This chapter discusses the history and mission of Music as a Global Resource, Inc. (MAGR); a worldwide initiative to promote and facilitate the use of music to address social, economic and health issues in both developed and developing countries, thereby significantly enhancing the quality of life. Both the research and experiences of existing on ‘the ground’ programmes show music to be a potent, cost-effective tool in five major areas: sustainable community development, mental and physical health issues, work with trauma survivors, lifelong learning and peace building.

Music is a universal language and a natural resource for all people throughout the world. All cultures have music and throughout time, it has been understood as a vital force of self-expression, communication, empowerment and healing, as well as a release from the daily tensions of life. Music is a direct and potent tool in sustainable urban and rural community building and the healing process of individuals and communities who have been emotionally and physically afflicted.

Today’s world is in dire need of creative solutions to the challenges of sustainable community development, trauma, health and well-being stemming from a host of factors such as poverty, disease, economic uncertainty and war. Each human being should have the opportunity to attain his or her optimum health potential and have social justice. These opportunities can be seen as fundamental human rights that music can uniquely facilitate.

By ‘health equity’, we are referring to attaining the highest level of health for all people. This is considered, by the World Health Organization (http://www.who.int/about/mission/en/), to be a fundamental right of every human being regardless of race, religion, political belief and economic or social condition (World Health Organization 1946). Social Justice describes a society that challenges injustice at all levels while valuing diversity. All people have the fundamental right to equitable treatment, support for their human rights and a fair allocation of community resources regardless of background or group membership. Factors such as gender, sexuality, religion, political affiliation, age, belief systems, disability, social class or socioeconomic circumstances should not be disqualifying.

The chapter will offer some exemplar projects that have been selected from ‘Music as a Global Resource: Solutions for Social and Economic Issues’ (Hesser and Heinemann 2015) to illustrate how musicians, music educators and music therapists around the world use music. These projects have been at the forefront of discussions of music as a ‘global resource’ in relation to the UN Millennium Development Goals 2000–2015 (MDG). Lastly, future directions for policy and practice will be explored.

The UN Millennium Goal Initiative

Through its 2000–2015 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) initiative and the current 2016–2030 Sustainable Initiative, the UN has been at the forefront in seeking to achieve both health equity and social justice for people throughout the world. In 2000, all member nations agreed to support and make significant progress in achieving eight goals. As stated by Ban Ki-Moon, Secretary General of the UN in his foreword to the MDGs outcome report to the member countries in 2015:

The landmark commitment entered into by world leaders in the year 2000 to spare no effort to free our fellow men, women and children from abject and dehumanizing conditions of extreme poverty was translated into an inspiring framework of eight goals and, then, into wide ranging practical steps that have enabled people across the world to improve their lives and future prospects. The MDGs helped lift more than one billion people out of extreme poverty, to make inroads against hunger, to enable more girls to attend school than ever before and protect our planet. (The Millennium Development Goals Report Development Report UN 2015, p. 3)

The eight goals that Secretary Ban Ki-Moon refers to would be basic to any initiative that addresses health equity and social justice issues. They include the following goals: GOAL 1—Eradicate Extreme Poverty, and Hunger; GOAL 2—Achieve Universal Primary Education; GOAL 3—Promote Gender Equality; GOAL 4—Reduce Child Mortality; GOAL 5—Improve Maternal Health; GOAL 6—Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Other Diseases; GOAL 7—Ensure Environmental Sustainability; GOAL 8—Develop a Global Partnership for Development (The Millennium Development Goals Report UN 2015, pp. 4–7). The report goes on to present the extent to which each goal was achieved over the 15-year period. The results are impressive. For example, extreme poverty in the developing world has dropped from nearly half of the population in 1990 to 14 per cent in 2015. The number of people in the working middle class has almost tripled between 1991 and 2015. The primary school net enrollment in the developing regions has reached 91 per cent in 2015. In 2015, women made up 41 per cent of paid workers outside of the agricultural area. The global under-five mortality rate has declined by more than half between 1990 and 2015. Since 1990, the maternal mortality rate has declined by 45 per cent worldwide (UN 2015, pp. 4–7).

