WATF Project News

December 2007 29th - New Guest Song 'A song for Peace (Canción para la Paz)' by Gal Tamir can be found on the 'GUESTS' page. 27th - Benazir Bhutto, RIP Our thoughts and prayers go out to the friends and family of Benazir Bhutto. It's times like these I am so proud of everyone who contributes to the WATF project. 'Terrorist bomber walking down the street. Won’t you tell me the reason And explain to me. Coz I want to take your explosives away And move the tanks of occupation away. Because they're wrong, So wrong. In my world they just don’t belong.' 22nd - New Guest Song 'Stevinja' by Arthur Primac can be found on the 'GUESTS' page. 18th - New Guest Song Christmas/New year song 'Happy Holidays-Djanet' by Robert Priest can be found on the 'GUESTS' page. 16th - Thank You Due to personal commitments Joanne Ford is steping down as administrator of WATF. Jo was one of the founder members and it was her encouragement and support that enabled the WATF web site and WATF Myspace sites to be created. On behalf of all our team members we would like to wish Joanne every success in the future and say a big thank you for her invaluable contribution. Beckie Riches will be taking over as the new administrator and you will find more information on Beckie in the team section of this WATF web site. I would like to offer Beckie a warm welcome to our team and I know that Beckie will make a significant contribution to the WATF project. 8th - Teresa Austin - RIP 'A special tribute to Teresa Austin' Just to let everyone know that I recieved some very sad news this morning. One of our founder members,Teresa Austin,passed away this week. Teresa made a huge contribution to the WATF project and her encouragement and support were instrumental in setting up WATF. Dale and Teresa wrote a special song for us entitled 'Ocean Serenity.' Teresa you brought a 'ray of light' into this world and we will never forget you and we will continue our work in your honour. I know you are now with the Lord and our prayers and thoughts are with you and your family. God Bless you and keep you. Paul 3rd - World Peace Congress - 2008 Under the UNESCO Chair of World Peace Centre, MAEER’s MIT, Pune, India coinciding with the 60th Death Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi/Martyr’s Day, from Wednesday, the 30th January 2008 to Saturday, the 2nd February 2008 …. Invitation for Participation Sir, It gives me great pleasure to inform you that the World Peace Centre, MAEER’s MIT, Pune, India is hosting 'World Peace Congress - 2008', to coincide with '60th Death Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi/Martyr’s Day'. Such a congress is very much appropriate considering the present global scenario. MAEER’s MIT, Pune, India is celebrating its 'Silver Jubilee Year' during 2007-08. Apart from the various activities planned during the year, this World Peace Congress - 2008 is high on agenda. Friends, you all are aware of the fact that, in spite of the mind-boggling scientific and technological advancements along with astonishing materialistic developments, the world is passing through a very crucial phase of uncertainty and fear complex arising out of violence, terrorism and variety of conflicts. The entire world is witnessing a horrifying situation because of territorial conflicts, religious fundamentalism, violation of human rights, global terrorism, environmental and ecological imbalances, global warming, economic disparity, etc. It is highly appropriate and timely to discuss the various issues and seek right solutions. Considering these, the World Peace Congress - 2008 will focus its deliberations on the following theme: 'Role of Youth in Promoting the ‘Culture of Peace’ in the World' Under this main theme, the following sub-themes will be extensively discussed and debated through presentations and interactive sessions. 1) The Need for Youth to play a more Proactive Role in Promoting World Peace through Participation in Social Resurrection, Politics and Governance. 2) Promotion of Cultural Diversity, Interfaith and Inter-Religious Dialogue. 3) Promotion of Human Rights, Social Justice and Equality. 4) Combating terrorism and practicing non-violence as tools to Promote ‘Culture of Peace’. 