vision. He is into beating the odds, shattering stereotypes, and making category-defying music. "I was told as a child, 'You're blind; you can't do this'. At 40, however, Midon has clearly made it. After singing backup vocals for stars like Shakira, Julio Iglesias, Jennifer Lopez and Christina Aguilera, Midon released his major-label solo debut, State of Mind, with help from guest artist Jason Mraz (TED)

Beautiful little people

Lamiya was in sixth grade and one of the first Modern Band students at Philippa Schuyler Middle School after Jen Theilacker (her teacher) attended Little Kids Rock’s teacher training and received all of the musical instruments and resources she needed to start a program at her school. Lamiya, who is headed to high school next year, embraced this new learning environment wholeheartedly, as it allowed her to get in touch with her creative side and grow as a person, not just a musician. Her original song, Broken Record (about battling depression and insomnia) gives a glimpse into Lamiya’s heart, which she pours out for her audience: "A broken record basically repeats a certain part of a song over and over again. In a way, a person who has depression feels like their life is a broken record, because the sadness never leaves, and bad things keep happening." "I think that music will forever be part of my life," she says. "It won’t be my main focus, because my biggest goal in life is to be a doctor. However, I’d love to continue helping people with my songs in the future."
"I feel like I have learned as much, if not more from Lamiya, than I have taught her over the past few years", says her teacher -- read full article here

Inspiring speech

"One positive thought creates millions of positive vibrations"

Carlos Santana returned to his old high school and helped some of the first Little Kids Rock students deliver instruments to the current students at the school who benefit from this free music program. The students then gave a special performance with Santana.
Little Kids Rock is a nonprofit organization that transforms children's lives by restoring and revitalizing music education in public schools nationwide. It was founded in San Francisco in 2002 by David Wish, an elementary school teacher who had grown frustrated with the lack of music education funding at his school.
-- watch on abc 7 News

Great programs

MILE stands for Music Integrated Learning Environment (MILE) Project. The program is presented by the Oakland Unified School District’s Visual and Performing Arts Department, in collaboration with Music in Schools Today and the Music in Education National Consortium. Funded by a 4-year, $1 million Arts-in-Education Model Development and Dissemination Grant from the United States Department of Education, the MILE Project is investigating the correlations between music learning and student academic achievement in elementary schools in OUSD. The MILE Project believes that when music is at the core of the classroom culture and the school community, 1) students and teachers teach and learn in dynamic ways that enhance student achievement across academic disciplines, and 2) schools become vibrant and healthy learning communities.

Martin Luther Songwriting Competition
Martin Luther visits Lafayette Elementary to kick off the Music Inspires songwriting contest.
Click on image to watch video.

Jazzocracy: To what extent does the study of jazz help students understand the concept of freedom of expression and responsibility in personal and public domains?
Click on image to watch video (under video documentation tab)

August 6

"Enola Gay / It shouldn't ever have to end this way / Ah-ha Enola Gay / It shouldn't fade in our dreams away"
"Enola Gay" is an anti-war song by the British synthpop group Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD). It was the only single from the band's 1980 album, Organisation. Written by Andy McCluskey, it addresses the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on 6 August 1945, during the final stages of World War II, and directly mentions three components of the attack: the Boeing B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay, which dropped the nuclear weapon Little Boy on Hiroshima at "8:15".

Music is sanity

This is a beautiful story - please watch this talk.
"Music is medicine. Music changes us. And for Nathaniel, music is sanity. Because music allows him to take his thoughts and delusions and shape them through his imagination and his creativity, into reality. And that is an escape from his tormented state. And I understood that this was the very essence of art. This was the very reason why we made music, that we take something that exists within all of us at our very fundamental core, our emotions, and through our artistic lens, through our creativity, we're able to shape those emotions into reality. And the reality of that expression reaches all of us and moves us, inspires and unites us." 
Violinist Robert Gupta joined the LA Philharmonic at the age of 19 — and maintains a passionate parallel interest in neurobiology and mental health issues. In this presentation he talks about a violin lesson he once gave to a brilliant, schizophrenic musician — and what he learned.

