In honor of Mother's Day, we have here on the website an exclusive interview with Colombian wonder woman Andrea Echeverri.
She shares with our correpondent Allie Silver how motherhood is changing her as an artist.
Check it out under the "interview" section. It's four minutes long - and in English!
More installments of Andrea and Allie chatting to come...
We do!
In 1870, in the wake of the bloodshed and destruction of the Civil War, Julia Ward Howe (she also wrote the poem that became The Battle Hymn of the Republic) wrote a passionate demand for disarmament and peace. It was not until 1914 that President Woodrow Wilson made it an official US holiday.
Future Hope Sings artist Aliza Hava was so inspired by Ward Howe's words that she wrote a song (that's what Hope Sings artists do...). Watch her acoustic performance of the song below, performed in the mystical city of Tzfat - cool, right?). Right under the video, we have posted both the declaration and the lyrics - so you can track how life inspires art!
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Mother's Day Proclamation
Arise, then, women of this day! Arise, all women who have hearts,
whether your baptism be that of water or tears!
Say firmly: "We will not have great questions decided by irrelevant agencies. Our husbands shall not come to us, reeking with carnage, for caresses and applause. Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn all that we have taught them of charity, mercy and patience. We women of one country will be too tender of those of another to allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs."
From the bosom of the devastated earth, a voice goes up with our own. It says, "Disarm, Disarm!" The sword of murder is not the balance of justice. Blood not wipe out dishonor, nor violence indicate possession. As men have often forsaken the plow and the anvil at the summons of war, let women now leave all that may be left of home for a great and earnest day of counsel. Let them meet first, as women, to bewail & commemorate the dead. Let them solemnly take counsel with each other as to the means whereby the great human family can live in peace, each bearing after his own time the sacred impress, not of Caesars but of God. In the name of womanhood and of humanity, I earnestly ask that a general congress of women without limit of nationality may be appointed and held at some place deemed most convenient and at the earliest period consistent with its objects, to promote the alliance of the different nationalities, the amicable settlement of international questions, the great and general interests of peace.
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"Arise, Women of this Day!" Composed by Aliza Hava/©2008 FireMusicFaerie Productions/ASCAP
Arise, women of this day! Arise, all women who have hearts Arise, women of this day! Rise Up! Rise Up!
Whether your baptism be of water or of tears Say firmly, We will not have great questions decided by irrelevant agencies Our husbands shall not come to us reeking of carnage for caresses and applause Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn all that we've been able to teach them of charity, mercy and patience We, the women of one country Shall be too tender to those of another country To allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs
Arise, women of this day! Arise, all women who have hearts Arise, women of this day! Rise Up! Rise Up!
From the bosom of a devastated earth A voice goes up with our own It says, "Disarm! Disarm!" The sword of murder is not the balance of Justice. As men have often forsaken the plow and the anvil at the summons of war Let women now leave all that may be left of home for a great and earnest day of counsel Let them meet first, as women to bewail and commemorate the dead Let them solemnly take counsel with each other As to the means whereby the Great Human Family Can live in Peace
Arise, women of this day! Arise, all women who have hearts Arise, women of this day! Rise Up! Rise Up!
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Learn more about the amazing Aliza Hava, activist and artist, at alizahava.com
More on Julia Ward Howe:
US feminist, reformer, and writer Julia Ward Howe was born May 27, 1819 in New York City. She married Samuel Gridley Howe of Boston, a physician and social reformer. After the Civil War, she campaigned for women rights, anti-slavery, equality, and for world peace. She published several volumes of poetry, travel books, and a play. She became the first woman to be elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1908. She was an ardent antislavery activist who wrote the Battle Hymn of the Republic in 1862, sung to the tune of John Brown's Body. She wrote a biography in 1883 of Margaret Fuller, who was a prominent literary figure and a member of Ralph Waldo Emerson's Transcendentalists. She died in 1910. (courtesy of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation)
Hope Sings offered a brand new song - written in less than a week - for the Stand for Japan to benefit Save the Children in Japan in NYC on 3/29/2011. Music by Yasuhiko Fukuoka, lyrics by Beth Blatt. Singers were amazing - Kiyotaka Kurihara and Akiko.
Organizer Nozomi Terao said the evening raised more than $30,000 and counting!
Photos at hopesings.net.
Video to come!
On March 28, Hope Sings presented the UN Women theme song "One Woman," featuring Traciana Graves and the girls from St. Joseph's High School - Judwina Chery, Krystal Maldonado and Briana Cintron, with Reginal Magloire.
