Sundance: Music 4 Peace helps fight global poverty
January 30th, 2010 Posted in Arts and LifeStory and photo by Ben Hansen
Special to Hard News Cafe
PARK CITY–Music and peace. It sounds like the background to a 1960’s scene, a time when people were supposed to stand up for these values and 
help out the world. The words flow together with memories of love, and the time of the original Woodstock – only the time is now.
The Music 4 Peace Initiative and Tour, in conjunction with the Gandhi World tour, the Hip Hop Summit/Action Network, Tribes of the World, Swagg Media, and Music4Peace Foundation announced their plans to unify and assist in humanitarian efforts around the globe. Through their joint efforts, some of the objectives are providing clean water to communities, providing education to children who have been unable to receive it, uniting people through the universal language of music, and working towards eliminating extreme poverty.
All eyes will be on South Africa during the World Cup soccer tournament, and during this time, the tour will launch with a Hip-Hop Summit. The tour will continue on International Peace Day in Brazil, and there will also be a Hip-Hop Summit in India in November.
On Tuesday, this group came together during a press conference inside of the Gibson Guitar Lounge in Park City, Utah. Several noteworthy speakers, including hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons, civil rights activist Dr. Ben Chavis, and Gandhi tour founder Tobias Huber all took turns at the podium expressing their gratitude towards the organization and excitement in having the opportunities to help make a difference. During the conference, Tobias proclaimed, “Music is the universal language that can build bridges between religions…we need to raise awareness in youth that non-violence is something functional and not just a wild dream.”
Dr. Ben Chavis encouraged all in attendance to make for a better future for those in impoverished nations, stating, “There is so much more that all of us can do. We have the capacity to change their reality.”
Tags: humanitarian, Music 4 Peace, poverty, Sundance
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