History
In 2009 “Music As A Natural Resource” was launched as an initiative to explore and develop the potential of music as a social tool. The project was developed in support of the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goals (the MDG’s). The initial phase of the project produced a survey of worldwide practices published as the “Music As A Natural Resource: Solutions for Social and Economic Issues Compendium”. Now in its second edition, the Compendium is an expanded survey, currently highlighting sixty existing music initiatives geared toward health, education and socio-economic change. Projects like:
- Playing For Change (fosters social change in the poorest sections of Africa, South America and the Indian sub-continent)
- Guitars In The Classroom (uses music to enrich elementary school curriculum in virtually every subject)
- Svaram (brings together Indian traditional music with contemporary world cultures, building a bridge between ancient local tradition and contemporary global culture)
In addition to creating a resource of successful projects and initiatives, Music As A Natural Resource helps to promote and grow projects both by providing access to the UN’s global community and by linking the organizations via an International ICT network. In print, the Music As A Natural Resource Compendium is distributed to ambassadors, secretaries and cultural administrators from over one hundred UN nations and “Compendium: Live” multimedia/concert events take place in various UN regions, showcasing both international and regional “Natural Resource” projects.
You can download a free copy of the Compendium from the United Nations Public Administration website:
http://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/un-dpadm/unpan042585.pdf
(PDF format)