Over the 15 years of the MDGs, clearly significant achievements have been made on many of goal targets. However, although these achievements have been impressive, progress has been uneven across regions and countries. In 2016, all member countries of the UN agreed to adopt a new and expanded set of goals to stimulate and guide the development efforts for the new 15-year period. Seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) now represent the targets for 2030. The SDGs include the original eight MDGs, while adding nine new goals. The new SDGs include Clean Water and Sanitation, Affordable and Clean Energy, Decent Work and Economic Growth, Sustainable Cities and Communities, Climate Action and Life Below Water and on Land (United Nations 2016).

History of Music as a Global Resource, Inc.

The Music as a Global Resource (MAGR) initiative was first launched through the International Council for Caring Communities (ICCC) as one of its creative and innovative cross-sector solutions to solving world economic and social issues and helping member nations meet the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). ICCC is a not-for-profit organisation that has Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the UN. ECOSOC serves the UN as the central forum for discussing international economic and social issues, for formulating policy recommendations and implementing solutions. ICCC’s mission is to serve as a bridge linking government, civil society organisations, the private sector, universities and the UN in their efforts at sparking new ways of viewing an integrated society for all ages.

In 2001, ICCC began addressing the MDG challenges being faced by member countries through a series of unique High-Level Working Sessions as a part of the UN International Year on Dialogue Among Civilisations established to foster global cooperation and understanding. On December 6, 2001, the ICCC hosted the first groundbreaking symposium on the interrelationship of Music, Technology, Culture and Healthcare. The meeting brought together experts to explore the use of music together with information and communications technology (ICT) to enhance community health, well-being and the quality of life. Attending this dialogue were members from missions, UN policymakers, non-governmental organisation (NGO) representatives and medical and arts practitioners. The goal was to develop a cross-disciplinary, result and action-oriented mindset to address the MDGs, in the areas of health, education, habitat and peace, using MAGR. Part of the impetus for this far-ranging exploration was the awareness that to be economically sound and productive, the global community must also be healthy—mentally and physically.

Since 2001, this creative holistic approach to solutions continued and deepened through an ongoing series of high-level dialogues. Between 2001 and 2016, seven more High-Level Working Sessions (2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012) have been held at the UN Headquarters in New York City. Attending these sessions were international decision makers and experts from government, representatives from international organisations, local authorities and the private sector, including the music industry, academia and health organisations. Musicians from the fields of therapy, education, performance, the music business and technology have taken part.

So much interest and energy was generated by the High-Level Working Sessions in 2009, a not-for-profit organisation, Music as a Natural Resource, Inc. (later to be renamed Music as a Global Resource, Inc., [MAGR]), was formed to promote and facilitate using music to address social, economic and health issues in both developed and developing countries, thereby significantly enhancing the quality of life. MAGR’s mission includes five major goals:

  1. 1.

    Identify and disseminate information on existing exemplar programmes from around the world

  2. 2.

    Strengthen existing programmes

  3. 3.

    Facilitate the development of new and sustainable programmes

  4. 4.

    Promote basic and applied research on programme outcomes

  5. 5.

    Provide a robust web site that is a comprehensive resource for a variety of audiences interested in significantly enhancing the quality of life in both the developed and developing world through using the power of music. Users would include operational programme personnel, decision makers from government, the private sector, foundations, civil societies, not-for-profit organisations, educators and the general public, among others.

Music as a Global Resource Compendium

One of many recommendations coming out of the UN working sessions was that a comprehensive research initiative be undertaken to identify exemplar projects in both developed and developing countries that utilise MAGR. As discussed, this Compendium would help promote sustainable initiatives on the national, regional and local levels. Gathering and publishing success stories would provide examples for addressing the UN MDGs. Four editions of Music as a Global Resource Compendium: Solutions for Social and Economic Issues (Hesser and Heinemann 2009, 2010, 2011, 2015) have been developed in response to the recommendations from these dialogues.

