The Drum Beat 534 - Communication Tunes
This issue includes:
- Musical initiatives for HEALTH awareness.
- RELATED newsletters: dance and music.
- POLL: H1N1 a priority?
- Addressing CONFLICT through music.
- POLL: effective representation?
- Engaging YOUTH through tunes.
This issue of The Drum Beat explores the use of music in its many forms to promote health care, awareness, and treatment; to address issues related to multi-culturalism, racism, and rights; and to engage youth in their own development as well as in prevention of HIV and AIDS.
MUSIC FOR HEALTH AWARENESS
1. Senegal Surround Sound - Senegal
Launched by Malaria No More in partnership with Senegalese musician Youssou N'Dour, this advocacy and education initiative is designed to create a culture of insecticide-treated bednet (ITN) use and malaria treatment. N'Dour's song "Xeex Sibiru" tells the story of a young man who gets malaria and misses out on life. Collaborating artists on the track serve as voices of the community who instruct him that he knew better and should have protected himself with an ITN. The campaign launched with a concert performance by N'Dour and his band in Senegal in June 2009 to raise awareness. The song was recorded in 3 versions - Wolof, Pulaar, and Serere - and is being broadcast nationally and locally.
Contact: Martin Edlund martin.edlund@malarianomore.org OR info@MalariaNoMore.org
Wahapahapa ("we originate here" in Swahili) centres around a 30-minute radio serial drama that explores key social issues around HIV/AIDS such as stigma, cross-generational sex, multiple concurrent partners, HIV testing, and treatment and care. To complement the radio drama series, the producers commissioned songs from 10 Tanzanian musicians. Inspired directly by the drama's characters, storylines, and themes, the songs feature lyrics intentionally designed to provoke discussion around sensitive issues. These songs, as well as others heard on the drama, have been released as compilation albums, and 8 music videos are being produced for use by community outreach programmes.
Contact: Robert Karam robert.karam@jhuccptz.org
3. Congo's Paraplegic Musicians: Lullabies of the Abandoned
This October 2009 report describes the formation - in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) - of a band called Staff Benda Bilili. Four paraplegic singers, disabled due to polio, formed the band after facing rejection by other musicians. Playing on home-made instruments, they produced their first album - "Très, Très Fort" - which has led to a tour of Europe and a film. Music has become not only a source of economic stability for these survivors, but also serves as a platform for messages on child vaccination and for the needs of the underclass of paraplegics whose disabilities have resulted from the breakdown in the administration of polio vaccine to the economically poor of the DRC.
4. Stop AIDS Caravan - Cameroon
Coordinated by the World Bank, the caravan addresses Cameroonian youth aged between 11 and 19, drawing on national and local pop stars as a vehicle to pass on messages in an effort to prevent HIV/AIDS. The programme presents entertaining activities to inspire young people to keep learning about and working to protect themselves against HIV/AIDS, travelling to where they are and developing appealing messages to fit the local context. The idea is to use music to deliver the message that HIV/AIDS is real and its burden heavy in a way that schoolchildren can relate to.
Contact: Helene Pieume hpieume@worldbank.org OR hepieume@yahoo.com
5. Music to Stop TB - Canada and Global
Music to Stop TB uses the strategy of edutainment to inform people about tuberculosis (TB) and to inspire them to take action to prevent the disease. In advance of World Tuberculosis Day (March 24) 2008, Canada's Opera Lyra Ottawa, performed La Traviata (by Verdi). In this opera, the young Violetta falls in love, but leaves her soulmate because his family does not approve, then dies alone from TB. Opera Lyra Ottawa erected banners and posters at the theatre in an effort to raise awareness about TB. Ambassadors representing countries facing a high burden of TB, Members of Parliament, TB experts, community representatives, and local citizens interested in the arts and advocacy were in attendance.
Contact: stoptbinfo@who.int OR Christina Dendys chris@results-resultats.ca OR Karl Balisch marketing@operalyra.ca
6. Sikia Kengele (Listen to the Bell) - Tanzania
This campaign seeks to encourage people to change their sexual behaviours by using approaches such as: interpersonal communication through "Bell Ringers", community mobilisation activities around a "big bell", and a radio-based mass media initiative. A road show featuring a large bell travels to communities with a high-profile team of influential people and educators who use music, dance, dramas, and cinema to positively influence people to reduce their number of sexual partners. Emcees invite local community leaders, government officials, members of the media, and others to ring the bell, calling on the community to wake up and make changes in their behaviour.
