Global Citizenship Music Festival

This summer, a unique opportunity will be available for everyone in our community to experience a festival designed to share a unifying spirit of brotherhood through the power of music. 

Arts To End Genocide (ATEG), a New Bern based not-for-profit, in partnership with Faith Connection, will host the first Global Citizenship Music  Festival to present music from many cultures represented in our community with a diverse mix of artists. Performers include Montagnard singers from Vietnam, Burmese singers, and music from many African nations by students at ECU. Musicians from other cultures are still being confirmed. Between performances, individual solo performers and brief presentations will keep the program entertaining. At the end of the program, a community choir representing different area churches will lead the audience in singing the familiar song of We Are The World.

The theme running throughout this inspiring program is the common connection that people of all backgrounds have through music, reminding us that we are really more the same than different. The event is an effort for our community to gather in celebration of our shared humanity and hope for peace between all people. Through participation in this event, individuals will better understand the interconnectivity of our world and their personal role and responsibility as global citizens.  

This event is a benefit to support ATEG’s programs to help marginalized women and children in Africa. With support from the two local Rotary clubs in New Bern, a Rotary Global Grant allowed ATEG to establish the Rotary Children Clinic in Bamako, Mali in 2019. Our current focus is the women and children living in the Faladje IDP Camp in a garbage dump in Bamako. ATEG programs are providing basic medical care and food. A Sewing Skills Training Program for the women has helped them learn a revenue-generating skill and has led to the formation of a Women’s Cooperative. Some of their items are now available at the Tryon Palace Museum Gift Shop in New Bern. ATEG         received a grant in 2023 from the P&G Alumni Foundation to expand this program to include more women and additional skills training programs. We also offer children’s dance and life skills workshops and in 2023, a Childhood Education program     was initiated to allow 30 children to enter first grade.

Event is free to the public and made possible through the generosity of our sponsors and the Craven Arts Council. Rain or shine. Please bring your own seating or blankets. Food and beverage trucks available. At-will donations encouraged and gratefully accepted. For information, Mitch Lewis at 252. 670.1339 or www.artstoendgenocide.org.