ALL-STAR INTERNATIONAL LINEUP
TO PERFORM AT THE WE
ARE THE FUTURE HISTORIC MUSICAL EVENT IN ROME, ITALY
MUHAMMAD ALI, PATTI AUSTIN, NATALIE COLE, JOSH GROBAN, HERBIE
HANCOCK,ANGELINA JOLIE,
ALICIA KEYS, LL COOL J, LIONEL RICHIE, STOMP, BEN TAYLOR,CHRIS
TUCKER, USHER AND OPRAH WINFREY ARE AMONG AMERICAN PARTICIPANTS
QUINCY JONES, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER AND ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
LOUIS J. HORVITZ, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER AND DIRECTOR
New York,
New York (April 14, 2004) - On May 16, 2004, many of the
world's greatest performers
are gathering at Rome's historic Circo Massimo (Circus
Maximus) to partake in the WE ARE THE FUTURE Concert, a
spectacular musical event that
will launch an innovative program aimed at securing a better
future for children and young people in post-conflict areas.
The super-star lineup of international
artists includes: Muhammad Ali,Patti
Austin, Andrea Bocelli, Cirque Du Soleil, Natalie Cole,
Carmen Consoli,Josh Groban,
Herbie Hancock, Angelina Jolie, Juanes, Kazem Al Sahir,
AliciaKeys, Khaled, Angelique
Kidjo, LL Cool J, Youssou N'Dour, Noa, Lionel Richie,
Caiphus Semenya and the Soundz of South Afrika, Simon Shaheen,
Stomp(Cast), Riffat Sultana,
Take 6, Tarkan, Ben Taylor, Chris Tucker, Usher and Oprah
Winfrey. Additional names to be announced shortly.
Music icon Quincy Jones, in
partnership with Hani Masri from Nablus,
Palestine - who continuously plays an important role in
the Middle East - The Glocal
Forum, a Rome-based NGO promoting city-to-city networks
led by Israeli Peace Negotiator
Uri Savir, and the Mayor of Rome, Walter Veltroni,
will present the WE ARE THE FUTURE Concert. This monumental
evening co-produced and co-organized
by the City of Rome and led by Quincy Jones
will be a globally telecast concert. The free event will
kick off the WE ARE THE FUTURE
program, and takes place in conjunction with the ThirdAnnual
Glocalization Conference of the Glocal Forum where key stakeholders
willdiscuss program implementation
(www.wearethefuture.com).
Working with Quincy Jones
on the production of the WE ARE THE FUTUREConcert
will be three-time Emmy Award-winning director Louis J.
Horvitz, who will executive
produce and direct this global telecast, and Zone Attive,
a Rome based company led by
Luca Bergamo that has produced some of the most
innovative cultural events in Italy. Horvitz, whose career
has spanned over two decades
and who has helmed numerous high-profile programs, is one
of Hollywood's most prolific
television directors, with more than 6,000 hoursof
programming to his name, ten Emmy Award nominations and
11 nominations from the Directors
Guild of America.
WE ARE THE FUTURE is the collective
dream of The Glocal Forum and Quincy
Jones' Listen Up Foundation, with support from the World
Bank and itsPresident James
Wolfenshohn, and the participation of the city of Rome and
its Mayor Walter Veltroni. The program takes an innovative
approach to aiding children
by creating a coalition of the private sector,international
organizations and young people, and by linking cities in
need with prosperous cities.
Through the cooperation of the Glocal Forum and QuincyJones'
Listen Up Foundation, and working with the World Bank, as
well as many other global and
local partners, such as United Nations, specialized
agencies like the Food and Agriculture Organization, the
UN International Labor Organization
and UN HABITAT, and numerous private sector companies,
the WE ARE THE FUTURE program will be launched in six cities:
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Asmara,
Eritrea; Freetown, Sierra Leone; Kabul, Afghanistan;
Kigali, Rwanda and Nablus, Palestine. With the support and
cooperation of its partner
city of Rome, the first center in Kigali opened its doors
tothe scores of children in
need on April 8, 2004.
The Quincy Jones Listen Up
Foundation believes that all children deserve an
equal opportunity to grow to their full potential. To that
end the foundation supports
programs that meet the critical needs of children -
healthcare and education. Listen Up bridges the gap between
privilege and poverty by fostering
local initiatives which are capable of a global reach.
Founded in 2001, the Glocal Forum is a non-profit organization
that encourages global powers
to have broader respect for local communities and
cultural diversity in a process defined as GLOCALIZATION.
It is a process that places
the city as the central player in international relations
and finds local solutions to
the global challenges of peace-building and
development. The Glocal Forum's city-to-city approach advocates
thecentral role of mayors,
connecting them with international institutions, private
sector leaders, citizens and youth in a new global-local
coalition of forces. Projects
focus on socio-economic development, youth, sports,
culture, media and information technology. There are more
than 3000 Glocal Forum members
from 134 countries and five continents. The Glocal Forum
is designing and implementing
WE ARE THE FUTURE programs in each city.
Since 2001, the City of Rome and the Glocal Forum together
have promotedand organized
an annual conference on glocalization. WE ARE THE FUTURE
was conceived at last year's
conference as a way to promote the city-to-city
approach to sustainable globalization. The City of Rome
is active on the world scene
to build peace and help the sustainable development of third
world countries.
The World Bank works to reduce
poverty worldwide by promoting growth to
create employment opportunities and helping poor people
to take advantageof these opportunities.
It supports governments of more than 100 developing
countries in their efforts to invest in schools and health
centers, provide water and
electricity, fight disease and protect the environment.
The Bank believes that in order
to address the challenges of development, young
people must be a part of the solution.
WE ARE THE FUTURE will assist
children through sustainable local projects that deliver
support services via We Are The Future Centers created in
select locations around the world. Through mobilizing resources
for initiatives which effectively address the needs of children,
WE ARE THE FUTURE will build upon and partner with existing
projects and initiate new efforts that will include: access
to pharmaceuticals; agricultural training combined with
nutritional expertise; ICT for education and health including
the use of tele-medicine in the delivery of basic health
care and the establishment of recreational spaces and programming;
all the while, stimulating dialogues for peace
