UNESCO MGIEP is delighted to appoint Grammy-Award winning musician from India, Ricky Kej as a Global Ambassador for Kindness. Ricky Kej who is a strong advocate and champion of environmental consciousness and sustainability received critical acclaim for the album Shanti Samsara. The album itself was launched by the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Francois Hollande in the presence of World Leaders at the United Nations COP21 Climate Change Conference in Paris in 2015.
Commenting on the collaboration, Dr. Anantha Duraiappah, Director UNESCO MGIEP said, “The effects of music on the brain have been scientifically established. A study published in The Scientist* states that music activates the brain’s reward circuitry as much as good food, drugs and sex. In light of the recent focus of happiness and well-being in global education systems, it is only natural that music and a youth –led campaign on kindness go hand-in-hand. With his high calibre of music, support to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and his large global youth following, Ricky Kej is the ideal Ambassador for UNESCO MGIEP’s #KindnessMatters Campaign. We are certain that by joining forces, we will be able to amplify the message of Kindness for the SDGs and create a positive culture of Kindness.”
The #KindnessMatters for the SDGs campaign, was launched globally on October 2, 2018 which aims to create a culture of peace and kindness and highlight the critical power of Acts of Kindness in bringing about transformational change. The purpose of this campaign is to mobilise the world’s youth to achieve the 17 SDGs through transformative acts of Kindness.
“I am thrilled to be a part of the #KindnessMatters campaign by UNESCO MGIEP. Along with showcasing acts of kindness in our own lives, it is important for us to recognize acts of kindness by people around us. As the Global Ambassador for Kindness, I hope to highlight global acts of kindness, especially the youth. I believe that the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals provide us with the best guidelines to define an act of kindness,” Ricky said.
In his role as Kindness Ambassador, Ricky Kej will amplify the message of the campaign globally at UNESCO MGIEP’s upcoming World Youth Conference where he and a team of global musicians will release the #KindnessMatters Anthem live at the #KindnessMatters Concert. The World Youth Conference on Kindness is to celebrate the 150th year of Mahatma’s Gandhi’s birth, with the goal of providing young people with a global platform where they can actively engage with decision-makers towards finding innovative ways of propagating non-violence as a way to resolve conflicts. The conference will be held at the Vigyan Bhavan on August 23rd 2019, on the theme ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam: Gandhi for the Contemporary World: Celebrating the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi’.
Key participants include 100 select youth globally, Kailash Satyarthi (Nobel Peace Laureate); Nandita Das (Actor & Director); Chaker Khazaal (Speaker & Reporter), Arno Michaelis (American motivational speaker), Jo Cutler (Doctoral Research Candidate) and Grammy Award Winners, Ricky Kej / Laura Dickinson, among others to discuss capacity building for SEL, discussions, debates, intergenerational dialogue etc. Participation in the main event of the conference (August 23, 2019 at the Vigyan Bhavan) is available free of cost for the youth and those interested can register here.