5) Promote Value Based Universal Education and Training System for Sustainable Development to attain World Peace. On this occasion, well-known scientists, thinkers, philosophers, educationists, academicians, spiritual leaders and socially committed personnel along with youth activists will be participating in the deliberations of this specially organized 'World Peace Congress - 2008.' Friends, various conferences are usually organized worldwide to debate and deliberate on these issues. But, now the time has come to follow the words of the great noble son of India Swami Vivekananda – 'Arise, Awake and Stop not till the goal is reached'. During this Congress, we aim to bring this statement into reality and to rotate the wheels of change to make the movement of establishing ‘Culture of Peace’, more proactive. The World Peace Congress would welcome case studies & papers based on the actual work undertaken in the field of social welfare and in promoting 'Culture of Peace' by your goodself so as to promote the well being of the society at large. Further, papers from the students, who have been active in this field and have made a difference at the grassroots will be given due weightage. We sincerely feel that being one of the very few distinguished persons engaged in promoting 'Culture of Peace' through your sustained efforts, your presence and participation in this 'World Peace Congress – 2008' will certainly enhance the quality of deliberations and discussions to chart a road map for the promotion of 'Culture of Peace' in the world. I hereby extend to you our cordial invitation to participate in this World Peace Congress - 2008 and share your valuable thoughts and experiences with the participants and help in our endeavor to promote 'Culture of Peace'. We also solicit participation of maximum of two (2) of your colleagues/friends, specially the youngsters & students from your university/organization/institution, who can contribute their own thoughts and experiences in the above conference. We request you to kindly communicate your acceptance of our invitation at your earliest convenience. Further, you may also send a Paper on the main theme or any one of the sub-themes on or before 10th January 2008, preferably by E-mail or else by Fax or by Post as is convenient to you. The Paper should be limited to exceed 3-4 pages (A-4 size, Font - Times New Roman - 12, Single line spacing). The selected case studies and papers will be given a maximum of 8 to 10 minutes time for oral presentation, which will be followed by Interactive Session, debates and panel discussions. It will be our pleasure to provide the entire local hospitality including lodging, boarding and local transportation during the period of the World Peace Congress-2008. Awaiting your positive response at the earliest, Thanking you, With warm regards, Yours sincerely, Dr. Vishwanath D. Karad Chairman, Organizing Committee President, World Peace Centre MAEER’s MIT, S. No. 124, Paud Road, Kothrud, Pune, India Ph. +91-20-25437682, Fax. +91-20-2442770 Email – vdkarad@mitpune.com November 2007 29th - New Poem 'WORLD' by Janice Kephart is now posted on our 'POEMS' page. 12th - New Poem 'AT THE CROSSING' is now posted on our 'POEMS' page. 9th - A message from the Soong Ching Ling foundation See www.ssclf.com The web link above is news from Soong Ching Ling Foundation's official website. It mentioned the concert bridges China and Sweden promoting love and cultural exchange of children. It mentions the Swedish songs and also the concert end with the climax of jointly performing "We are the future" China song and how the crowd were touched. Below are some pictures from the concert. BBx8 performing with the Soong Ching Ling Foundation at the Childrens Palace Theatre, Shanghai China, November 3rd 2007.           8th - BBx8 at the One Beautiful Dream World Concert - The Shanghai Daily Please see 'PRESS' page for press coverage by The Shanghai Daily 3rd - New WATF SONG 'NA7HNOL MOSTAQBAL' (We are the future) by Riyadh International College Choir (Saudi Arabia), sung in Arabic is now available to hear on the 'LISTEN' page. 1st - New Poem 'Sea for salt' (for Gandhi: a kids song) By Robert Priest is now posted on our 'POEMS' page. October 2007 25th - New Guest Song 'Jerusalem Of Gold' by Ofra Haza can be found on the 'GUESTS' page in the form of a link to her YouTube video. 24th - New Poem 'Today' by Victorya Casanova is now posted on our 'POEMS' page. 20th - Paul Weston - IAD RADIO Humanitarian Artist of the Month .....IAD RADIO is thrilled to feature Paul Weston as our Humanitarian Artist of the Month for October. Paul is a man of great talent, purpose and positivity..... Click here to listen to the full IAD Radio interview with Paul Weston Click this link to the IAD Radio website and read the full article www.iadradio.com 2nd - New poem A poem, 'Friendship', by Tony Smith is now posted on our 'POEMS' page Make A Change Hi We Are The Future! I am requesting a helping hand from those in the Conscious Community. Last year my life changed when I went to Africa for the first time. I understood what poverty really looked like. What it really means to have nothing. I also realized that one person really can make a difference– but only if they are supported by other