10/22/2012
ASPEN CULTURAL DIPLOMACY FORUM 2012
Art of Peace-Building and Reconciliation
October 22, 2012 – October 24, 2012
Tokyo, Japan
Presented by Mehri Madarshahi
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear friends
It is a great honor and pleasure for me to participate at this extraordinary meeting under the tulelage of Aspen Arts and Culture Institue on the role of „Arts and Culture in dialogue and peace.“
In the course of the past couple of days the rich agenda of this Conference tuched upon various aspects of culture and its role on cultural diplomacy, conflict resoution and peace. Given the imporatnce of these important issues I would not hesitate to underline some important facts even with the cost of repetitions.
Foremost among all issues is “globalization”. A phenomenon which since a few years has shrunk the world. It brought closer the adversaries, it created convergence and divergence on ideas and value systems,…but at the same time, it did not give rise to a system of common understanding and appreciation of one another’s differences and way of livings. As spaces grow closer, the uneasy feeling of invasion of others cultural value system and believe grow stronger. Thus, the whole ideal of peaceful coexistence, requiring respect for others cultural, religious, ethnic and social diversity has become harder to achieve. In recent days we have witnessed the muslim bashing and subsequent revenge for what in the first place was only considered ignorance of other people’s cultural values and belief. In a culturally diverse world, globalization has to give rise to more than a mere coexistence between cultures and religions; it needs to spawn new approaches and pathways to peace building.
Most social scientists agree that Culture represents a source of identity, innovation and creativity for individuals and communities as well as a tool for reconciliation and social cohesion. Dialogue therefore must be at the core of continued inter-cultural cooperation. Multi-centrality and multi-faith is a global symbol for a globally shrunk world and its acceptance is indispensable for any plan for preventive diplomacy and preservation of peace, stability and the resolution of conflicts.
Intercultural dialogue has to rest on mutual knowledge and tolerance so that divergences and convergences can be openly discussed. Dialogue constitutes a force to promote mutual understanding and knowledge, reconciliation and ultimately peace. Dialogue among cultures at all levels – local, national, regional and international – is a powerful lever to combat ignorance, prejudices, humiliation and exclusion. But,…how to achieve this goal and how best to give rise to mutual understanding through dialogue when there are over 70,000 written languages in the world the only solution for us in the Association Meldoy for Dialogue among Civilizations was to use the oldest and the most commonly understood language for communication and education of our public. In this context, we decided to promote music as a powerful and unique tool of diplomacy to create peace, to resolve conflict, to promote cultural diversities and in all, to estalish a model for social engagement. TAking advantage of its inclusive nature and the fact that music has no boarder we experimented with mixing musicians from the North, South, East and West of the universe and engage nearly 500 from 80 or so nationalities to build our human linkages and a genuine dialogue. Today, it is highly rewarding to observe the immediate and tangible result of this under valued and mostly undetected medium.. Through various multicultural concerts in different parts of the world, we have provided a fertile ground for a major breakthrough in mutual understanding among people who share respect for universal values and are willing to create culture of peace. These programs were to promote a genuine dialogue, based on respect for shared values and dignity of each civilization and culture through its melodies and music.
In furthering its message of tolerance and respect for cultural diversity and peaceful coexistence, we have concluded that
the only secure path is to create awareness and education. Education for intercultural understanding and dialogue. education on media literacy. education about religions and beliefs and both intra and inter-religious dialogue. This also entails the need to create more awareness among peoples and government authorities about the need to respect the traditions of the use of religious symbols, images and expressions.
Only a sound human rights education can promote responsible behavior and thus avoid practices – such as stereotyping and insulting ethnic, social or religious groups – that cause social unrest and have serious damaging consequences for social cohesion.
the erosion of human security and the deprivation of basic human needs can create conditions in which the potential for armed violence, in defense of fundamental rights, becomes increasingly likely. In such circumstances cultures diversity and ethnicity has become a rallying cry for confrontation. The number of ethnopolitical wars worldwide, from the Balkans to the Caucuses and all over Africa, is a testament to the power of identity as a re-ordering principle in the post-Cold war era.
The characteristics of modern internal conflict, under the guise of competing ethnicities, reflects a fundamental change in the nature of war and a paradigm shift in international relations. Increasingly, the international community has been drawn into more conflicts. The activities of the United nations Organization in international security have proliferated well beyond the limited peacekeeping tasks of the Cold War era. Concepts such as preventive diplomacy, peace-enforcement and peace-building have become common currency in professional diplomatic circles. And yet one wonders, on the evidence so far, whether the international community really understands the implications of the kinds of warfare which is so prevalent in today’s society of states and the measures necessary to contain it. the outset, let me make a confession. During my 26 years of economic, political and managerial works at the United Nations, it never occurred to me that one day I would
“First of all, the musical performances involve the live interaction between traditional instruments and musicians from different cultures, in this way emphasizing that dialogue goes beyond words;
“A joint performance by a classical orchestra and musicians playing traditional and contemporary instruments from various origins breaks down the barieres in communication and highlights a novel dimension of artistic creativity and engagement that is rarely seen and heard.
