Countdown To Kolkata Launching Of Rock Against Poverty - Global Art/film/music/fashion Movement

Dec. 2, 2010 - PRLog -- BREAKING NEWS - RaP will also give a shout out to "Dream Power John Lennon Super Live [Budokan, Tokyo] 8 Dec 2010" as both events speak to John Lennon's legacy of peace and love, on the same day - shows the universe at work in connecting like minds working on the same goal and with the same mission.

8 DECEMBER 2010 - LAUNCH OF ROCK AGAINST POVERTY (RaP) -
Time   Wednesday, December 8 · 6:00pm - 10:00pm
Location   Science City Mini Audi, KOLKATA(City of Joy),India.
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=119833591412142

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RaP is a grassroots outreach, global movement to unite the entertainment industry in solidarity, and thus build awareness of real development actions being delivered on the ground.

The mission is to engage the global entertainment industry to fundraise 100 million dollars per year and more for rapid expansion of positive action in the cause of urgent poverty alleviation and climate change mitigation - parameters that are of the main highlights of today’s world issues – Haiti, Africa, India being where the greatest numbers suffer from the impact of these challenges.

Following this first event, RaP will make organize similar ones at venues around the world, including major cities as Sydney, New York, Tokyo, London, Johannesburg, Rio de Janerio.

Conceived by Vihara Foundation, a New York and Indian based NGO committed to Poverty Alleviation and Climate Mitigation with macro-scale implementation undertakings on the ground, RaP is a cross-cultural creative-fundraising mechanism with the aim of exploring, experimenting and organising expositions, embedded in the diversity of music/art/film/fashion.  

Combined with the power of “goodness” throughout the globe to promote the evergreen message of peace, love, harmony, humanity, environmentalism, and actionism., RaP  provides a platform to create the basics in quality and standards for establishing creative and inclusive participation on alternative narratives about poverty alleviation and climate change mitigation. In art and music lie a blissful unused capacity to create this platform and to make a difference in people and the world, now and forever, together.

RaP will network with the entertainment industry and consumer base to the causes of humanity and environment of today. Art/Musical/Film/Fashion events that will be organized across the world will have the option to support real scientific interventions and monitor progress of ground work aimed at transitioning people out of poverty, protecting our environment, wildlife and vital resources, and addressing global warming and climate mitigation.

Whoever said the entertainment world and its vast fan base have limited opportunity to make a significant difference? Everyone can become part of this initiative.

The organizing (advisory multidisciplinary partnership) steering committee being set up to manage RaP worldwide will comprises of individuals, youths, institutions and integrators who will help coordinate and carry the efforts of the entertainment industry and community to be a part of the whole green sustainable movement.

Every music and cultural type has its uniqueness - Rock, Pop, Rap, Reggae, Jazz, R&B, Gospel, Country, Latin, Haitian, Indian, Bengali, African, Asian, Caribbean and more, all will be energized and encouraged to join in and support the cause.

To demonstrate the depth, breadth, width and diversity of music and interconnectivity of transworld cultures, special features have been included in
for example,

·         Defining the extent of modern day culture and technology through virtual interconnectivity. Live Deejaying by Trinidad’s top Rock DJ Bees “HIFI” Bartoo, will be beamed via satellite from West Indies to Kolkata. Featured would be highlights of one hour of musical diversity spread throughout the world

·         The musical potential within all. Instrumentalists/expert solo guitarists of the Caribbean and North America, will be featured in honor of the concurrent Kolkata International Guitar Festival taking place on the 8 and 9 December.
Performances will be made by professional guitarist Dale Stephens of Miami and Shayam Singh of Trinidad, and a solo drum performance by renowned percussionist of Thailand, Louis Boduix

·         Evolving instruments. Featuring the last musical instrument to be invented in the 20th century – the Steel Pan. Indo-Caribbean solo instrumentals to be performed by Rawle Motilal

·         Traditional music. Featuring age old music dating back 3000 years, performances of Bengali  folk artists Kaushik  and Antara Neogi

·         Evolving music. Featuring transition of alternative rock into mainstream India, performance of  “LAKKHICHHARA”, (Bengali translation meaning no luck).

Also, in a rather unique and non-conventional way, and with profoundness to highlight the importance of empowerment of women and of the poverty stricken, the event would commemorate the RaP inauguration by the poor cutting of the Ribbon. One selected family will cut the ribbon with Celebrities and other participants cheering.

The Driving force behind Rock against Poverty is RaP's vision and mission: which is aimed at imploring and insisting that the entertainment industry rise up in cultural solidarity to address and help overcome the stifling effects of political talk shops, corruption, capitalism, as well as the red tapes that are keeping two billion people trapped in destitution and our planet threatened by Climate Change.

Today, there are enough grassroots driven, non-governmental initiatives and solutions, whose combined efforts can make a mountain of significant difference  - especially if  alternative means to financing development interventions, people’s empowerment and awareness were made possible.
Concerned youths and scientists alike  have a common understanding of the issues; people and the environment cannot wait anymore for policy makers to fly first class, ride limousines, stay in five star hotels, have Zagat dinners, and in return, bill the costs to taxpayers while producing no or lame-duck results. I

Despite elections after elections, governments after governments, World Summits after World Summits,  the people and planet are still crying out for help - Enough is enough!

RaP through globally interconnecting cultures, will support real-science, real-solutions, real- time intervention and real-action to make this world a better place, now. It is well realized that waiting on politics and greed economy motives by big corporations to decide our children’s and planet’s future is not an option.

All that will be asked from the industry and fan base is one dollar per year per person as an investment to support the urgent and needed ground level action. Each dollar is expected to achieve a return on investment within three years (which the stakeholder can reinvest), all the while helping to empower the poor out of poverty, and curb global warming. Funding will go into research and development and field implementation of meaningful action plans by NGO’s across the world. If development interventions ought to make a rapid and measurable rollout to help the cause, funding access should continue to pose a problem.

Rock against Poverty will also importantly support cultural outgrowth and cultural diversity education, including but not limited to supporting struggling musicians and cultural programs and artists in aid of financial support, the very basis fueling this initiative.

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