people. I focused my intention on finding ways to help the most vulnerable. The Kenya National AIDS Council estimates there are 2.4 million children who have been orphaned by AIDS in Kenya. Some are being looked after by relatives, some siblings take care of each other. Most end up on the streets. Malnourished, uneducated, alone, they scavenge their survival from city dumps or turn to stealing. The kids have no future. I happened to meet a man who has a vision to create a home for those kids and I decided to help him. He showed me the land his community wants to buy for his children’s village. We pooled our ideas: imagined planting trees for shade, an organic vegetable garden to feed the children and provide income. We imagined creating space for vocational training so the older kids can find work. In our minds we created a self-sustaining village that would truly nurture children. In our minds we had already given them a future. And this is where you come in. We need funds to move forward and start building the foundations. If we do not move now we may lose the land to other buyers. Without the land we cannot build the village. With each day we risk losing another child to drugs, malnutrition or violence. I bring this to you as you are in the rare but growing group who GET it! The time has come for us to help not only our own projects but to do what we can to give a leg up to organizations fighting against all odds to make a difference. I have set myself the intention of raising the $50,000 needed by Christmas. Whatever amount you can give comfortably will be great-whether that be $5, $25, $100... whatever you can do. Every donation brings us closer to getting the work done and all donations are symbolic of your support, which is invaluable. I can't tell you how good it feels when a donation comes in- it tells me, this IS going to happen! Information on how to donate cane be found at the bottom of this piece. I will look forward to hearing back.. and please do forward on to all you think would be interested in supporting the project! Links and additional information below. Namaste, lela edgar make a change HOW TO DONATE: ~ You can make an easy online donation on our Paypal account: chishirtfactory@sbcglobal.net ~ Please contact me should you like to make a donation by check (donations by check are tax-deductible) FOR MORE INFORMATION ON MAKE A CHANGE: You can listen online to an hour long interview with Make A Change! Abundant Solutions hosted a Podcast interview on 9/24. The Podcast can be listened to any time at: www.blogtalkradio.com/asemotivation Make A Change Productions: www.myspace.com/makeachangeproductions ~ Be sure to check out our photos and video!! 2007 Plymouth State University article: http://plymouthmagazine.plymouth.edu/issue 2007 LA Yogi Times article: www.yogitimes.com/los_angeles/articles/04_2007/la_frame.html Make A Change is a member of the Coalition for A Sustainable Africa: www.csafrica.org September 2007 28th - 2 New Poems 'One Love Family ~ Windows to the Soul' by The Poetry Man & 'When Rosa Rose' by Robert Priest are now available on the 'POEMS' page 23rd - New Guest Songs We are delighted to have two new guest songs for the WATF web site: Taylor Caruso Kirk performs her wonderful verion of 'The water is wide' and the world's greatest ever percussionist, Alex Acuna, performs 'Senor' with his incredible band. There will be more exciting news soon concerning WATF China and new songs will be added soon. Thanks to everyone for their continued support August 2007 28th - Wolfgang Hildebrandt with Deputy Prime Minister Dr. Libertina Amathila, Windhoek - Namibia, Africa First World Peace Tour 4 Children (WPT4) Concert on April 22nd 2008 in Windhoek, Namibia!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WPT4C PROJECT MOVES FORWARD… We just crossed another milestone in our project for peace. The Government of the Republic of Namibia is delighted at the selection of Namibia as the venue for the World Peace Tour 4 Children concert on April 22nd of 2008 which amongst others, aims to promote world peace and the fight against HIV/AID and a better world for our children. Your WPT4C - Team PRESS CONFERNECES: 1. WPT4C Press Conference on September 20.2008 - Washington DC 2. WPT4C Press Conference on September 21.2008 - UN Headquarter New York CONFIRMED ARTISTS: 1. MELBA MOORE 2. KOOL & THE GANG 3. ANDREA BOCELLI 4. PEABO BRYSON 5. WOLFGANG HILDEBRANDT 6. GAZZA (Namibia) 7. MASCATO YOUTH CHOIR (Namibia) 8. CARLOS SANTANA (not confirmed right now) 9. QUINCY JONES (not confirmed right now) 10. HERBIE HANCOCK (not confirmed right now) 11. GLORIA GAYNER (not confirmed right now) 9th - BBx8 Video Myspace video of BBx8 performance of the WATF song at the Vi I Varlden festival, Sweden. The WATF Song - Live New Guest Song A new WATF guest song, 'Red July' by Jill Goldin and Andrew Aversa is now available on the 'GUEST' page. July 2007 30th - New Guest Song A new WATF guest song, 'Children Of The World' by Will Freed is now available on the 'GUEST' page. 22nd - Rainbow Spirit Enlightenment Music Festival One of our WATF team, Holly Holyoake, will be performing at the Rainbow Spirit Enlightenment Music Festival in Wales UK,on Sunday 12 August. For more details click on the picture/poster to the right. Good luck Holly! 