DANIEL PEARL WORLD MUSIC DAYS 2011: harmony for humanity

Three years ago, the Republic of Mauritius joined the global network commemorating Daniel Pearl World Music Days. For a decade now, thousands of musicians and artists have used the universal language of music to promote harmony, tolerance, and cross-cultural understanding in memory of Daniel Pearl, a Wall Street Journal journalist and musician who dedicated his life to connecting people through words and music.  Following his murder in January 2002, Daniel Pearl’s family and friends established the Daniel Pearl Foundation in his name to carry out his legacy, using music and words to address the root causes of the hatred that took his life. Since its launching on October 10, 2002 on the occasion of Danny’s 39th birthday, more than 6,734 events in 111 countries have been dedicated to the World Music Days theme of “Harmony for Humanity”.  In 2010, 1,644 musical events were staged in 84 countries during the month of October – a world record – and I am proud that Mauritius was among them.
While Daniel Pearl World Music Days are an essential component of the foundation, the Daniel Pearl Foundation is also dedicated to promoting Danny’s legacy and principles. In fact, in conjunction with the Daniel Pearl World Music Days, the foundation is engaged in a series of initiatives including PEARL Youth Initiative, a program which teaches reporting techniques and journalism ethics online to young people across the globe, Daniel Pearl Fellowship for mid-career foreign journalists and editors in the United States of America, The Daniel Pearl Media Internship for Israeli and Palestinian youths and Daniel Pearl lecture series at the University of California (UCLA) and Stanford on journalism, music, psychology, philosophy, religious, ethnic and racial tolerance.
Last year, President Barack Obama signed the Daniel Pearl Press Freedom Act, a legislation which reinforces the commitment of the United States of America to freedom of the press. This year, the United States of America in collaboration with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and non-governmental organizations hosted a global conference in the context of World Press Freedom Day entitled, “21st Century Media: New Frontiers, New Barriers.”  With two billion people online, the internet is the public space of the 21st Century. Today the internet can shape society and hold governments accountable.  This was unimaginable ten years ago!
In 2010, according to the independent American organization Freedom House’s annual global analysis of political rights and civil liberties report entitled ‘Freedom in the World 2010’, “Sub-Saharan Africa has seen the largest decline in press freedom with restrictive media legislation and attacks on journalists becoming more prevalent.”  Mauritius is, however, described as one of the strong democratic performers in the region together with Cape Verde and Ghana.  However, Freedom House deplores that only three countries have access to information laws, namely, South Africa, Uganda and Ethiopia, “despite the fact that Article 9 (1) of the African Charter on Human and People’s provides a right to seek, receive and impart information and the African Commission have made clear statements on the right to access information.”
This Saturday, October 22, 2011, I invite you to join us and the Port Louis – USA Alumni Association at the Institut Francais de Maurice in Rose-Hill, and take the time to honor all the people who support and defend freedom of expression.  I invite you to pay homage to journalists who have lost their lives while giving voice to those who could not do so freely.  To quote Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on World Press Freedom Day 2011, “Even as we celebrate innovations that make information easier to share, we are reminded that in many places around the world, journalists are still targeted for harassment and abuse, and are sometimes killed. Today, we remember that journalism is a calling of everyday heroes. We must continue to stand up for those who speak out in perilous circumstances as they pursue, record, and report the truth.”  Finally, I invite you to join us in a spirit of friendship in commemoration of Daniel Pearl’s legacy.