Contact: Nelson Karanja nkaranja@tmarc.or.tz
This professional Kenyan theatre group produced a musical theatre production focused on HIV/AIDS education, called "Aspirations", which features a musical comedy format and portrays 21 young Kenyans, each from different backgrounds and with different aspirations.
Contact: phoenixtheatre254@gmail.com OR phoenix@swiftkenya.com
The following archived issues of The Drum Beat and our sister website's publication, The Soul Beat, may be of interest:
The Soul Beat 131 - Music for Change
The Drum Beat 412 - Dance for Development
If incidence levels remain roughly as they are at the start of 2010, H1N1 will no longer be at the forefront of public consciousness.
- Agree. Unfortunately, people's vigilance softens when the media's attention wanes and there are no moments of crisis.
- Disagree. The threat persists, and people will remain alert (thanks to extensive awareness-raising efforts in 2009).
- Maybe; it depends...
AND...
An online space for people involved in H1N1 communication action and thinking to share experiences and review challenges and lessons learned in support of each others' work. JOIN here.
TUNES TO CONNECT ACROSS DIVIDES
Created for Search for Common Ground (SFCG), Ring the Bells is a duet between United States (US) musician Melissa Etheridge and Salman Ahmad, who is a Pakistani musician, founder of the band Junoon, United Nations (UN) Goodwill Ambassador for HIV/AIDS, and co-founder of the Salman and Samina Global Wellness Initiative. The song urges unity in the face of racial, cultural, and religious divides and offers a vision of hope. Produced by Participant Media, the music video is designed to entertain, inform, and move audiences to action.
Contact: Susan Koscis skoscis@sfcg.org
9. Tjoon'in - 16 Days of Peace Taxi Campaign
Tjoon'in is an audio CD produced by Gender Links and the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality designed to raise awareness of issues related to the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence amongst public taxi (minibus) drivers and commuters. The CD was produced in a participatory way through a series of workshops including transport stakeholders and survivors of gender violence. According to organisers, it was important that the CD be appealing to men, as they make up the majority of taxi drivers, owners, and taxi association heads. For this reason, men as partners feature strongly on the CD. The programme contains positive stories and role models for men as well as women, and encourages men and women to work together for gender justice.
Contact: Deborah Walter editor@genderlinks.org.za OR Tonya Graham tonya@cmfd.org
10. Angola Solta a Tua Voz! (Angola Lift Up Your Voice) - Angola
Search for Common Ground (SFCG) developed a CD in advance of the parliamentary elections in September 2008 in Angola to spur people to get actively involved in the elections and to encourage a peaceful election process. The CD features songs with messages of peace and unity by popular Angolan musicians from diverse parts of the country. By fusing different styles from different parts of the country and fusing different generations of artists, the organisers hope that the message of unity, inclusion, and participation will carry over to the general population.
Contact: Michael Jobbins mjobbins@sfcg.org OR Frances Fortune ffortune@sfcg.org
Early in 2009, the Anna Lindh Foundation for Dialogue between Cultures and its national networks joined with the United Nations (UN) Alliance of Civilizations to launch a region-wide initiative to respond to what they identified as "intercultural tensions and rise in anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and racism fueled by the global economic crisis as well as by the conflict in the Middle East." The initiative led to actions in over 30 Euro-Mediterranean countries, one of which was a youth action for the promotion of peace and understanding in a local Bulgarian community with a mixed ethnic composition. It included a parade and a "Festival of Peace" for children and young people from different ethnic groups on the occasion of the International Day of Peace (September 21 2009). Turkish and Greek musicians performed together in a joint concert, and songs common to the 2 cultures were played in order to emphasise the similarities and the bonds between these cultures and their music. Contact: Andreu Claret info@euromedalex.org
12. Rolling Film Festival - Kosovo
From October 19-21 2009, Balkan Sunflowers Kosova and Romawood Productions screened more than 20 films that highlight the life, culture, and history - as well as the rights and integration - of Roma in Kosovo and globally. Opening and closing events organised as part of the festival were designed to engage people in spirited cultural gatherings. For instance, the opening ceremony featured informal presentations and performances delivered by Roma musicians, a youth theatre group from Plemetina, and the Minister of Culture, Youth, and Sports. At the close of the festival, the band Besh O Drom from Budapest, Hungary, performed folk music from Eastern Europe and the Balkan peninsula, in addition to Roma and Klezmer music.