More about Mural Music & Arts Project

The Mural Music and Arts Project is a youth development organization inspiring positive youth outcomes through the arts. Their mission is Educate, Inspire, and Empower Youth through the Arts. The San Francisco Teen Mural Program (TMP) is branch of MMAP. TMP is a summer employment program with local teens hired to research, design, and install a large public art mural in their community. The 2013 summer's theme was Movements: Flow of Ideas, Resources, and People. The unveiling for TMP SF's mural was on August 15th, 2013 at the Shih Yu-Lang Central YMCA, with the mural's final home being in San Francisco's City Hall.

This is way cool

The Mural Music and Arts Project (MMAP) educates, empowers, and inspires youth through participation in the arts by offering year-round, youth development programs in the Bay Area. MMAP began in 2001 as the East Palo Alto Mural Art Project, employing local teens to design and create a mural for every school in the district. Since then, MMAP’s teen artists have researched, planned, and installed a public arts legacy. These murals reflect themes of community, cooperation, equity, justice, environment, and local history. Since its founding, MMAP has served over 3,000 youth in arts-based, youth development programs who have created 124 murals, produced 68 original songs, and choreographed 16 dances. MMAP remains steadfast in its mission to impact youth and their communities by working collaboratively to offer myriad arts programs, including the Teen Mural Program, the Graffiti Arts Project, History through Hip Hop, Health Education through Art, Public Arts Consulting, and In-School Art Electives.
-- watch more inspiring videos here

Music as a therapy

"..its about seeing the joy and sparkle in others eyes." - T
Music therapy comforts, soothes those with varying degrees of dementia. As also beautifully portrayed in the recent documentary ALIVE INSIDE music is capable of reawakening our souls and uncover the deepest parts of our humanity. Music talks to us and its healing power can triumph where prescription medication falls short. Please watch this video clip below and see the magic effects that music can have on elderly people affected by this disease.
-- go to Alzheimer's Bermuda

Music Inspires Language

MUSIC INSPIRES EDUCATION is a campaign from Music In Schools Today.
For several months in the spring of 2012, musician Martin Luther McCoy worked with students at Lafayette Elementary School in West Oakland on a songwriting project. But the students learned more than just how to write songs.


Music Inspires Language from musicinspires on Vimeo.

Music Inspires Confidence

MUSIC INSPIRES EDUCATION is a campaign from Music In Schools Today.
Musician and teacher Curt Yagi worked with 12-year-old Brittney in an after-school program to write and perform an original song. Here they talk about how music inspires them and improves education overall.


Music Inspires Confidence from musicinspires on Vimeo.

Music Inspires Collaboration

MUSIC INSPIRES EDUCATION is a campaign from Music In Schools Today.
When Alma Desnuda (Naked Soul) stopped in at Folsom Middle School for a surprise visit with the school's jazz band, the students were surprised (and pretty nervous) when Alma D invited them to perform together in front of the entire school the very next day. See what happens when the two bands come together for a spontaneous, one-day collaboration.


Music Inspires Collaboration from musicinspires on Vimeo.

Music in schools - Why Music

In the next 3 posts we will show some video clips that have been produced by an organization called Music in schools Today. MUST is a non-profit organization that supports and develops music education programs that increase student achievement. They believe that music education helps improve grades, standardized test scores, behavior, attendance and student health. More specifically they believe that music nurtures the human spirit, promotes personal development, and is central to learning and the creative process. Music and the arts are as essential to a well-rounded education as literacy, math and science. Music, both in and out of the classroom, promotes physical well-being and social understanding and helps build bridges within local and global communities.

Is school enough?

Thanks to digital media, the Internet and new advances in understanding how students learn, educators are beginning to appreciate the importance of breaking out of the classroom and into the wider world. There’s a growing understanding that learning should not just be preparation for life, but is actually “life itself.” 
Is School Enough? documents vivid examples of where new modes of learning and engagement are taking hold and flourishing. Featuring nationally recognized educators and researchers, Stephen Brown’s powerful stories show that when students have the opportunity to explore real interests and problems, they step up and perform at the highest level. This new approach reaches motivated students as well as kids that educators call “the bright and bored,” helping these learners tune in rather than drop out.
-- watch TRAILER

The Importance of Drama: Transferable Skills

Pearson and Shakespeare's Globe have been working together to produce a series of short films on the importance of drama. They have spoken to a number of eminent practitioners from the business and performing arts sectors about the skills that can be acquired and developed through studying drama and creative subjects. The first film provides information on how a qualification in drama can provide relevant transferable skills for use in working life. In the second film, they focus on how studying drama can improve key skills in analysis, communication and evaluation.

