Africa

Solar panels, Dakar, Senegal. Credit: Fratelli dell'Uomo Onlus, Elena Pisano

By GGGI
OUAGADOUGOU, Jun 22 2018 (GGGI)

“Financing NDC Implementation in the Energy Sector” will feature in an upcoming regional capacity development workshop at Hôtel Royal Beach in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso on June 26-28. The upcoming workshop will be attended by representatives of Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Guinea, and Senegal.

 

High profile technical input

The workshop is co-organized by the Government of Burkina Faso, in collaboration with the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), and the Green Climate Fund (GCF).

H.E. Dr Bachir Ismaël Quedraogo, Minister of Energy of Burkina Faso and H.E. Mr. Nestor Batio Bassiere, Minister for Environment, Green Economy and Climate Change of Burkina Faso will officiate the opening sessions.

Participants, including technical government officials, private sector, private finance, and academia working in the energy sectors, will gain skills in developing realistic strategies based on knowledge and tools for effective implementation of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) the five countries ratified under the 2016 Paris Agreement.

 

Best practices and regional cooperation

All five countries have made significant progress toward meeting their NDCs to cutting emissions in the energy sector. The workshop will provide cross-country lesson learning and best practices sharing platform exploring the renewable energy opportunities and associated challenges in the region. Senegal, for example, has experience of the development of innovative financing mechanisms through the renewable energy and energy efficiency fund.

To build on these lessons, the training workshop will explore how regional cooperation and further private and public-sector efforts in the five countries can meaningfully contribute to their climate goals through policy instruments and investment.

Capacity development in the sector is central to the achievement of this goal.

This includes capacity in designing packages of enabling policies in NDCs, strategies for financing NDCs of the energy sector, the current state of financial flows in support of NDCs, mainstreaming NDC implementation into national budgets, tracking and monitoring NDC progress, centralized and decentralized energy solutions, relevant Paris Agreement provisions, and encouraging private sector engagement.

 

Project pipelines and high-quality project proposals

The workshop will share knowledge on development of NDC implementation plans, ensuring clear linkages with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

A key goal will be to identify the capacity needs of national development agencies and national/regional direct access entities to enable them to develop project pipelines and submit high quality project proposals to GCF, which will outline its financing requirements during the workshop.

 

About the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI)

Based in Seoul, GGGI is an intergovernmental organization that supports developing country governments transition to a model of economic growth that is environmentally sustainable and socially inclusive.

GGGI delivers programs in 27 partner countries with technical support, capacity building, policy planning & implementation, and by helping to build a pipeline of bankable green investment projects.

More on GGGI’s events, projects and publications can be found on www.gggi.org. You can also follow GGGI on Twitter and join us on Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn.

 

 

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Ahmed Musa's two goals unsurprisingly get him the highest average score in our player rater as Nigeria beat Iceland 2-0.

The post Senegalese Immigrants Face Police Brutality in Argentina appeared first on Inter Press Service.

A young woman plays a video game on her phone. Credit: UN News/Elizabeth Scaffidi

By Carmen Arroyo and Emily Thampoe
UNITED NATIONS, Jun 22 2018 (IPS)

The World Health Organization (WHO) has formally added “Gaming Disorder” as a disease recognized by the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) in its 11th revision of its official collection of recognized conditions.

However, since it is a very new condition, no one is really sure about its extent, its impact or how best to treat it.

Ali M. Mattu, Professor of Medical Psychology in Psychiatry at Columbia University Clinic for Anxiety and Related Disorders, told IPS: “The vast majority of people who play video games do not become addicted, similar to how most people who use alcohol do not develop substance abuse problems”.

On the other hand, Professor Mattu said that it is still hard to make a diagnosis regarding Gaming Disorder: “However, as this is a new diagnosis, we do not know how common Gaming Disorder is. We also don’t know how much Gaming Disorder is a unique problem or how it is related to anxiety, depression, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), or other psychiatric problems.”

The WHO defines Gaming Disorder as “a pattern of gaming behavior characterized by impaired control over gaming, increasing priority given to gaming over other activities [..]”.

The new ailment has been included in ICD-11 based on an existing consensus of experts in different fields, who were consulted during the drafting of the document; a document that had not changed since the early 90s.

The WHO says the disorder“follows the development of treatment programmes for people with health conditions identical to those characteristic of gaming disorder in many parts of the world, and will result in the increased attention of health professionals to the risks of development of this disorder and, accordingly, to relevant prevention and treatment measures”.