“And lastly, these concerts give practical expression to a hallmark of UNESCO’s Constitution, namely international cooperation. The dialogue between traditional, classical and contemporary music epitomizes the very essence of international cooperation and diplomacy in a field that was not often singled out in this context.”
The Association has organized a number of mega concerts and conferences in avarious continents and cities. Since 2009, or at the time of the Copenhagen Conference on Climate Change, Melosy decided to use the power of music as the vector of environmental awaremess and enhanced tis performances with multi-media presentations depicitng environmental issue including sustainability of,water.
Our dream is to connect and inspire core human values through musical dialogue. Further analysis of the on-going trends may prove that this dream could lead to a hard core reality if we only learn how to peruse and apply vigorously lessons learnt and ensure to create models for social and cultural engagements by utilizing the medium of music as an accompanying force for political change. As echoed by Kim Campbell, former Prime Minister of Canada, that “track II diplomatic efforts“ require not only dialogue but unique means such as the art and music to foster understanding, open communication, and successful diplomacy”.
Music stirs the most elemental passions. It has roused men to battle, celebrated victories, anointed kings and accompanied the dead into the grave. Sweeping historical events has inspired some of the greatest music: Beethoven was deeply influenced by Napoleon’s victories. The harshly harmonious sounds of Dmitri Shostakovich’s Seventh Symphony “Linngrad” performed by Gergiev in South Ossetia’s capital last August rewarded resistance and Yehudi Menuhin’s concerts for Belsen’s victims after the Second World War symbolized a long tradition of musicians who have championed causes in which they believed. These models could stimulate fresh thinking in the corridors of power by ripping down the barriers that exist between how we think of culture and politics as separate entities.
Music also provided models for social and cultural transformations. NY philharmonics playing in Pyongyang and the Chinese conductor Yu Long have tried to break diplomatic ice. Maestro Yu, founder of the CPO and the Beijing Music Festival (BMF) and essentially a one-man epicenter of China’s classical music scene, has long blurred the line between politics and religion. For Mozart’s 250th birthday in 2006, Yu organized the first public concert in a Chinese cathedral. In the same venue a year later, he played Mozart’s “Requiem,” arguably the most religious work ever written.
Music’s ability to cross cultural barriers could be exemplified by the LiveAid concerts held in 1985 bringing together a television audience of over 1. 5 billion in over 100 countries. Rostropovich used his cello as a beacon of freedom, playing at the Berlin Wall. And who can forget the emotional triumph of Bernstein conducting Beethoven’s Ode to Joy amid the wreckage of the Wall?
Music could also be an element of political influence. Hip hop stars Chingy, Q and MC Lyte joined forces with two time Rock and Roll Hall of fame singer-songwriter Graham Nash, in an innovative “get-out-the-vote” leveraging the power of social networks. On Nov 4, music fans that signed up for “Be the Change” received an automated call from the musician of their choice to remind them to go to the polls. A selected number of voters received calls from the musicians themselves.
Despite these examples, the question remains: To what extent culture and music are agents of socio-political change?
Bono and Bob Geldof the initiators of Live Aid presented a petition with some 38 million signatures in support of Africa to the G8 on the eve of Gleneagles meeting. At the time, people roared, and the leaders of the rich world had merely whispered. In the process, tremendous momentum was built up in the United Kingdom with aid agencies, churches, trade unionists, student groups and others creating an impressive coalition demanding action. In England, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown conceded, but the trouble was elsewhere. Campaign groups in France, Germany, Japan and – most crucially – the United States were nowhere near as influential. Though Blair and Brown were, for the first time, really pushing Africa’s case at the top table, the rest of the world’s leaders felt they could safely ignore them. At the Summit, they only accepted endorsing 50 of the 980 recommendations made by the Commission for Africa. Was that a dramatic step forward? Yes, but Pledges of “education for all” went unfunded, so have commitments to HIV and Aids, trade in small arms and debt forgiveness schemes that were all hedged. Despite these, without the spur of campaigners and artists little would have happened. The Live Aid aroused the conscience of a new generation. The question to you is how such efforts could be sustained and become sustainable? Cultural factors influence lifestyles, individual behaviour and consumption patterns, values related to environmental stewardship and the ways in which we interact with our natural environment.
Today, I am a great believer that the language of music has a momentum of its own and it has an inner driving force that is ageless. That is why the formalized language of music for diplomacy is more needed now than ever before. How can we reach at a level of understanding among people and our politicians that can eventually lead to a better world? Let’s hope the light is around the cornor.