Complete Me

"The whole idea of education is to educate people to be whole people. If we are only focusing on four subjects, we are just stamping out cookie cutter kids that all think the same. That's not education. That's narrow-mindedness."
Students all across the nation are begging, complete me, needing a well rounded education. This documentary looks at the student's desperate need for the performing arts in public schools. Through the eyes of students and teachers we see the need for performing arts and the drastic repercussions of losing it. Nice job.
Kevin Terrell has been creating films in one way or another since an extremely young age. His passion for visual story telling is inspired by his father’s love for books and movies. He currently attends Full Sail University to attain a Bachelors Degree in Film.

Teaching musically

"We have to stop thinking of education as a gift that we give to our students. Education as much as creativity is something that needs to be shared. If there is no reciprocity, then it is not a fully meaningful experience"
Ryan Burwell shares the elements of music that have resonated most richly with him and his students, and will suggest ways of applying these elements to teaching practice. Focusing on the skills of improvisation and composition, he will try to convince you that curriculum design needs to be thought of like the pentatonic scale, and that you don't need to be a music teacher to teach musically.
Very interesting talk.
-- read Let’s hack the curriculum by Ryan
-- Ryan's blog

Kids and the Arts

Culture for Kids in the Arts is a registered charitable organization dedicated to providing high quality arts experiences to children and youth, regardless of their financial circumstances. Designed to promote arts in education, Culture for Kids in the Arts programming encourages students to expand their learning potential through their natural enjoyment of the performing and visual arts.
"Participation and access to the arts is a right, not a privilege"

Music is just pure magic

A documentary about a musical saw musician by Vanessa Martino, a film student of the University of the Arts, in Philadelphia.

 
“Saw Man” by Vanessa Martino '14 from The University of the Arts (Phl) on Vimeo.

'Ave Maria' on musical saw.



Musical Saw performance by Sakita Hajime.

Dedicated to all aspiring artists

"And remember that whatever discipline you are in, whether you are a musician or a photographer, a fine artist or a cartoonist, a writer, a dancer, a designer, whatever you do you have one thing that's unique. You have the ability to make art. And for me, and for so many of the people I have known, that's been a lifesaver. The ultimate lifesaver. It gets you through good times and it gets you through the other ones. Life is sometimes hard. Things go wrong, in life and in love and in business and in friendship and in health and in all the other ways that life can go wrong. And when things get tough, this is what you should do. Make good art." 
Neil Gaiman addresses the University of the Arts Class of 2012. One of the best commencement speeches. A must watch for any artist and everyone who hopes to be creative and successful.
Neil is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio theatre and films.
-- read speech here

The Importance of Music

Very nice talk by Leonard Slatkin on the importance on music in schools and life in general. Slatkin is an American conductor and composer. He is Music Director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and the Orchestre National de Lyon, France.
-- Leonard's Testimony in Support of Music Education

We want peace and we want it fast

"We're on the eve of destruction my friends / We are about to go too far / Politicians think that war is the way / But we know that love has the power / We want peace, we want it / Yes we want peace, we want it / Yes we want peace / And we want it fast" -- Lenny Kravitz

Stories for Peace

"It is not the world that needs peace; it is people. When people in the world are at peace within, the world will be at peace" -- Prem Rawat

Ukuleles For Peace

George Hinchliffe of the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain visits Ukuleles for Peace, an Israeli charity founded by musician Paul Moore that breaks down barriers between the country's Jewish and Arab communities via a children's ukulele orchestra.

