UNSpecial N° 688 • Octobre 2009
Music for a green planet
On 1 October 2009, Geneva played host to a unique cultural programme comprising of an international conference entitled “Music As A Catalyst for Environmental Awareness” along with an unforgettable multicultural concert. The objective was to promote the role of music as an instrument of soft power and a new communication tool for educating the public on how to safeguard and care for the environment.
Why do you think music can play a
role in environmental awareness?
I am a great believer in a few basic principles: One of these, is that people are motivated and
empowered to create, to shape their environment
and to shape their destiny not through
principles governing economic growth but
by priorities that they establish and objectives
they follow for their well-being. The second
principle relates to a level of general acceptability
that achieving sustainable development
will require balancing environmental,
societal and economic considerations in the
pursuit of development and an improved
quality of life. Thus, environmental protection
should not only be of concern to the
government, but it should be a fundamental
responsibility of all people and that individuals
and communities have the right to live in
a clean and healthy environment.
So, if we agree on these basic principles
then a natural conclusion may be driven
from these; that the first consideration of
any effort aimed at forming an environmental
awareness among the public, and a conservation
ethic, is to help people discover
the resonance between these broader goals
and their personal goals. Nevertheless, the
understandings of, and visions for, sustainability
will be different for each one among
us and so far no «single route» to sustainable
development has been proposed by development
experts. We, therefore, decided to
fill this vacuum by finding the most common
means of communications among people
of the North, South, East and West of
the universe through a common language
which can adhere to the heart and soul of its
users. What was better than «music»?
How do you intend to demonstrate
the importance of music as a learning
tool?
It has generally been accepted that achieving
sustainable development requires balancing
environmental, societal, cultural and economic
considerations in the pursuit of development
and an improved quality of life.
To achieve these goals there is an argument
in favour of interdisciplinary frameworks for
cooperation integrating an important role for the artists in the field of environmental
studies. Conversely, an environmental approach
must be introduced within art studies
and a serious interdisciplinary cooperation
on environmental issues should involve artists,
scientists, humanists, planners, activists,
and governmental bodies.
Musicians and artists can play a major role
in mediating between the community and
scientists, and between citizens and their
environment. It is a proven fact that even
the most proficient scientist would not succeed
in communicating the severity of an
environmental problem to the public, because
she or he would not know how to
evoke an emotive, personalized and mixed
response from the audience, or provoke a
deep sense of belonging, while a simple
composition with music can go a long way.
How can education help change behavioural
and cultural trends and assist
in a smooth transition to a more savvy
attitude towards sustainability and
protection of the environment?
Not an easy question to answer in a few
words. I guess, in taking those steps towards
helping the sustainability of our environment
we should forget the question of «What’s in
it for me?». Effective education for sustainable
development through music requires
a long-term commitment to winning the
hearts and minds of reasonable people everywhere.
Now is the time to create a cultural
infrastructure and policy for the twenty-first
century. The stakes have never been higher.
We demonstrated in practice during a day–long discussion on «Music a Catalyst for Environmental
Awareness» at the International
Conference Centre in Geneva together with
forty-five experts, politicians, visionaries,
environmentalists and musicians, how the
undiscovered and underestimated educational
role of music could give rise to fundamental
changes in an individual learning
curve. The evening’s multi-cultural concert
with the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra
under the direction of the world renown
Conductor, Maestro Constantine Orbelian
accompanied by a number of acclaimed soloists
from twelve countries created an enchanted
musical dialogue with nature and
earth that hardly could be forgotten. Those
among you who attended these unforgettable
open classes left with the enthusiasm of
doing something good for somebody else.
What other events has your
Association organized or is this the
first one?
The Association since its inception in 2004
has pursued the objective of promoting the
dialogue with music as a universal means of
communication.
We have organized a great number of events
in various countries including Nigeria, Morocco,
Cuba, United States, France and other
countries. In 2006 we were offered the 60th
anniversary medal of UNESCO for our innovative
approach to dialogue among civilizations.
For more information, I invite you to consult our web site: www.melodydialogue.org.