Some studies during previous years had already drawn attention to Gaming Disorder as a pathological disease. For example, an Oxford study conducted in 2016 showed that only 0.5% of the general population had symptoms of what is now known as Gaming Disorder, which implies that gaming is addictive.

This meant that, at the time, almost one million Americans had the possibility of suffering from Gaming Disorder, in accordance with the 5th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders’ (DSM-5) criteria regarding addiction to online games.

Moreover, a 2016 study presented by the internet security company ESET found that around 6% of respondents spend 24 hours gaming and 10% spend between 12 and 24 hours gaming.

And finally, Professor Douglas Gentile, expert on the impact of media on youth, concluded in a 2009 Iowa State study that one every ten players is addicted to video gaming.

But none of these studies were definitive.

So, how can we diagnose it?

Given some disagreement amongst the medical community of the easiness with which this disease could be diagnosed, the WHO specified that “the behaviour pattern must be of sufficient severity to result in significant impairment in personal, family, social, educational, occupational or other important areas of functioning and would normally have been evident for at least 12 months”.

Thus, doctors should wait 12 months to diagnose patients with this disorder, although, the WHO adds, if the symptoms are evident, they can diagnose earlier.

According to Dr. Vladimir Poznyak, a member of the WHO’s Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, who had talked to CNN, there are three major diagnostic features that would call for a diagnosis of the mental health condition.

The first is that gaming becomes more important than other things that an individual may do, even coming to the point that activities that were once important are no longer at the forefront of the individual’s mind.

The second one is that no matter the consequences that may come with playing games, the behavior will continue or increase.

The third and final diagnostic feature shows that Gaming Disorder might cause negative sensations such as distress, irregular sleeping habits, changed dietary patterns, and impaired relationships with loved ones.

When asked to comment on the diagnostic features of Gaming Disorder, Professor Mattutold IPS: “Based on what we do know about addictions, Gaming Disorder likely occurs when individuals play video games in a self-destructive way, despite negative consequences in their life”.

“In other words, video games get in the way of school, work, personal self-care, and relationships. We are wired to experience joy, connection, and meaning in our lives. When we don’t have enough of that in our lives, some of us can seek it out from other sources, like video games. Video games are also engineered to create the psychological state of flow. During flow, experience meets the challenge of a task leading time to pass by without one’s awareness. For some, this could lead to a greater vulnerability in becoming addicted to video games”.

Specialists also argue that it is hard to separate Gaming Disorder from other diseases, and as Professor Mattu told IPS “we do not yet know what are the most effective ways to treat Gaming Disorder”.

Given this disagreement, the American psychiatric community has currently not accepted Gaming Disorder as a disease, so its coverage in American insurances will likely be limited.

When asked to comment on the possible consequences of the WHO’s decision, Professor Mattu concluded: “The ICD Gaming Disorder classification is likely to encourage more research which will lead us to have a better understanding of what this problem looks like, how common it is, and the best way to treat it. We will know much more when the next major version of the ICD is released”.

The post Gaming Disorder: A New Disease Experts say is Hard to Diagnose appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Africa is the future and its young people have big plans for making it the greatest continent on earth, people across the continent tell the BBC.

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By GSN
Vatican City, Jun 22 2018 (GSN)

Pursuant to the ‘Joint Declaration of Faith Leaders Against Modern Slavery’ signed under the auspices of Pope Francis at the Vatican on 2 December 2014, the ‘Global Sustainability Network – GSN’ and ‘Rani’s Voice’, commemorate and reaffirm support for the victims in the lead up to the ‘World Day Against Trafficking in Persons’ on July 30th, 2018

Monsignor Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo – Chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences hosts the Global Sustainability Network ( GSN ) gathering on Tackling Goal 8 and Modern Day Slavery through Technology and in conjunction with ‘Rani’s Voice’ commemorate the ‘Freedom of Former Victims’ and announce the ongoing support of the GSN to those at the coal-face of battling Modern Day Slavery in the lead up to the ‘World Day Against Trafficking in Persons’, on July 30, 2018.

The GSN is a network of over 700 global change-makers across the Government, Business, Faith, Media, Community & NGOs and Academia sectors committed to achieving Goal 8 ( with special emphasis on Goal 8.7 of tackling Modern Day Slavery and Human Trafficking ) of the United Nations 17 Sustainability Goals.