Kaleidoscope Paint for Peace

Paint for Peace opens on Thursday September 18th, 2014. This project is championed by the KALEIDOSCOPE ARTS FOUNDATION, the first collective guild in Bermuda for the creation and teaching of art in an environment that is inspiring and accessible to the entire community.
Help raise funds for this foundation, empower our children through the arts!
-- Read about Paint for Peace on BDA SUN

Paint for Peace Art Exhibit 
THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 18th (for 3 weeks)
The Bermuda Society of the Arts, City Hall, Hamilton
www.bsoa.bm

Why The Arts Matter

When school budgets are tight, art programs often find themselves on the chopping block. Today's definition of arts education has evolved considerably from what it once was. Today's art programs encompass a wide array of disciplines — from fine arts to digital media, from music to landscape architecture — and are encouraging creative thinking, problem solving, and healthy emotional development, among other things. In fact, studies show that students who have strong exposure to the arts do better academically and are more satisfied in school, making art education a vital component in any well-rounded curriculum. This Nebraska Loves Public Schools film looks at various art programs across the state and the positive impact they have on thousands of public school students each year. From elementary-age kids learning to ballroom dance to slam poetry competitions and creative music education, see how children benefit when schools make the arts matter.
Great documentary, worth watching.
-- Watch TRAILER

Wise words from Australia

"Art teaches students to think for themselves, to undertake their own research, it helps them understand why they do things, how they do things and how to communicate this to a wide audience"
New Australian research has identified the value of participating in arts experiences in school. The study is based on 643 primary and secondary school students from 15 schools over the course of two years.
-- video uploaded by ACARA (Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority)
-- study reference here

Art in Schools

Rafael López is an internationally recognized illustrator and artist. His work is a fusion of strong graphic style and magical symbolism. Growing up in Mexico City he was immersed in the rich cultural heritage and native color of street life. Influenced by Mexican surrealism, dichos and myths, he developed a style with roots in these traditions. In 2012 and 2008, he was selected by the Obama/Biden campaign to create two official posters at Artists for Obama called Estamos Unidos and Voz Unida. Here Rafael gives a passionate defense in favor of maintaing art programs in schools.

What peace means to Syrian refugee children

"Peace is if everyone goes back to their homes and are happy. It is better than staying here. We will go back and rebuild Syria. I will play with my friends there and start having a life again, a country, a real country, my country"
"Leaders of the World can you put an end to the blockade? Because we can't stay here anymore. We want to return home. Put an end to this conflict. Martyrs are dying. And the children are the innocent ones".
More than 8 million Syrians have been displaced by ongoing fighting in their country — 6.5 million within Syria, and about 2.3 million as refugees in neighboring countries. Among them are countless children whose hopes, dreams, and ways of life have been put on hold indefinitely.
They’ve been forced to quit school and flee their homes — in many cases, with little more than the clothes on their backs.
These children each have unique stories, and they still have visions for a brighter future.
Watch the video below to hear from some of them as they speak to leaders who are discussing the future of their home country. As the conflict in Syria enters its third year, an entire generation of affected children hangs in the balance. Their voices cry out to be heard. Extremely touching.
-- go to CRYING FOR THEIR COUNTRY

Inspiring children through the Arts

We'll need creative thinkers to deal with the challenges of the 21st century. But the arts are being crowded out of our schools by testing and choked off by budget cuts. To help make sure the next generation has the imagination to improve the world, Inner City Arts is giving kids a canvas in Los Angeles's Skid Row neighbourhood.



Below a short film produced, shot and edited by Inner-City Arts' documentary film students which explores the magic of creativity and the importance of arts education.




ICA PSA 2014 from Elliot Montague on Vimeo.



PSA PHOTO 2014 from Elliot Montague on Vimeo.

Music in schools

“Sometimes, it’s hard not to smile. Like, every time when I finish school and I come into Harmony, when I just hit that first note, it makes me smile.” – J. Deshommes, Harmony Program violin student
“I can’t imagine my life without music, especially on my violin. Me and my violin is, like, best friends.” – Lexy Ramkissoon, Harmony Program violin student

Serving mostly low-income children in New York City, an innovative music education program called Harmony provides free instruments and daily music lessons to children in third through sixth grades. Correspondent John Merrow reports on this arts program changing lives in public schools, based on a system developed in Venezuela, called El Sistema. For 36 years, El Sistema has inspired children to stay in school by giving them free instruments and three to four hours of music instruction every day -- read here

Let's Make World Peace

Students from St. Francis French Immersion Catholic School collaborated with students at Rumney Primary School in Cardiff, Wales in recording the song "Let's Make World Peace". The Sault Ste. Marie school performed the inspirational song at the city's Remembrance Day ceremony on November 11, 2013. Cool.