21st - New Guest Song A new WATF guest song, 'Do They Know?' by Beautifully Blessed is now available on the 'GUEST' page. 10th - New poem 'We Are Your Children' (Give Us Peace) By Gary E. Andrews, Singer/Songwriter Portsmouth OH USA is now posted on our 'POEMS' page 9th - Wolfgang at the Live Earth concert in New York Live Earth is a 24-hour, 7-continent concert series taking place on 7/7/07 that will bring together more than 100 music artists and 2 billion people to trigger a global movement to solve the climate crisis. Live Earth will reach this worldwide audience through an unprecedented global media architecture covering all media platforms - TV, radio, Internet and wireless channels. Live Earth marks the beginning of a multi-year campaign led by the Alliance for Climate Protection, The Climate Group and other international organizations to drive individuals, corporations and governments to take action to solve global warming. Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore is the Chair of the Alliance and Partner of Live Earth. Live Earth was founded by Kevin Wall, the Worldwide Executive Producer of Live 8, an event that brought together one of the largest audiences in history to combat poverty. Wall formed a partnership with Al Gore and the Alliance for Climate Protection to ensure that Live Earth inspires behavioral changes long after 7/7/07. Live Earth will stage official concerts at Giants Stadium in New York; Wembley Stadium in London; Aussie Stadium in Sydney; Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro; the Coca-Cola Dome in Johannesburg; Makuhari Messe in Tokyo; the Oriental Pearl Tower in Shanghai; and HSH Nordbank Arena in Hamburg. Live Earth concerts will be broadcast to a live worldwide audience by MSN at www.LiveEarth.MSN.com. With support from the U.S. Green Building Council, creators of the LEED Green Building Rating System, Live Earth will implement new Green Event Guidelines. All Live Earth venues will be designed and constructed by a team of sustainability engineers who will address the environmental and energy management challenges of each concert site, as well as the operations of sponsors, partners and other Live Earth affiliates. Each venue will not only be designed to maintain a minimum environmental impact, but will showcase the latest state-of-the-art energy efficiency, on-site power generation, and sustainable facilities management practices. Live Earth is a project of the SOS campaign , which is using a powerful multimedia platform - films, television, radio, Internet, books, wireless and others - to move people to combat the climate crisis. 7th - Wolfgang Hildebrandt is the International Advisor for the ONE BEAUTIFUL DREAM WORLD Jennie Yeung, President of the Young & Young Creative Studio, Inc. in New York, met Wolfgang in New York City. Following the meeting the IWPT has agreed to be the official partner of the Music Project: 'ONE BEAUTIFUL DREAM WORLD' (OBDW). Jennie Yeung was so impressed with Wolfgang's music and his vision for peace -- She offered him the position on their international advisory board. Wolfgang was so honored to take part in OBDW as their partner and international advisor and look forward to working together. 3rd - New Guest song BBx8 News Rufus (BBx8) will compete among seven other finalists in the Swedish final on TV4 before the big europeean final of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2007. Rufus sings his own song 'The Super Hero'. We will keep you informed of the progress. BBx8 will perform Vi Ar Framtiden (WATF Sweden song) at Vi I Varlden Festival in Vasteras (Nr Stockholm) on 14th July. Vi I Varlden is Scandinavia's biggest ever Environment Festival. June 2007 29th - New poem We are delighted to recieve a wonderful new poem, 'We Are The Future', from the legendry singer/songwriter/poet Tony Haynes. Please check out Tony's links for more of his work and details of his new TV show. The poem can be found on the 'POEMS page together with a link to Tony's biog where you will find links to his websites. 