MAGR’s mission is focused on promoting the development of sustainable initiatives on the national, regional and local levels. These projects would not be possible without the unique collaboration and partnership with government and the private sector. One of the goals of the Compendium is to create connections among projects, as well as network successful and sustainable music initiatives from around the world, together with developing new, sustainable projects. This international exchange has begun and is greatly facilitated by ICT. New projects have been and are being developed, collaborations among projects have formed and projects are becoming more sustainable through shared strategies. Project directors are eager to exchange ideas and share what has been learned.

The authors (who are also current MAGR board members) led this research mapping project. Recognised experts from the fields of music therapy and music education, as well as the music industry, assisted in this effort by identifying projects and helping to establish the criteria for determining exemplar projects. An editorial committee was formed with the co-editors and three associate editors; one music therapist and two music educators. Experts from the five regions of the world (music therapists, music educators, musicians as well as multidisciplinary participants from the many UN dialogues) were contacted to recommend successful projects that they considered representative of MAGR, and to connect with these projects and their directors. This was an informal vetting process by experts in the field who were familiar with the projects and determined that the projects published in the Compendium were exemplar projects, presenting a wide range of examples on how music was being successfully used to address social, health and economic issues.

A template was created to present the projects and each project was written up and titled in coordination with the project directors. Projects that were selected are described in terms of goals and objectives, and how music is utilised to meet those goals, research studies, programme evaluation procedures, publications, websites, video resources and contact information for easy communication and networking. A qualitative analysis was made based on the goals of the projects collected and broader sections were created. These represent five major areas of publication: Music for Sustainable Community Development, Music for Mental and Physical Health, Music for Working with Trauma Survivors, Music for Life Long Learning, and Music for Peace Building.

The fourth edition of the Compendium now includes over 105 projects from 45 countries representing all five regions of the world: Africa, Asia, Australia/New Zealand, Central America and the Caribbean, North and South America (Hesser and Heinemann 2015). These are powerful examples showing how music can help solve the most difficult problems that face human beings: mental and physical illness, poverty, natural disasters and war. It also highlights music initiatives being used for prevention, learning and peace building.

Dedicated music therapists, music educators and performing musicians, direct the projects. Some projects work with socially disadvantaged and marginalised groups, while others work with the general population and some projects integrate both. Some projects focus on the innate value of learning and making music while other projects first emphasise the desired goals and then create the music and music-making activities to achieve these goals. The programmes use a multisector approach. Programmes typically structure their projects with community organisations and/or governmental partners to develop creative ways to highlight a social problem and promote solutions.

Projects Using Music for Social, Health and Economic Issues

The following are descriptions of several exemplar projects from different countries and regions that demonstrate the use of music to address health, economic and social issues. In order to show the breadth and scope of the work being done, the write ups in this chapter are by necessity shorter than in the fourth edition of the MAGR Compendium (Hesser and Heinemann 2015). There you can find a fuller description of each project as well as information on the current status, publications, videos, web sites and contact information. The Compendium can be accessed on the MAGR website, musicasaglobalresouce.org. This web site also contains a five-minute video, in several languages, describing a number of projects.

Music for Working with Trauma Survivors

The MAGR Compendium has many projects that are models of how to use music when a disaster takes place in a country, whether it is from natural or human causes. Natural disasters also take their toll on the people of their regions. It is estimated that 89 million people have been affected in 2015 by natural disasters (Global Humanitarian Assistance 2016). Examples of music projects with survivors of natural disasters include the Sichuan Earthquake in 2008 and the Chilean Earthquake of 2010. Lessons learned by the people involved in these music projects have been shared globally to help in current crises as they occur. The Commuon project that follows is an example of this.

