peace

MAY 15, 2013 - JTMP blogged about the musical astronaut Chris Hadfield yesterday, and today I have come across an awesome performance he did with Barenaked Ladies on Earth, and him on the ISS. There was a children's choir also, and they knocked it out of the park. Chris sings about looking down at the precious blue ball of Earth, and his longing to get back to it. He wants us to remember we very lucky to have this precious Earth, not to take it for granted, and to take care of it.

The song is a celebration of 15 nations coming together in peace, science, and cooperation  with the ISS, or the International Space Station. Check out more info about the ISS on NASA's ISS website here.  Check the video out below. The song is called, "Is Somebody Singing?"

MAY 9, 2013 - An organization calling itself "Heartbeat" wants to use music to bring young Israelis and Palestinians together in peace, and use music as a tool to bring this about. They mission is to use musicians to build understanding and to transform conflicts. They talk about how "fear, violence, ignorance and a pervasive lack of trust" has led to the current political and social atmosphere between Israelis and Palestinians. They state, "Most Israelis and Palestinians have only encountered the other side through televised reports of extremist violence, soldiers at checkpoints, or politicians..." Heartbeat intends to use music as a bridge to break this divide, and bring people together. Heartbeat believes, and so does JTMP, that "Music has an amazing ability to connect people, build trust and inspire hope in the darkest of places.  Modern, popular music has long been the voice of change all around the world and a powerful means for youth expression and nonviolent action. By bringing together young Jewish and Arab musicians and strengthening their voices, we are working to build a global culture of trust, compassion, and respect." Read more on the Heartbeat website here.  (photo credit: Heartbeat.fm)

June 14, 2012 - Last month, JTMP was fortunate to be part of a US state department program of a cultural exchange between people of the arts from all over the world. One visitor, Shukry Ashour, showed us this wonderful video he made set to Arabic folk music, and gave us permission to post it for the world to see this man's peaceful town he grew up in. Enjoy. It is called, "From Here". It is in Arabic with English subtitles.

Photo of Strings and Indian Ocean. Credit: Aman ki Asha and StringsOnline.net

FEB 21, 2012 - Strings, a Pakistani band that fuses great music and activism together, were recently part of a "Bands Across Borders" concert bringing together Pakistani and Indian musicians and fans in support of peace. The concert was part of an initiative called "Aman ki Asha" which means "Hope For Peace", where they are working for peace and understanding between the people of Pakistan and India. Strings was chosen particularly for their involvement in social issues. Read about the concert here, and check out the Aman ki Asha Initiative website here. Check out Strings in a video below.

Photo credit: Time

Oct 20, 2011 - Stephen Said, activist musician who is both of Iraqi and Austrian descent, grew up in Appalachia with blue grass and classical music from an early age, has come out in support of the Occupy Wall Street movement. In a Time Arts article he talks about how growing up around his father's ethnic heritage music influenced him from an early age and compelled him to have peace with himself and work for peace with his art. Recently has led crowds reciting a beautiful Arabic poem called, "Aheb Aisht Al Hirya", which translated into English would be, "I Love the Life of Freedom". The lyrics were written by the great Egyptian poet-laureate Ahmed Shawki, with music by the legendary singer composer Mohammed Abdel Whab written back in the 1930s. In a Examiner article he said about the song, "It's an anthem to global unity and equality that I learned from my father. Commenting on the Arab Spring and the youth uprising throughout the Middle East he said, "This is our moment - the moment when each of us must summon our highest, most poetic selves to courageously step into the brilliance of the next world, a world already in the making."

Said has made the MP3 available for use "by all those who are non-violently working to build the international movement for a more just society." You can download and check out the song at: http://stephansaid.com/audio/aheb-aisht-al-huriyah.mp3

Click Read More to continue and see videos...