25th - New Guest Song We have a new guest song, 'Ocean Serenity', written by Teresa Austin and performed by Dale Pulliam. The song, lyrics and biogs etc can be found on the 'GUEST' page. 16th - Willie Nelson - Guest Song A big thank you to Willie Nelson for sharing his vision for a peaceful world with the WATF International song project. For lots more news on the Willie Nelson research institute see www.myspace.com/willienelsonpri and http://willienelsonpri.com Willie's guest song, 'A Peaceful Solution', lyrics and biog etc. can be found on our 'GUEST' page. 15th - Festival appearences BBx8 are appearing at Scandinavia's largest environmental festival on 14th July. Click on this link for more news concerning the Vi i Varlden festival www.myspace.com/viivarlden Holly Holyoake (award winning Welsh soprano) will perform at the Rainbow Spirit Enlightment Festival in Chepstow Wales on August 12th. See www.rainbowspiritenlightenmentfayre.org.uk New poems - 'People' by Mother Teresa and 'Footprint on the sand of time' by Joshua Edomwonyi have been posted on the 'POEMS' page 8th - International musuem of Peace and Solidarity Dear Friends, On 17 May - to honour the International Museum Day - at the Samarkand State Museum of Cultural History of Uzbekistan we inaugurated a new international exhibition 'The World Congratulates Samarkand', dedicated to the 2750-years jubilee of Samarkand celebrated under the auspices of UNESCO. We received a lot of entries (salutations, poems, songs, pictures, artwork, books etc etc) sent in by people from around the world. The ceremony was attended by our guests from Switzerland and France and was filmed by the television. Check out a Russian-language story about the event at the national Internet-portal: http://culture.uzreport.com/news.cgi?lan=r&id=32136 http://culture.uzreport.com/news.cgi?lan=r&id=32136&print=y In August we are planning to add a new exhibition section 'Samarkand on Every Continent'. Samarkandiana-project is a permanent program of our Peace Museum: www.museum.com/jb/museum?id=26810&show=10&event=4103 Thanks again for your cooperation and support. See you one day here in 2750-year-old Samarkand. With very best wishes, Anatoly Ionesov Anatoly Ionesov, Director International Museum of Peace and Solidarity P.O. Box 76, UZ - 140100 Samarkand Republic of Uzbekistan. Phone/ fax: +998 (66) 233 17 53 Web: http://peace.museum.com www.civilsoc.org/nisorgs/uzbek/peacemsm.htm www.aliaflanko.de/urbo/samarkand/samarkand.html www.esperanto-sat.info/article.php3?id_article=357 E-mail: imps86@yahoo.com or imps@rol.uz 7th - Vi i Världen (We in the world) plans environment festival in Västerås Sweden To change the world we have to start with ourselves. You and I have to meet. Look people in the eye. See the person in everyone you meet. The whole world is like us. Vi i Världen (We in the world) is planning Scandinavias biggest environment festival in Västerås Sweden 14 july 2007. Festival is free for all. A festival to shine light on the problem our planet is in with global warming. It is going to be a fantastic oppurtunity for us people to meet and see what WE can do together. Not to meet to point fingers but to meet and see how WE can work together to make this planet the wonderful world it can be. It is you and I that can do something about it. WE can do it now. See www.myspace.com/viivarlden WHAT IS GLOBAL WARMING? Carbon dioxide and other gases warm the surface of the planet naturally by trapping solar heat in the atmosphere. This is a good thing because it keeps our planet habitable. However, by burning fossil fuels such as coal, gas and oil and clearing forests we have dramatically increased the amount of carbon dioxide in the Earths atmosphere and temperatures are rising. The vast majority of scientists agree that global warming is real, its already happening and that it is the result of our activities and not a natural occurrence. The evidence is overwhelming and undeniable. Were already seeing changes. Glaciers are melting, plants and animals are being forced from their habitat, and the number of severe storms and droughts is increasing. The number of Category 4 and 5 hurricanes has almost doubled in the last 30 years. Malaria has spread to higher altitudes in places like the Colombian Andes, 7,000 feet above sea level. The flow of ice from glaciers in Greenland has more than doubled over the past decade. At least 279 species of plants and animals are already responding to global warming, moving closer to the poles. If the warming continues, we can expect catastrophic consequences. Deaths from global warming will double in just 25 years, to 300,000 people a year. Global sea levels could rise by more than 20 feet with the loss of shelf ice in Greenland and Antarctica, devastating coastal areas worldwide. Heat waves will be more frequent and more intense. Droughts and wildfires will occur more often. The Arctic Ocean could be ice free in summer by 2050. More than a million species worldwide could be driven to extinction by 2050. There is no doubt we can solve this problem. In fact, we have a moral obligation to do so. Small changes to your daily routine can add up to big differences in helping to stop global warming. The time to come together to solve this problem is now TAKE ACTION Info from www.climatecrisis.net/thescience 1 st - New Guest song From WATF USA we have new guest artist, Ebonie with her WATF song, 'I'm Somebody Too!'