Lots of great women there - Lynn Tilton, Linda Descano, Windows for Widows - amazing!
Photo at www.hopesings.net. Video to come!
My friend Mike Pettry has done something amazing. Read what he says:
"The musical, The Time Travelers Convention, is now available on YouTube in its entirety. We recorded the musical as a radio play with a professional cast, full orchestrations and sound effects, and have posted it on YouTube with an artist's renderings of the scenes. This is the first time anyone has ever created a musical in this way, and it's totally free to watch."
WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? IT'S SHOWTIME ANYTIME YOU WANT IT!
direct link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQsfQZDL12I&p=3645FFAA2813E725
More info -
The Time Travelers Convention (book and lyrics by Heidi Heilig, music by Mike Pettry) is a new musical that has been fully realized as a radio play on YouTube. It is the story of the three high school nerds who want to go back in time to change their pasts. They decide to hold a Time Travelers Convention, putting flyers in classic books in the hopes that, in a future where anything is possible, the invitations will be found and a time traveler -- with a time machine -- will come to their party. When a stranger does arrive, the characters have to struggle with the possibilities of dealing with the past, or finding a way to live in the now.
We'll be performing the UN Women song "One Woman" with lead vocalist Traciana Graves and girls from the St. Joseph's High School Girls Choir. Some amazing women are speaking and getting awards (see below). If you are free Monday night, join us!
DONNA KARAN/WOMENSPHERE LINE-UP
ROUNDTABLE CONVERSATION: WOMEN’S GLOBAL VISION & SHAPING THE FUTURE TODAY
LUMINARY AWARDS Honoring Trailblazing Women Leaders who are Shaping the Present & Future
Presented by Madeline Nelson (Urban Zen Foundation) and Analisa Balares (Womensphere)
TRAILBLAZING WOMEN Showcasing Women Changing the World
We're getting airplay! Pls let us know when you hear a Hope Sings song.
KDNK Carbondale, CO
KOTO Telluride, CO
KVNF Paonia, CO
KRVM Eugene, OR
KXCI Tucson, AZ
WHFC Bel Air, MD
Hope Sings crowdsourced through Kickstarter to produce new songs.
Now, Microfundo is using crowdsourcing to help support musicians and their local events. Social Edge has a nice little overview of the company. http://www.socialedge.org/blogs/tapping-the-crowd/archive/2011/03/14/microfundo-brings-crowdfunding-to-the-music-halls
We're all for interesting models for how artists can make money in this business so they can keep creating great music. In fact, feel free to shoot us any ideas about opportunities you see for Hope Sings.
I thought Microfundo used to be part of Mondomix, but I could be wrong. Anyone know the answer to that?
And I love that title: Chief Inspiration Officer...
In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women.
On February 24, UN Women launched in New York City. And Hope Sings was there - we created their theme song! Lyrics by me (Beth Blatt, founder of Hope Sings), music by Graham Lyle ("What's Love Got To Do With It") and Somalian/Brit singersongwrtier Clay.
It was so exciting, rehearsing in the General Assembly Hall (that's real gold leaf on those walls!). And hearing Ban Ki-Moon, Michelle Bachelet, Ted Turner, Geena Davis speak - with Shakira and Nicole Kidman sending video well-wishes - well, when history is being made, how cool is that?
Now, the video is up! See it on the home page at www.hopesings.net. Photos there too, behind-the-scenes videos on youtube http://www.youtube.com/user/hopesingsmicro?feature=mhum
Read this and find out!
http://www.finca.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=6fIGIXMFJnJ0H&b=6088699&ct=8442297
Kevin Jones, one of the fathers of social enterprise must-attend conference SOCAP, gave an interview on social enterprise. He gave kudos to MicroPlace and how it allows investors to make loans as small as $25. Lots of other interesting thoughts as well, for people fascinated by social enterprise (as we are at Hope Sings).
http://dowser.org/interview-socaps-kevin-jones-on-trends-to-look-for-in-2011/
It's nice to see fellow microfinance folk standing up for his rights. See the letter below, signed by several partners to Hope Sings.
An Open Letter In Support Of Dr. Muhammad Yunus
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According to Hillary Clinton, WOMEN.
The speech she made yesterday in honor of International Womens' Day is chock full of what I find extremely heartening info. Programs that help female entrepreneurs around the world - which we at Hope Sings, of course, love. See my bolds below. All you social entrepreneurs, take note of conferences and training opps.