Original song 'Let's Make World Peace' written and performed by the Rumney Primary School Choir. This is one of the ten schools whose students benefited from a fully funded song-writing project called 'Project K' promoting peace.



About the collaborative project

Life Just Isn't - Peace is a Choice

Fifth and sixth graders from Princeton Friends School present a moving 60 second PSA about the choices we make in life. Bridge Film Festival entry 2010. Winner of Judges Choice Award in PSA category, as well as the winner of The Spirit of the Festival Award.
What is really important in life? It's time children teach us a lesson....

How important is music education?

...That's the question GRAMMY.com recently asked artists Demi Lovato, Ashanti, Ariana Grande, Bonnie McKee, and Plain White T's...

Click on image below to watch video

I Want Peace!

"Peace is not just a concept. Peace is a choice."

Subliminal depiction of conflicts due to various cultural differences and ideologies among the peoples in Mindanao. "Dula" is a Visayan term which means play. The kids, the most vulnerable among the victims of these atrocities are playing war games as part of their pastime. At times, they have some quarrels but they always end up having fun together- the innate character of children, that is playful and peace-loving. Nice.
-- winner from peace video contest organized by OPAPP

What Children Teach Us About Peace

"Look to the child. The child is the curriculum, the child is the lesson, the child is the teaching and the learning all in one. We try to facilitate opportunities for the child to have an epiphany, we want the epiphany to be continuous, lifelong really, that their discoveries drive everything that we design as teachers, so really they are the designers"
John Hunter, a keynote speaker at the AMS 2014 Annual Conference and creator of the World Peace Game, shares his thoughts about peace education and how Maria Montessori's ideals of the prepared environment and following the child can lead to new discoveries for students and educators alike. Peace education is a vital component of the Montessori curriculum. The teaching of peace and global citizenship can transform a child's life and lead them to a more fulfilling world view.

Painting Peace with Former Child Soldiers

"A desire of my heart is that from all what we have gone through in Northern Uganda or in Uganda as a whole, we should have leaders who are willing to have a peaceful resolution, whatever conflict is among them"
Exile International (empowering children of war to become leaders for peace) partnered with with Jeremy Cowart to create collaborative art pieces with LRA child survivors that will be sold to fund/support art and rehabilitative care programs through their organization.
Project Goals:
- Fostering a healing art and therapeutic process for 7 children
 - Capturing their story on film to further amplify their stories of healing and reducing stigmas toward former LRA child soldiers within their communities
- Supporting art therapy and rehabilitative care programs in Northern Uganda and DR Congo
“We are seeing them come to life. We are watching them be renewed.” -- Jeremy Cowart

Education innovation in the slums

"Imagine an education system that started from questions, not from knowledge to be imparted, or started from a game, not from a lesson, or started from the premise that you have to engage people first before you can possibly teach them. Our education systems, you do all that stuff afterward, if you're lucky, sport, drama, music. These things, they teach through. They attract people to learning because it's really a dance project or a circus project or, the best example of all -- El Sistema in Venezuela -- it's a music project. And so you attract people through that into learning, not adding that on after all the learning has been done and you've eaten your cognitive greens." 

Charles Leadbeater went looking for radical new forms of education — and found them in the slums of Rio and Kibera, where some of the world's poorest kids are finding transformative new ways to learn. And this informal, disruptive new kind of school, he says, is what all schools need to become.
Charles is a leading authority on innovation and creativity. He has advised companies, cities and governments around the world on innovation strategy and drew on that experience in writing his latest book We-think: the power of mass creativity, which charts the rise of mass, participative approaches to innovation from science and open source software, to computer games and political campaigning. Interesting talk.
-- read about "Innovation in Education: Lessons from Pioneers Around the World"