CAPs Friday 12/6/09

Friday, 12 June 2009 | posted by Matt_BC
Activism, CAPs (Community Action Programmes), Guildford 2009

We have witnessed an astonishing number of conflicts, even just in the last 12 months. The Gaza War, Pakistan’s Campaign against the Taliban, Mexico’s Drug War and the Russian-Georgian Crisis are among the most prominent events, but certainly not the only conflicts. There is also terrible violence in Iraq, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Colombia and Somalia, alongside the more systemic issues of terrorism and nuclear proliferation that affect all nations. Of course, there are also tensions as a result of state actions, such as the cases of Iran, North Korea and Zimbabwe. Ideological hatred of the “other” is something that often pervades and sustains these conflicts, sometimes to the extent that the two sides lose focus of what the fight originally concerned, let alone if it was justified.



We also often hear people speak about dialogue in more hopeful terms; just last week, the world heard the President of the United States, Barack Obama, addressing the Islamic World from Cairo, Egypt, on how exactly America and Islam could coexist harmoniously. However, often we hear about how these initiatives have limited success, not necessarily because of lackluster commitments on either side but simply because the methods employed are not necessarily wide-ranging enough. Though they are good steps forward, we cannot expect change to come from the top at all times. For problems as deeply rooted as hatred and intolerance, sometimes it is necessary for everyone to take responsibility.



As such, as concerned global citizens, Lubna and I felt we needed to take some actions ourselves to aid the sincere intentions of statesmen. Peace and cooperation between all people is something we desire as much as they do, but since we ourselves do not have the same resources as politicians, we had to be a little bit creative in how we could do our part. We came to the conclusion that music is something that unites the human race, for its enjoyment is present in all parts of the globe, albeit if it is diverse in form as much as all the people of the Earth. Further, the processes of creating and listening to music are intimate and thoughtful experiences that can communicate to a person emotionally and intellectually at the same time. In an era where globalization and the internet has made the ability to transport all types of commodities across all types of borders easy, we decided that music could serve as a strong medium for this message.

Thus, we founded Jamming for Peace. In cooperation with http://www.kompoz.com, the Global Changemakers Network and the British Council, we aim to gather musicians from diverse backgrounds and styles to create an album dedicated to a cultural dialogue for peace. Starting now, we ask musicians to submit an application form before August 1st, 2009. Then, starting September 21st, 2009, the project will officially begin and run until June 2010.



Jamming for Peace Application Form 2009-2010

Please follow all instructions as thoroughly as possible and e-mail your completed application to both .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) and .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

1. Please provide biographical information about yourself, including but not limited to:

Name:
Date of Birth:
Age:
Nationality:
E-mail:

2. Please write a short (200 words, + or – 50 words maximum) summary of why you are interested in working on this project.

3. Please submit a 5-10 minute (+ or – 1 minute) video audition showcasing your musical talents. If it is inconveniently difficult to upload a video for you, it is fine to only submit an purely audio audition. What you play can be your own composition(s) or a cover. You must either upload it to http://www.youtube.com and include a link to your video in this application or include it as an attachment when you e-mail this application to us.