One of the most pressing and heartbreaking problems in our world today is the enormous refugee crisis. In 2015, approximately 65 million people were displaced by conflict in their countries, the highest level ever recorded (Global Humanitarian Assistance 2016). These people are fleeing from torture, militias, bombs, sexual abuse, persecution and hatred. The UN, governments and humanitarian organisations are all coming together to address this enormous problem. In addition to the following projects, music was used to help trauma survivors in the aftermath of the attack on the World Trade Centers in New York City in 2001. We also have examples of using music from the Irish, African and Middle East conflicts. The Berlin Center for the Treatment of Torture Victims and Musicians Without Borders (MwB) are example included here.

The Berlin Center for the Treatment of Torture Victims—Germany

Many refugees have fled to Europe, particularly Germany. Those people who managed to find their way to Germany are from Syria, Chechnya, Turkey, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq and more than 50 other countries. The ‘Berlin Center for the Treatment of Torture Victims’ is using music therapy in treatment and support of 500 children, adolescents and adults from 50 countries. The Center’s multidisciplinary team is specialised in medicine, psychotherapy, psychology, physiotherapy, social work and creative therapies. This vulnerable population often faces difficulties in dealing from their traumatic experiences. Due to the severity and time of exposure to traumatic experiences, many of the clients develop a complex post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). They also find themselves with an uncertain future, especially regarding whether or not they will be granted asylum in Germany. They suffer from various symptoms and difficulties, including concentration difficulties, intrusions, dissociation, sleep disturbances and nightmares, anxiety, avoidance, withdrawal and social isolation, affect regulation and a low self-esteem.

Music therapy at the Center aims to strengthen individual resources and help to reduce trauma-related symptoms. Music is a natural resource with displaced people where the dignity of human life and the human rights of each and every individual can be respected regardless of ethnic heritage religion, gender, social status or political conviction. Music offers ways to explore a safe space for creative expression and regain a sense of self. Patients become involved in musical activities that, over the therapeutic process, gradually help to re-establish and stabilise resources. These enable them to reduce stress and regain empowerment and self-regulation and to rebuild trust in interacting with others.

Music therapy sessions, both individual and in group, include activities such as musical improvisation, structured activities, music listening, song writing, musical movement and dancing, and musical storytelling. Cultural backgrounds often reflect in the musical expressions and provide opportunities to share each other’s traditions.

More recently in 2015, a music group has been set up for children from Syria whose parents participate in an acute consultation project of the Center. These families have only recently arrived in Germany; therefore, they are all living in refugee hostels. The music group aims to offer a day-structuring activity and to support the adaptation process and psychosocial well-being of the children.

Commuon The Big Band—Japan

The third edition of the MAGR Compendium included ‘Commuon the Big Band’ project located in Sendai, Japan. Originally designed as a Sustainable Community Development project, the not-for-profit Organisation to promote Community Music Therapy (Commuon) had two missions. One was to encourage the public to enjoy music more and the other was to provide the opportunity for people with and without disability to play music together. ‘Commuon the Big Band’ included both disabled and non-disabled people. The music was specially arranged so that all members could participate by playing musical instruments they liked or by singing. ‘Commuon the Big Band’ consisted of about 30 members with various levels of musical skills from total beginners to professional musicians.

Then on Friday, March 11, 2011, the Japan Earthquake happened. It was the most powerful earthquake ever measured in Japan, breaching a 9.0 magnitude. The tsunami that followed inundated a total of six prefectures on the Pacific coast of eastern Japan. The earthquake and nuclear accident devastated the towns and cities where the Commuon activities take place. All members of the Commuon Big Band and the space where the band met were impacted. Some members received tremendous damage from the tsunami. Some were unable to attend activities because the railroad had been washed away. Some could no longer come because their work place was changed. Some moved away from the area due to the nuclear contamination concerns. Normal activities were unable to resume until May 2011.

MAGR with other music therapy associations in the United States and Japan reached out immediately to Commuon’s founder and director to provide assistance and supervision of the music therapist in charge of the project there. The model from previous natural disaster music projects was utilised. Commuon the Big Band has again become a place for members to come together, play music and support each other, not only as musicians but also as friends. The priority now is to sustain the activity, to keep the rehearsals constant, providing a place for the members to gather together to play music. Commuon Big Band participated in the Tricolore Music Festival that took place in Ishinomaki, where the tsunami had washed away part of the town. Ishinomaki is also a town where some of the members with disability live. Now it means a lot more than just participating in the festival. They are hoping to use music to help revitalise the town.

