My Earth Concert for Kids is the world’s largest virtual concert for kids: Vishnu Mohan

French mass media conglomerate Vivendi is all set to premiere its virtual event - My Earth Concert for Kids - on June 21, 2020, on the occasion of World Music Day. The concert will be live streamed and broadcast at 4.30 pm (Paris time)/ 10.30 am (EST) on www.MyEarthSongs.com, www.dailymotion.com/rickykej, on multiple Facebook and Instagram pages (including UNICEF, UNCCD, Ricky Kej) as well as on YouTube.

The event is officially supported by 5 other international bodies like WWF, UN Climate Change, Earth Day Org, 50 Years Earth Day 2020. Grammy Winner and environmentalist Ricky Kej has been instrumental in setting up this digital concert.

The songs that will be featured in this concert have been composed based on the 17 Sustainable Goals set by the United Nations and are aimed at enlightening and instilling social responsibility through music in the impressionable minds of young audience aged between 5 and 11 years. The concert will, in an interesting manner underline issues like poverty, hunger, sanitation, gender equality, conserving life on land and below water, etc., to awaken a sense of concern amongst kids so that they are cautious about their actions from the early stages of their lives.

Grammy Award winners like Ricky Kej, Lonnie Park, Dominic Dcruz, among many others will perform the songs.

Vivendi and all its associates are reaching out to their network through various countries to amplify this event best across the globe. UNICEF will send official letters to all the major schools in the world notifying and urging them to have their students watch this concert. In India, the event will be streamed on social media and TV. Furthermore, MacMillian Books is sending a note to all the schools advocating the concert and its cause.

In his conversation with Adgully, Vishnu Mohan, Chairman, Havas Group & Vivendi Committee for India & South East Asia, speaks about his inspiration and strategy for the concert.

We have never heard of a concert for 5-11 year olds. How did this thought come to fruition?

Ricky had written a set of poems on environmental issues targeted at children. Music being a universal language that transcends borders and helps retain a message longer than words – it made sense to convert them into songs and then into a concert to raise awareness in kids.

While concerts for kids are not common in India, it is very common in the West. In fact, there are superstar musicians/ bands who have gained fame and fortune, exclusively creating and performing music for kids their whole lives.

Children are instinctively curious and the first few years are key to instilling new concepts and ideas. Songs we hear as children remain with us forever and that is why Vivendi with support from UNICEF joined hands with Ricky Kej and other award-winning artists from around the globe to turn this into a unique initiative on World Music Day.

Additionally, there is a dearth of entertainment targeted for children of that age in the current times – where we have to stay indoors due to the pandemic. This concert provides a rare mix of entertainment and education to keep children occupied meaningfully.

The concert also aims to raise awareness around UNICEF’s response for children as the world grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic. Donations received from this world-wide concert will support UNICEF’s #Reimagine campaign that seeks to prevent the COVID-19 pandemic from becoming a lasting crisis for children globally.

What is the strategy to reach kids around the world with this livestream? Some may have never heard of these organisations such as UNICEF, WWF, UN Climate Change, Earth Day Org, and 50 Years Earth Day 2020.

The concert is a collective effort for a better tomorrow. Parents and educators are equally vested in sharing the concert with children and the wide distribution strategy incorporating social media, OTT platforms, television channels are a facilitator.

The larger goal is to translate these songs into global languages and work with schools around the world, with the help of UNICEF, to incorporate these songs into the education system and change the future for our future.

Children at that age are easily distracted, what is the format of the concert? How do you plan to keep the audience engaged over a screen for a long period?

Children connect with music as music is a powerful tool to convey and retain a message in the minds of the listener and it is with this belief that Ricky created ‘My Earth Songs’ for children.

The songs use catchy tunes and simple words and children will enjoy them immensely.

How many children/ viewers do you hope to reach through this initiative?

We don’t want to be tied by a number, but this is the world’s largest virtual concert for children.