Rani Hong, is the CEO of Rani’s Voice, and President of the Tronie Foundation and a survivor of child slavery and has had the privilege of speaking at the Pontifical Academy on their plans to place a focus on refugees and how to keep them from being at risk of falling into slavery or forced labor. She advocates, campaigns and tells her personal story in lectures and presentations to bring a voice to the voiceless as an advocate for those who are still enslaved around the world. “This is why I’m telling my story today,” Hong explains, “There are millions of other individuals, like that little girl I was — imprisoned, enslaved, and silenced — unable to tell my story. I therefore speak for those without a voice”.

“Today, the GSN is providing its further endorsement and support of Rani’s Voice in the call upon all that recognize the ongoing need to protect the rights of the victims of human trafficking. The GSN will continue to engage in supporting those, whom like Rani, are taking concrete action aimed at permanent and sustainable change” says Romy Hawatt – Founding Member – Global Sustainability Network ( GSN ).

 

SOME HISTORY

In 2010, the General Assembly adopted the Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons, which urges governments around the world, as well as the UN’s programs to integrate and encourage integrate human trafficking awareness, security, and an establishment of a trust fund for victims of trafficking.

Due in part to Rani’s advocacy, in 2013, the United Nations designated July 30th as World Day Against Trafficking in Persons. On this powerful day, individuals and communities are invited to gather together, consider the lives of victims, and share the facts and truths about human trafficking, in order to honor and recognize those who still suffer from modern day slavery while also spreading awareness of this global issue. “I call upon all of you to commit yourselves-to create a world we know is possible: a world in which every person has the right to human dignity,” says Hong,

In 2014, the UNDOC and world leaders spread the awareness of human trafficking and slavery through social media campaigns and other events that engaged the community and the world, Continuing to 2015, the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda was adopted by the world and embraced goals that targeted the eradicated of modern day slavery. Target 8.7 of the Agenda commits States to take strong, immediate measures to eradicate forced labor in all its forms.

In 2016, the Group of Friends United against Human Trafficking collaborated with the UNDOC and the Tronie Foundation organized a high-level event to discuss the topic of slavery and the eradication of the issue.

Following up in 2017, the Trust Fund created for victims of human trafficking showed that it had produced positive and hopeful results, assisting an average of 2,500 victims per year.

 

ABOUT THE GSN

The Global Sustainability Network ( GSN ) is a network of over 700 global change-makers across the Government, Business, Faith, Media, Community & NGOs and Academia sectors committed to achieving Goal 8 ( with special emphasis on Goal 8.7 of tackling Modern Day Slavery and Human Trafficking ) of the United Nations 17 Sustainability Goals.

Global Sustainability Network ( GSN )

Contact: Romy Hawatt – Founding Member
Tel: +447788200528
Email: romy@rianagroup.com

 

ABOUT THE TRONIE FOUNDATION

The Tronie Foundation is an organization that mentors survivors of slavery to both help them become leaders and empower them to work with global leaders in the movement to end human trafficking. The organization was co-founded by Rani and Trong Hong, both survivors of child trafficking and two of the world’s leading voices in the fight against modern-day slavery. For more information please visit www.troniefoundation.org and follow us on Twitter @RanisVoice.

Rani’s Voice

Contact: Rani Hong, CEO of Rani’s Voice International
C: 360-790-5159 (media only)
email: rani@ranisvoice.com

The post Tackling Goal 8 and Modern Day Slavery through Technology appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Rashmi Hamal is a local heroine who helped to save her friend from an early marriage. She campaigns actively against child marriages in the Far Western Region of Nepal. Credit: Naresh Newar/IPS

By Rangita de Silva de Alwis
UNITED NATIONS, Jun 22 2018 (IPS)

Something historic was initiated at the European Development Days (EDD) in early June: the EDD placed women and girls at the forefront of Sustainable Development. Since its inception in 2006, EDD has become a barometer for ideas in global development.

Ever since then, the EDDs have developed into the Davos of Development and shapes how the European Union constructs its development policies. In 2018, the EU development agenda was transformed and shaped by a gender equality agenda.

This year’s speakers included the Norwegian Prime Minister, the director-general of the World Health Organization, the Crown Princess of Denmark, and Head of UN Women and Under Secretary General Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka.