. The song, and Ebonie's biog can be found on our 'GUESTS' page. May 2007 22 nd - New Guest song From WATF France we have new guest artist, songwriter Kate Lynn & vocalist Theo Rota with Kate's WATF song, 'Plus De Guerre (No More War)'. The song, Kate's biog and lyrics can be found on our 'GUESTS' page. 18 th - New Guest song From WATF USA we have new Turkish guest artist Oya Forgione with her WATF song, 'Neiyi Ettim (Your the love is the best)'. The song and Oya's biog can be found on our 'GUESTS' page. 14 th - New Guest song From WATF USA we have new guest artists Catie McKinney with her WATF song, 'Waiting For The Light'. The song, lyrics and Catie's biog can be found on our 'GUESTS' page. April 2007 30 th - New Guest song From WATF USA we have new guest artists Starshine with their WATF song, 'Tomorrow's Song'. The song, lyrics and Starshine's biog can be found on our 'GUESTS' page. 28 th - WATF Sweden song, 'Vi är framtiden', by BBx8 on YouTube 18 th - New WATF song translation Please see new WATF Georgia song translation on the listen page.We would like to thank Galina Dugashvili and Marina Chkhetiani. Georgia ( Sak'art'velo), known officially from 1990 to 1995 as the Republic of Georgia (2005 est. pop. 4,677,000), is a country to the east of the Black Sea, most of which is located in the South Caucasus, while a portion of the territory lies in the North Caucasus. A former republic of the Soviet Union, it shares borders with Russia in the north and Turkey, Armenia, and Azerbaijan in the south, area 69,700 sq km (26,900 sq mi). Georgia is an amazing cluster of cultures, religions, fascinating landscapes and ancient history. The country where everyone can find something to his liking - from snowy peaks to subtropical shores, from deserts to lush forests, from cities to enchanting villages. Ethnic Georgians constitute a majority of the population. The official language is Georgian, one of the oldest languages in the world. Tbilisi is the capital and by far the largest city. 13 th - New Guest song A new WATF song, 'Shine' by David Habbin of Amici Forever is now available on the 'GUEST' page. Please note that for legal reasons 'Shine' is only accessible from David Habbin's website; the link takes you to his site. David Habbin ~ 'Shine' David Habbin has recorded the song 'Shine' written by the founder of We Are The Future (WATF), Paul Weston, to bring attention to and raise awareness for the WATF International Song project. www.myspace.com/davidhabbin It was great working with David in the studio, recording a new 'guest song' for the WATF project. David travelled all the way down to Shabbey Road studio in Caerphilly Wales, and the song was arranged and produced by Al Steele. David, Paul and Al would like to thank Sarah Spencer for her 'inspiration'. We had a lot of fun and working with somebody of David's 'talent and professionalism' which made it a special day. More news soon. Joanne (WATF Administrator-Project leader.) 10 th - New WATF song A new WATF song, 'Vi är framtiden' by Swedish family group BBx8 is now available on the 'LISTEN' page. March 2007 23 rd - New poem New poem, 'Scegli il sole' ('Choose The Sun') by Maria Fiorella Corazza - Italy on 'POEMS' page 22 nd - New Guest Artist From WATF USA we have new guest artists Nhojj with his WATF song, 'Free'. The song and Nhojj's biog can be found on our 'GUESTS' page. 20 th - New poem New poem, 'WATF' by EyeOne on 'POEMS' page 19 th - New Guest Artist From WATF USA we have new guest artists Ulcha Culcha with their WATF song, 'Oppresser Man'. The song and Ulcha Culcha's biog can be found on our 'GUESTS' page. 19 th - New Poem New poem, 'Sang om fremtid' from Norway now available to read on 'POEMS' page. 15 th - World Water Day Join an event in one of 26 cities in North America or sign up for the Virtual Walk for Water. World Water day 2007 is March 22. Help spread the word. Visit www.worldwaterday.net Despite the apparent abundance of clean water in the US and most of the developed world, more than 1 billion people around the world lack clean, safe drinking water and more than 2.6 billion lack adequate sanitation services. World Water Day is an international day of observance and action to draw attention to the plight of the