Grammy musicians premier UNESCO Kindness Anthem in IIT-D concert

Grammy musicians premier UNESCO Kindness Anthem in IIT-D concert

Grammy Award-winning Indian musician and environmentalist Ricky Kej.

New Delhi, Aug 23 (IANS) Grammy-winning musicians Ricky Kej and Laura Dickinson on Friday launched a special Kindness Anthem 'Shine Your Light' and concluded the first-ever World Youth Conference on Kindness.

The conference was attended by President Ram Nath Kovind. He said that education can play an important role in overcoming prejudices and that it needs to go beyond mere literacy".

It was concluded by the Kindness Concert, both organised by the UNESCO Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development (MGIEP).

"The biggest threat to humanity is that we think someone else will come and save the planet for us. We all need to empower ourselves through acts of kindness so we can bring huge transformational change through acts of kindness," 2015 Grammy winner Kej, a known environmentalist, said during his live address.

He went on to perform the Kindness Anthem with his music ensemble. It was created by three Grammy-winning musicians, including Dickinson, Kej and Woulter Kellerman, along with a Grammy nominee Lonnie Park.

"The kindness anthem for UNESCO's #KindnessMatters is an energetic, upbeat song, filled with positivity. It is about showcasing simple acts of kindness in our everyday lives, and how these acts can help solve our problems," Kej said.

As per Anantha Duraiappah, UNESCO MGIEP Director, there isn't a better way to conclude a conference than with music. He added that the song was specially written for the occasion.

The Kindness Anthem was launched at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi. It is available to be viewed on UNESCO MGIEP website.

The event also saw a mural of Gandhi live-painted to instrumental music by artist Vilas Nayak.

--IANS

sj/prs