Along with H.R.H Princess Mabel of Oranje-Nassau of Netherlands, the chair of Girls not Brides; Aichatou Boulama Kane, the Minister of Planning of the Republic of Niger; and Linda McAvan,Labour MEP for Yorkshire & The Humber, Chair of European Parliament Committee on Development, I served on the panel on child marriage to examine closely the Draft Resolution “Toward an EU external strategy against early and forced marriage” introduced before the European parliament by Member of the EU Parliament, Charles Goerens who moderated the panel at EDD on June 6.

The Resolution was unique in the way in which it called on European Union, in the context of its foreign policy and its development cooperation policy, to offer a strategic pact to its partners and to that end require that all its partner countries prohibit early and forced marriage in law and practice.

The Resolution points out that in order to comprehensively tackle early and forced marriage, the European Union, as a major actor in global development, must play a leading role.

The Resolution was drafted at an important political moment and captured the extraordinary global shifts and crises as a stated goal: “…whereas during the recent migrant crises, many parents, seeking to protect their daughters from sexual aggression, chose to have them marry before the age of 18.”

The Resolution also took into consideration of girls all over the world, including Yazidi girls and Chibok girls who are forced into marriage: “…calls for the act of forcing a child to enter into a marriage and that of luring a child abroad with the purpose of forcing her or him to enter into a marriage to be criminalized.”

The bedrock of the Resolution is that it calls upon all Member States to include a ban on early and forced marriage in their legislation. In a remarkable use of development cooperation, the Resolution sets out that: “The level of public development aid is made dependent on the recipient country’s commitment to complying with the requirements in the fight against early and forced marriage.”

My recommendation addressed the fact that around the world, even when the law is changed, the loopholes in the law remain. For example, I cited the recent Bangladesh Child Marriage Restraint Act of 2017 signed into law by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina last year. The law significantly increased the punishment for contracting or conducting child marriage.

However, it includes a provision in Section 2(10) of the law that undermines the spirit of the law reform: “Within the definition of the law will not be considered an offense if the marriage takes place in special circumstances in the best interest of the underage woman in question.”

Co-opting the primacy of the best interest of the child principle as set out in the Convention of the Rights of the Child helps the government to legitimize child marriage in a way that the principle was never envisioned.

General Comment 14 issued by the Committee of the Rights of the Child recognizes that the best interest standard is vulnerable to manipulation of governments and obliges states parties to ensure the full rights recognized by the Convention.

“The best interest of the standard is rendered meaningless if not seen in the context of all the rights in the Convention. The right to education, access to health care services and protection from physical, and mental violence are in no way promoted and are in fact impeded by child marriage. ”

The EU has a critical role to play in influencing policy reform both in the EU member states and outside. The EU and many of its member states contribute significant amounts of development cooperation to countries with high rates of child marriage. However, it is important for the EU to acknowledge that law reform itself can be complicit in undermining the prevention of child or forced marriage.

Development cooperation must be aimed not only at addressing legislative reform but also on closing the loopholes in the law that render law reform meaningless. This calls for aligning development cooperation not only with changes in law and practice but with the transformation of political will.

The post EU Urged to Ban Early & Forced Child Marriages appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Excerpt:

Rangita de Silva de Alwis is Associate Dean of International Affairs at the University of Pennsylvania Law School & Advisor, UN Sustainable Development Goals Fund

The post EU Urged to Ban Early & Forced Child Marriages appeared first on Inter Press Service.

South African women are being abused and killed by their partners, but the authorities are struggling to tackle the problem. Nomsa Moseko reports.

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By Tharanga Yakupitiyage
UNITED NATIONS, Jun 21 2018 (IPS)

The United States’ move to withdraw from the Human Rights Council will have “reverberations” throughout the world in years to come, say human rights groups.

This week, the U.S. announced its intention to withdraw from the 47-member Human Rights Council, accusing it of bias against Israel.

“The Human Rights Council has been a protector of human rights abusers, and a cesspool of political bias,” said U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley in a statement.

Nikki R. Haley, new United States Permanent Representative to the United Nations presented her credentials to Secretary-General António Guterres. Credit: UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

While it comes as no surprise to many, the move has been condemned by global human rights groups.

“It is the latest in a series of gestures that says we’re really only interested in transactional diplomacy—you give us something we want, and we give you something you want and we better get a better deal,” Oxfam America’s Humanitarian Policy Lead Scott Paul told IPS, noting that it undermines human rights around the world.

Human Rights Watch’s Deputy UN Director Akshaya Kumar echoed similar comments on the U.S.’ “one dimensional” policy to IPS, stating: “By turning their back on the UN with this decision, they also turn their back on victims in Syria, Yemen, North Korea, and Burma—all just because of this concern with Israel.”

