“Children are the saviours of our future,” says Bangalore-based Grammy Award winner Ricky Kej who will be joining 40 musicians including four other Grammy awardees from across the globe to celebrate Earth Day with a global online concert. The concert is being hosted by One Page Spotlight – the social and professional networking site for creators and entertainment professionals – in support of the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund. Recalling an incident at a school in Delhi, he says, “There were chocolates being distributed and children refused to take them as they come wrapped in plastic.” That’s the kind of impact his project ‘My Earth Songs’ has had on children. The project features songs for children based on Sustainable Development Goals that have now appeared in over 4.5 million textbooks in India.
Speaking about the concert, Kej says that it is a one-of-its-kind online concert being staged during this quarantine period. “Most online concerts during this quarantine period have showcased the performance of solo musicians. But today, we will have several musicians from different parts of the world performing in different languages. It will be quite an experience. We have Baba Maal, a renowned musician who featured on the Black Panther score that bagged the Oscar for Best Original Music Score. We have a 30-member choir Mzansi Youth Choir from South Africa who would be performing their bits each from their homes,” he says. Also an environmentalist, Kej hopes that people understand that climate change is a bigger threat than the COVID-19 virus and will continue their current lifestyle even after the pandemic wanes. “Everyone is staying at home. There are not too many cars on the road. There is less burden on Mother Earth now. Air has become cleaner and better to breathe and you can see more birds in the sky. People are changing their lifestyles when they see a threat to their lives and that of their loved ones due to this virus. But we should understand that climate change is deadlier than the virus and be more responsible even after the pandemic,” he said.
Tune into social media or the television today to join the Earth Day celebrations with five Grammy-winning musicians from across the globe. The concert will be live streamed on two-time slots, 8 pm IST and 8 pm EST through the official social media handles (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube) – of World Health Organisation (WHO), World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), Earth Day Network, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and also through the official handles of One Page Spotlight – to cater to the global audience. The concert will be live on the YouTube channel of Ricky Kej as well. Indian audience can also enjoy the concert live on Airtel DTH channel 222 and Republic TV.
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