Contact: Sami Mustafa romawood@gmail.com OR sami@rollingfilm.org OR Balkan Sunflowers website.
POLL: Effective Representation
Which of the following is most important for effective representation of the interests of marginalised groups?
- media representation and coverage to create public awareness.
- group organisation for self-advocacy.
- representation and advocacy support through NGOs.
- government representation through assigned intermediaries.
SOUND: ENGAGING CHILDREN & YOUTH
13. Johannesburg Youth Orchestra Company (JYOC) - South Africa
JYOC brings diverse communities together through group music-making with the hope of building bridges between children and young people. Children and youth from any community are welcome to audition for placement in one of 8 graded orchestras, which perform over 40 public concerts annually. JYOC also mentors and trains student teachers, offering music skills development and instrument repair/making workshops, and creating employment opportunities for young adult musicians. Participating young musicians have access to the JYOC's instrument library, allowing young people the opportunity to learn an instrument they may not be able to afford to buy.
Contact: orchadmin@global.co.za OR muschool@global.co.za
Performing Life (PL) is a nonprofit organisation designed to reach youth aged 5 to 19 who are working and/or living on the streets of Cochabamba, Bolivia. One part of this work involves training youth to produce a series of professional music CD albums as a vehicle for self-expression and to boost self-esteem. The young participants exercise creative control over and retain the copyrights to all their materials. PL's mobile recording set-up enables them to incorporate other groups, such as those in youth homes who cannot come to the studio. The youth learn how to write and read as they compose their lyrics and learn new computer skills as they edit their songs. They also have an opportunity to perform, be part of media interviews, and - it is hoped - to be seen as worthwhile, creative individuals with stories and abilities.
Contact: Suzanne Jamison sznjmsn@gilanet.com
15. Fundamental Quality and Equity Levels (FQEL) Project - Guinea
Initiated by the Education Development Centre (EDC) with funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), this school reform project is intended to improve literacy instruction by providing teacher training and by using strategies such as the use of song and storytelling that encourage reading for pleasure and personal writing. FQEL's radio component is designed to enable students to hear people other than their teacher speaking French. The programmes include conversations between young characters as well as songs which, according to FQEL staff, have proven very popular among the children, given Guinea's rich musical tradition. Organisers say that the programmes have been effective in developing oral comprehension and production skills and in introducing basic French vocabulary.
Contact: EDC website.
16. Using Global Media to Reach Youth: The 2002 MTV Staying Alive Campaign
by Cynthia Waszak Geary, Hally Mahler, William R. Finger, and Kathleen Henry Shears
This December 2005 report explores MTV Network International's 2002 Staying Alive campaign, which was designed to stimulate interpersonal communications about HIV/AIDS and to shape social norms. Organisers used multiple formats, including 7 public service announcements (PSAs), a show called "Clinton Uncut" (featuring then-President Bill Clinton), the Staying Alive website, and live music concerts that integrated HIV education and youth interviews. Evaluators found that the campaign had broad reach in 3 sites surveyed: Dakar (Senegal), Kathmandu (Nepal), and São Paulo (Brazil). It resulted in significantly more interpersonal communication on the subject of HIV/AIDS. Attitude change was also detected; for example, for the HIV prevention beliefs scale, a positive relationship existed with both exposure and interpersonal communication in Kathmandu and São Paulo.
This issue of The Drum Beat was written by Kier Olsen DeVries.
The Editor of The Drum Beat is Kier Olsen DeVries.
Please send material for The Drum Beat to The CI's Editorial Director - Deborah Heimann dheimann@comminit.com
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