Created in 2006, the Human Rights Council (HRC) plays a vital role in addressing rights violations around the world. It has initiated investigations in Syria, Yemen, Burundi, Myanmar, and South Sudan while also raising awareness and discussing key topics such as disability rights and violence against women.

Last month, the Council accused Israel of excessive use of force during demonstrations at the border and voted to probe killings in Gaza.

Paul also noted that the U.S. withdrawal is ill-timed as the country’s human rights record is “rightly” under the spotlight.

Most recently, the human rights body blasted President Donald Trump’s immigration policy of separating children from parents at the southern border. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein called the policy “unconscionable.”

A new report by the UN’s rapporteur on extreme poverty Philip Alston has also found and criticized the North American nation’s policies which have “overwhelmingly benefited the wealthy and worsened inequality.”

“Quitting this body doesn’t in any way protect you from the scrutiny of the world, or from being assessed by international standards of human rights law…all of those issues are going to continue to be discussed,” Kumar said.

In a letter, Haley attacked human rights groups including Human Rights Watch for opposing her recent push for a General Assembly vote on changes to the Council.

“You put yourself on the side of Russia and China, and opposite the United States, on a key human rights issue. You should know that your efforts to block negotiations and thwart reform were a contributing factor in the U.S. decision to withdraw from the council,” Haley wrote.

Human Rights Watch’s UN Director Louis Charbonneau called it “outrageous” and that blaming organizations for the country’s own failure is “taking a page out of the book of some of the worst governments around the world.”

Though Haley promised to continue to work to reform the HRC and to engage in human rights in other fora such as the Security Council, it could be difficult to make significant progress.

For instance, China, a member of both the HRC and the Security Council, has blocked a number of justice and accountability measures at the Security Council including those concerning Syria.

Russia has vetoed Security Council action on Syria 12 times, and very little progress has been made to help protect Syrians.

“So its a rhetorical slight of hand for her to say that the U.S. is still committed to human rights and will pursue it in other spaces when they are walking away from the primary body dedicated to human rights,” Kumar told IPS.

Not only are they withdrawing their membership, the U.S., with almost 18 months remaining on its term, is refusing to attend anymore meetings.

Kumar noted that the move is “really rare” as countries often attend meetings if they come up on the body’s agenda and even if they are not members but are committed to human rights.

“To say that they are not going to come at all is a pretty significant step away from multilateralism,” she said.

“It is really deeply disappointing,” Paul said, noting the withdrawal is a major step back from the U.S.’ legacy at the HRC.

While their engagement with the Council has been spotty, the U.S. has helped some of the body’s key decisions such as the creation of a commission of inquiry into human rights violations in North Korea.

The U.S. has also played a leading role on initiatives related to Syria, South Sudan, and Sri Lanka.

While the HRC is not a perfect institution, the U.S. move to abandon ship does not help the Council either, Paul noted.

“I don’t think we should expect perfection over institutions, I think we should work to make them more perfect…simply walking away because it’s not going so well or because we are not getting everything we want isn’t actually the way to make things better,” he told IPS.

“They are taking themselves off the field and out of really important conversations and that’s something that is going to have reverberations for years to come,” Kumar reiterated.

And just because the U.S. is leaving the Council also does not mean that the North American nation should leave behind its commitments to human rights.

“At some point, we will be back at the table. And in the meantime, we will be doing everything we can to hold our own government to account,” Paul concluded.

The U.S. joined the HRC in 2009, previously refusing to be involved under the Bush administration due to concerns over the body’s members.

Among the HRC’s members are Burundi, the Philippines, and Venezuela.

It is the first time a member has voluntarily withdrawn from the Council.

The post America First or America Alone? appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Riek Machar has been a central figure in Sudanese and South Sudanese politics for around three decades.

By International Organization for Migration
Vienna, Jun 21 2018 (IOM)

Bärli Nugent, Assistant Dean, the Juilliard School of Music, New York, reflects on the journey that led to her curating a musical selection for a unique concert presented by the United Nations Migration Agency at the UN Vienna Headquarters on June 28

As a first-generation American on my Austrian mother’s side, I was a deeply shy child who grew up aware that my household was not like those of my all-American friends. We sometimes ate food that no one else did; my friends found my mother’s accent hard to understand, and yes, her English could be awkward.

