Jakarta
Globe - AFP, Mar 17, 2015
New York. What is happiness? The United Nations is teaming up with pop stars to create a playlist that asks, in musical form, that eternal question.
British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran performs during his concert at the Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 03 November 2014. (EPA Photo/Ferdy Damman) |
New York. What is happiness? The United Nations is teaming up with pop stars to create a playlist that asks, in musical form, that eternal question.
A campaign
launched Monday is asking listeners around the world to post through social
media the songs that make them happy, with the playlist to be revealed Friday
on the UN-declared International Day of Happiness.
The
curators who will assess the responses and determine the playlist include the
British singer-songwriters Ed Sheeran and James Blunt, US singer-songwriter
John Legend, French DJ David Guetta and the Portuguese pop star David Carreira.
UN
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who is not generally known for his rock star
persona, announced the initiative in an MTV-style video in which he offered his
vote for Stevie Wonder’s 1970 hit “Signed, Sealed, Delivered.”
Ban said
that the song – also known to be a favorite of US President Barack Obama –
represented his hopes for a successful agreement on climate change at a UN-led
conference in Paris later this year.
The United
Nations in 2012 declared an International Day of Happiness – which coincides
with the first day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere – after an initiative
by Bhutan, the Himalayan land that measures a “Gross National Happiness”
instead of a standard economic indicator.
”On this
day we are using the universal language of music to show solidarity with the
millions of people around the world suffering from poverty, human rights
abuses, humanitarian crises and the effects of environmental degradation and
climate change,” Ban said.
Last year,
the International Day of Happiness invited music fans around the world to dance
to Pharrell Williams’ hit “Happy,” creating a viral sensation.
The
campaign, which did not specify restrictions on genre, asked music fans to post
songs on social media with the hashtag #HappySoundsLike. The playlist will be
released by streaming service MixRadio.
Agence
France-Presse
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International Day of Happiness at the UN in
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(AFP
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Thousands of people are already dancing for a #HappyPlanet! Join in at http://t.co/OfXTxf1A8q #happyday pic.twitter.com/XF02VkW2B7
— Google (@google) 19 maart 2015
"#Happiness is our people's right. We shouldn't be too hard on behaviors caused by joy." 29/6/2013
— Hassan Rouhani (@HassanRouhani) May 21, 2014
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