more than 1 billion people world wide that lack access to clean, safe drinking water. Celebrated since 1993, World Water Day was designated in 1992 when the United Nations (UN) General Assembly passed a resolution. With each passing year, the observance has grown larger and stronger. Join us as we observe World Water Day 2007 by participating in one of the events planned in 26 cities across North America on March 22nd and March 24th. For more information and to get involved, visit www.worldwaterday.net 15 th - The Earth Proclamation WATF International Song Project has signed up to the Eath Proclamation. The Earth Proclamation : WE ARE ONE PEOPLE... WE SHARE ONE PLANET... WE HAVE ONE COMMON DREAM... WE WANT TO LIVE IN PEACE... WE CHOOSE TO PROTECT AND HEAL THE EARTH... WE CHERISH THE EARTH'S BIO AND CULTURAL DIVERSITY... WE CHOOSE TO CREATE A BETTER WORLD FOR ALL... WE CHOOSE TO BECOME STEWARDS FOR THE PLANET'S THREATENED AND ENDANGERED SPECIES... WE CHOOSE TO DEFEND AND PROTECT THE RAIN FORESTS, REDWOODS, AND OTHER SACRED PLACES... WE WILL DO OUR BEST TO MAKE THIS DREAM COME TRUE... WE CHOOSE TO DO THIS FOR OUR CHILDREN, AND OUR CHILDREN'S CHILDREN... WE WILL TRANSFORM WHAT NEEDS TO BE TRANSFORMED... WE CHOOSE TO BREAK FREE OF OUR CHRYSALIS LIMITATIONS... WE CHOOSE TO JOYFULLY LOVE, SHARE, AND FORGIVE... SO THAT PEACE MAY PREVAIL ON EARTH! MAY PEACE PREVAIL ON EARTH! 1 st - New Poem New poem, 'Go, Gather Up The Love' by Robert Priest now available to read on 'POEMS' page. February 2007 19 th - New Guest Artist From WATF USA we have new guest artist Kalu James (originally from Nigeria) with his WATF song, 'There's A War Outside'. The song and Kalu's biog can be found on our 'GUESTS' page. 15 th - New Guest Artist From WATF Africa (Ghana) we have new guest artist Wanlov with his WATF song, 'Human Being'. The song and Wanlov's biog can be found on our 'GUESTS' page. 15 th - INTERNATIONAL MUSEUM OF PEACE AND SOLIDARITY Samarkand on Every Continent: International Exhibit 02.04.2007 - permanent at International Museum of Peace and Solidarity, Uzbekistan, Samarkand Description : Samarkand on Every Continent: International Exhibit Invitation to Contribute In August 2007, the City of Samarkand will celebrate its 2750th anniversary under the auspices of UNESCO. As part of this renowned place's festivities, the International Museum of Peace and Solidarity and the Samarkand Esperanto Society are assembling an exhibit of Samarkandiana. We welcome items of all kinds about Samarkand from everywhere in the world. They may include letters, travel accounts, magazine articles, books, brochures, poems, songs, quotations, photographs, drawings, documents, etc. Subjects may include hotels, restaurants, merchants, streets, communities, enterprises, products, publications, arts, and anything carrying the name "Samarkand" or similar. The exhibit is being undertaken in cooperation with the Samarkand State Museums. Contributions of particular historical or ethnographic interest will be reproduced in documentary articles in the Uzbek press. All contributions will be acknowledged and displayed in the exhibit at the Samarkand State Museum of the History of Culture and Arts of Uzbekistan. A commemorative book will also be published. We ask for your cooperation in this effort and thank you in advance for your support. Please send contributions at your earliest convenience to: Anatoly Ionesov, Director International Museum of Peace and Solidarity P.O. Box 76 UZ-140100 Samarkand Republic of Uzbekistan Telephone/fax: +998 (66) 233 17 53. Email: imps86@yahoo.com http://peace.museum.com Reprinting and translation permitted and requested. Please inform friends and colleagues. 13 th - New Guest Artist From WATF UK we have new guest artist Lhamea with her WATF song, 'Hardest Of All (Stand Up, Speak Out)'. The song and Lhamea's biog can be found on our 'GUESTS' page. 6 th - News Update Just to let everyone know that WATF China and WATF Russia songs are currently in production. Thanks also to OPlus for his new WATF hip hop song that you can now hear on the guest page. More guest songs are pending and I hope to have some exciting news to announce soon concerning guest artists that will be contributing songs to the project. February Special Feature : WaterAid Could you drink this??? Please support WaterAid For more information and to leave a donation see www.wateraid.org.uk Every 60 seconds, four people in the developing world die from water related diseases! In around the time it takes you to read this paragraph, someone, somewhere will die. Access to water is a basic human need and a fundamental human right. Yet over a billion people in the world still live without safe, clean water to drink. Millions of women and children spend