Bärli Nugent is the Assistant Dean of the Juilliard School of Music in New York.

But she could also be fearless and always principled. When we encountered segregated facilities on a trip to the American South, she defiantly marched our white feet into the spaces marked “colored.”

I was quiet child; hiding, watching.

Music was where I found my voice – with a flute in my hands, I discovered I could bring beauty and engage with just about anyone. Later, as a professional performer touring internationally for 20 years, my goal was always to share stories and change lives through music. And in my work as a dean and faculty member at the Juilliard School since then, that goal remains.

I attended an International Diploma in Humanitarian Assistance lecture a year ago in New York given by Argentina Szabados of IOM. She spoke passionately about the modern scourge of international trafficking in human beings.

She quoted an African proverb, “Until lions start writing their own stories, the hunter will always be the heroes.”

Humanity seems increasingly estranged in a never-ending generational cycle. I am an artist-citizen seeking to make a contribution towards understanding and fellowship amongst peoples.

So this concert on June 28th in Vienna is my first effort to let the lions of music from countries affected by migration tell their own stories. Stories from Afghanistan, Austria, China, Germany, Iran and Turkey shared through the efforts of performers from Austria, Hungary, Japan, Kenya and the United States.

The composers

I first encountered the music of the late composer LIU ZHUANG when the American Brass Quintet, the first brass group invited to the People’s Republic of China in 1982, returned with some. A former faculty member at both the Shanghai Conservatory and Beijing Central Conservatory and member of the Chinese collective that composed 1969’s Yellow River Piano Concerto, she later migrated to the US to teach at Syracuse University and became my friend (her music a subject of my doctoral research). I perform her Soliloquy on a handmade raku pottery flute.

The distinguished late Austrian composer RICHARD STÖHR was forced out of Austria after the Anschluss of 1938, immigrating to the US, teaching Leonard Bernstein (among others) at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia. While still teaching at the Akademie in Vienna, his youngest student was pianist Irene Schneidmann: my mother. She rarely spoke about the war years, but often about her beloved teacher Stöhr. I performed part of his Flute Sonata in December at the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien as part of their 200-year Jubilee, and present another portion in this concert.

As administrator of the SYLFF* fellows at Juilliard (a group of exceptional students given scholarships by the Tokyo Foundation) and co-coordinator of the SYLFF Chamber Music Seminar between Juilliard, the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien and the Paris Conservatoire, I reached out to the Tokyo Foundation for recommendations of exceptional SYLFF fellows living in Vienna. The result was introductions to Iranian composer SHAYAN MOKHTARANI and Kenyan actress MERCY OTIENO. It was a stroke of luck that Shayan was about to begin work on a piece for soprano, flute and piano that will receive its world premiere at this concert; Mercy will present a dramatic reading of the poem Hour by American poet Carol Ann Duffy upon which Shayan’s piece is based.

Composer CEM GÜVEN is a first-year undergraduate student from Turkey studying at Juilliard. When I reached out to him, he too was in the middle of writing a short piece for flute and piano. When I told him about the concert, he altered the emphasis of the piece and named it after the three-year-old Syrian boy, Aylan Kurdi, whose body washed up on a Turkish beach after his family’s failed attempt to reach Greece, documented in a wrenching 2013 photograph seen around the world. This piece will also receive its world premiere on the programme.

In a recent casual conversation with Juilliard faculty member Philip Lasser where I mentioned that I was working on the programming for this concert, Afghani composer MILAD YOUSUFI’s name came up. Currently studying composition at the Mannes School of Music, his music has already been performed by members of the New York Philharmonic.

When we met in person just a few weeks ago, we discovered that as a student at Kabul’s Afghanistan National Institute of Music, he participated in a 2013 tour to the US in which I was instrumental in arranging a performance for the group at Washington D.C.’s Kennedy Center; I was also in attendance at the group’s Carnegie Hall concert in Isaac Stern Auditorium. He is also a poet and visual artist. He is unable to be in Vienna for this concert and will be represented in a piece for violin and piano. But he promises to write something for flute soon.

The future

I will present some of these pieces on a programme in September 2018 as part of the year-long observance of the Centennial of Juilliard’s preparatory education programs. I am in the early stages of researching more composers from countries affected by migration and will produce additional concerts of their music in the future. There are so many stories to tell; this is just the beginning.

* Sasakawa Young Leaders Fellowship Fund

The post Finding My Migrant Voice appeared first on Inter Press Service.

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