Sure, there's lots of disheartening data, too. But I'm a glass half full person. Remember: Hope Sings.
One of the biggest growth markets in the world may surprise you. You’ve heard about the opportunities opening up in countries like China, regions like Asia and industries like green technology. But one major emerging market hasn’t received the attention it deserves: women.
Today, there are more than 200 million women entrepreneurs worldwide. Women earn more than $10 trillion every year, which is expected to grow by $5 trillion over the next several years. In many developing countries, women’s incomes are growing faster than men’s.
Facts such as these should persuade governments and business leaders worldwide to see investing in women as a strategy for job creation and economic growth. Many are doing so. Yet the pool of talented women is underutilized, underpaid and underrepresented in business and society.
Throughout the world, women do two-thirds of the work, yet they earn just one-third of the income and own less than 2 percent of the land. Three billion people don’t have access to basic financial services we take for granted, like bank accounts and lines of credit; the majority of them are women.
Certainly we are seeing the impact of excluding women in the Middle East, where the lack of their access to education and business has hampered economic development and helped lead to
social unrest.
Ripple Effect
If we invest in women’s education and give them the opportunity to access credit or start a small business, we add fuel to a powerful engine for progress for women, their families, their communities and their countries. Women invest up to 90 percent of their incomes on their families and in their communities.
When women have equal access to education and health care and the freedom to start businesses, the economic, political and social benefits ripple out far beyond their own home.
At the State Department, we are supporting women worldwide as a critical element of U.S. foreign policy. We are incorporating women’s entrepreneurship into our international economic agenda and promoting women’s access to markets through the African Growth and Opportunity Act, the Pathways to Prosperity Initiative and women’s entrepreneurship conferences.
The U.S. is hosting the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum 2011 to help foster growth and increase opportunities for women throughout the region. We are working with the private sector to provide grants to local non-governmental organizations around the world that are dedicated to women and girls.
Closing the Gap
We are encouraging governments and the private sector to use the tools at their disposal to provide credit, banking and insurance services to more women. Through our mWomen initiative, we will begin to close the gender gap in access to mobile technology, which will improve health care, literacy, education and economic potential.
This is a central focus of my diplomatic outreach. Wherever I go around the world, I meet with governments, international organizations and civic groups to talk about economic policies that will help their countries grow by expanding women’s access to jobs and finance.
Many powerful U.S. businesses have embraced this mission as their own. ExxonMobil Corp. is training women entrepreneurs to help them advocate for policies to create more opportunities. Coca-Cola Co. has issued an ambitious challenge in its “5 by 20” program to empower and train 5 million new women
entrepreneurs across the globe by 2020.
Improving Access
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. started the “10,000 Women” initiative to open the door for women who would not otherwise have access to a business education. Ernst & Young is tapping into the productive potential of women with its “Winning Women” program to help female entrepreneurs learn growth
strategies from some of the most successful leaders in the U.S. Companies all over the world are committed to increasing productivity, driving economic growth and harnessing the power of emerging markets through greater diversity.
As Robert Zoellick, president of the World Bank said, “gender equality is smart economics.”
Governments are passing laws that support women’s economic empowerment and building awareness of women’s rights. Botswana lifted restrictions on the industries in which women can work,
for example. Morocco now allows women to start businesses and get jobs without their husbands’ approval. Bolivia began a land titling effort to recognize that women and men have equal rights
to own property.
Astonishing Achievements
This week, we celebrate the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day. It’s an occasion for honoring the achievements of women. Without question, the past century has brought astonishing progress, by just about every measure, in women’s health, their economic opportunities, political power
and more. Today, women are leaders in every field.
Never in history have there been so many forces working together for gender equity.
But International Women’s Day is also an occasion for recognizing how much more needs to be done to support women and girls worldwide. I encourage everyone reading this to reflect on what you and your friends can do to support women -- to put words and ideas into action.
If we decide -- as societies, governments and businesses -- to invest in women and girls, we will strengthen our efforts to fight poverty, drive development and spread stability. When women thrive, families, communities and countries thrive -- and the world becomes more peaceful and prosperous.
Great news: Hillary Clinton announced the State Department would team up with Goldman-Sachs as financial partner to expand the 10,000 Women Initiative to include 100 more women in the next two years with a focus on Indonesia and Haiti.
Yes!
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