hours every day walking miles to collect water. But, the water they work so hard to collect doesn't come from a tap - but will come from a river, pond, or simply from dug out holes in the ground, often shared with animals and polluted with waste and excrement. The diseases that result kill 5000 children every single day! January 2007 25th - "Education makes you what you are" See link below to listen to award winning Welsh soprano Holly Holyoakes interview with Newport West MP Paul Flynn. Holly talks to Paul about her education and how this has made her into the person she is. It's every child's right to have an education. See http://www.paulflynnmp.co.uk See http://www.campaignforeducation.org Currently hundreds of millions of children and adults miss out. Not having the chance to read or write, their whole future is affected and they end up trapped in a lifetime of poverty. There are 80 million children who miss out on primary school altogether, whilst millions more never learn for more than a few months. Almost a billion adults are illiterate. A basic education is a right inherent to being human. Education is also a means to an end; it is required to ensure all people can live in a dignified manner and participate effectively in society. It also enables human beings to exercise all the other human rights in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In 2000 world leaders made a promise that all children, young people and adults had the right to benefit from an education and that this must be achieved by 2015. These are known as the 'Education for All' goals. 'Education for All Goals' - Expand early childhood care and education. - Ensure all children, complete free and compulsory, good quality primary education. - Ensure equal access to learning and life-skills for adults and young people. - Ensure a 50% improvement in adult literacy rates. - Achieve gender parity in education by 2005, and gender equality by 2015. - Improve the quality of education. So far, little has been done to meet that promise and without action now the target will be missed. That’s why we need you to JOIN UP! and remind world leaders about the promises that were made in 2000 to get every child into school. How to do this : - Create a paper chain and register this online at www.campaignforeducation.org/joinupaction - Join hands to create a people chain and register this online at www.campaignforeducation.org/joinupaction 22nd - New Page - 'POEMS' WATF has a new page 'poems' where you can read poems and other literary contributions based around the WATF ethos of 'We Are The Future'; of peace, harmony and equality. I you have such a work that you wish to contribute please send it to johillford@aim.com 21st - New Page - 'GUESTS' WATF has a new 'guests' page where we will invite artists to contribute to he project. The new link has got off to a great start with a song especially written for the WATF project by Chicago hip hop artist OPlus. The guest page will also feature information about the artists who contribute and we welcome song contributions from artists who have a new angle for the project. This could be new genre's of music such as WATF jazz or WATF reggae or any other style of music. The beauty of music is it can reach us in many different ways and we want to include as many variations of styles as we can. Music is a universal language. There will be more news soon on another song written for WATF by a "guest artist." Please watch this space as it will be well worth it!!! 12th - www.watf.info website launched including initial 'We Are The Future' songs from U.K. (English), Kenya (KiSwahili), Nigeria (Yaruba) & U.S.A. (Spanish). A comprehensive website to facilitate the 'full picture' of events as they happen and allowing more 'We Are The Future' songs, more information and download features to enable easier access to the skeletal music and lyrics. 10th - Due to technical / quality issues we have been unable to use the recording of the WATF song in Arabic. The WATF team would very much welcome a new WATF song in Arabic so please let us know if anyone would like to take part in the project. An Arabic translation of the "We Are The Future" lyrics is available from the 'SONG' page by clicking 'the song' navigation button at the top of this page. 9th - WATF China project - A new WATF China project is in production and thank you to Xiaoyan and Lei Ming for their wonderful support. ee links below for a WATF poem in the Chinese lanaguage and a new WATF China blog page.(courtesy of Xiaoyan) 4th - www.watf.info website commissioned. December 2006 28th - We Are The Future Project launched on Myspace to provide initial promotion and networking facility. 26th - We Are The Future (WATF) Myspace project commissioned.