About
World Peace Orchestra
Founded in New York in 2013, the World Peace Orchestra is a unique nonprofit organization that encourages the growth of budding musical talent in youth from around the world. WPO celebrates the unity and diversity of global culture through our annual concert featuring over 134 young musicians from 50 countries playing both ethnic and classical instruments.
MISSION STATEMENT
As the only truly global youth orchestra, our mission is to promote peace and understanding through the unifying power of music. We strive to cultivate a new, compassionate generation of leaders who understand that borders, oceans, languages, and cultures cannot break the fundamental bonds of humanity.
By exposing underprivileged youth to musical education and opportunities, we seek to inspire hope, open up new horizons, and create a generation fluent in the universal language of music.
WPO KEY TERMS
Peace
World peace is the basis of the WPO’s mission. We define “peace” as living in harmony, unity and integrity, free from violent conflict.
Education
Lack of educational opportunities allows poverty to continue from generation to generation. Education is critical in the fight against poverty and the creation of effective social welfare policies. The WPO promotes education for all young people.
Health
Health is the state of physical, spiritual and social well-being. Inadequate health care undermines the future of younger generations. The WPO considers good health care indispensable for establishing peace.
Disaster
The world’s deadliest disasters – earthquakes, floods, storms, famines and epidemics – cause damage and despair. Preparing for those disasters and helping those affected by unpredictable disasters is one of our goals.
Hunger
Hunger leads to innumerable other issues: disease, loss of labor and production, mental development issues, emotional distress, increased crime and violence, and even death. It is impossible to establish peace without eliminating the root causes of hunger. All developed communities and individuals are responsible in this process.
Awareness
Our young musicians use the universal language of music to draw attention to global causes. Initially this creates awareness in each student’s country. The annual “Play for Peace” concert, given in one of America’s most prestigious concert halls, with the participation of local artistic, political and business communities, will create awareness of these issues with the American public. Global media coverage — including social media – will contribute to creating awareness around the world. The first “Play for Peace” concert will take place in New York City at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on September 10, 2013.
Experience
In creating a “Culture of Peace,” the personal experience of each individual is critical. The greatest gain from this project will be the personal experiences of each young person involved. Thousands of young musicians from around the world, speaking different languages and representing different cultural values, will find common denominators as they create an orchestra to “Play for Peace.” During the summer camp training and rehearsal that precede the “Play for Peace” concert, participants will experience what it means to live together, and they will learn how to share with others. They will return to their countries having begun lifelong friendships. We believe that these friendships will contribute so much for world peace in the future.
Charity
In creating a “Culture of Peace,” the personal experience of each individual is critical. The greatest gain from this project will be the personal experiences of each young person involved. Thousands of young musicians from around the world, speaking different languages and representing different cultural values, will find common denominators as they create an orchestra to “Play for Peace.” During the summer camp training and rehearsal that precede the “Play for Peace” concert, participants will experience what it means to live together, and they will learn how to share with others. They will return to their countries having begun lifelong friendships. We believe that these friendships will contribute so much for world peace in the future.
From Local to Global
The most important thing to do to help yourself is to help others. People understand one another better when they share their hardships and jointly develop solutions. This kind of understanding helps to develop a culture of peace. The WPO encourages young people to create individual and group projects to resolve global problems. We consider ourselves an intermediary organization in the realization of these projects. We provide the means to make local projects globally known.
WPOF
The World Peace Orchestra Foundation
1. Builds bridges between cultures;
2. Carries out activities to raise awareness of global and social problems;
3. Addresses the causes of conflict;
4. Supports education to raise a responsible and conscious generation;
5. Supports solutions to chronic health problems;
6. Raises the awareness of young people who fight poverty and underdevelopment, encouraging them to take more action;
7. Provides material and moral support to people in deprived and disaster-stricken areas; and
8. Provides material and moral support to other organizations in the field of social responsibility.
WPOF wants to replace ignorance with education, intolerance with tolerance, indifference with concern, and war with peace. We aim to create a peaceful world without hunger, poverty, or violence, so that all people, regardless of race, gender, language, or religion, can live in harmony and unity – just like an orchestra! We realize this mission through the unifying power of music and the dynamism of young people. We believe that the establishment of unity, solidarity and peace in the world is possible by mobilizing youth around the theme of peace and the transformative power of music.
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