Musicians Without Borders

MwB is a multinational project that has projects in Kosovo, Occupied Palestine Territories, Rwanda, Northern Ireland, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Their slogan is ‘War Divides, Music Connects’. The goal of the project is to use music to connect communities, bridge divides and heal the wounds of war. In communities affected by armed conflict, MwB collaborates with local musicians and cultural, development, peace and human rights organisations to develop sustainable, long-term music programmes. MwB offers training in community music leadership and contributes to conferences and expert meetings. MwB targets all generations in all musical genres, depending on local needs and demand. Programmes are designed for local control and sustainability. Since 2008, MwB offers a wide range of programmes aimed at social change and peace building. A few of the MwB projects are as follows.

  • In Palestine, these include ‘The Rap Project’, the ‘Musical Playground Project’, ‘Deaf & Proud’, and ‘Samba for Social Change’.

  • MwB’s Rap Project uses the international language of disenfranchised urban youth for social change, training Palestinian rappers in leadership, beat-making and recording. The rappers teach teenagers to write, record and perform their own rap songs, expressing their hopes and dreams through music.

  • The Musical Playground prepares MwB’s community music trainees and rap leaders to bring music to refugee camp schools, involving all children, parents and teachers in creative, inclusive and celebratory daylong musical events.

  • Deaf & Proud brings deaf and hearing youth together through music activities, providing a safe space for them to share their experiences and raise awareness and create sustainable support systems for one of Palestine’s most vulnerable populations.

  • Samba for Social Change coaches Palestinian drum groups from refugee camps and villages surrounded by the wall. Combining samba with Arabic percussion, the drummers connect people with joyful, contagious and empowering rhythms during community events, nonviolent vigils and percussion workshops for youth.

In Mitrovica, Kosovo, the Mitrovica Rock School’s goal is to unite youth in a divided city through rock music. In Mitrovica, the conflict between Serb and Albanian communities still continues with barricaded bridges over the Ibar River, increased tensions and regular outbursts of violence. Since 2008, MwB and partners Community Building Mitrovica and the Fontys Rock Academy have successfully run an interethnic youth project, the Mitrovica Rock School, where young people from both sides of the ethnically divided city meet as musicians and aspiring rock stars. Local rock musicians and teachers work to restore the city’s shared rock music tradition and stimulate a culture of respect through music. The bands work together regularly via the Internet, writing songs and producing demo recordings.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, ‘Woman to Woman’ is a project designed to bring music back into the lives of genocide survivors. Woman to Woman trains local workshop leaders to lead music and dance workshops and activities with women affected by traumatic experiences of violence, dislocation and loss of loved ones during the ethnic ‘cleansing’, especially in the Srebrenica region.

Sustainable Community Development

Building healthy communities that are sustainable is a primary goal of our time. Communities are seeking a better quality of life for all its residents regardless of age, disability and economic status. MAGR is looking at how music and the arts can have an impact on disenfranchised people of all ages, youth at risk, cultural identity and economic well-being. We are looking at how music can help cultivate local talents and empower people to become more involved in their community. Many international music projects offer youth an alternative to street life and open possibilities to escape poverty, hopelessness and joblessness. Examples from the five regions of the world are available in the Compendium. Here we have focused on two important projects ‘SVARAM’ from India and ‘Batuta’ from Columbia, though many similar projects for disadvantaged youth exist around the world. These include the ‘Manuang String Project’, ‘Field Band’ and the ‘Keiskamma Music Academy’ in South Africa, ‘CEDROS’ in Mexico, Gustavo Dudamel’s ‘Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles’ (YOLA) in the United States to name a few.

SVARAM

SVARAM is an outreach project of the International Community of Auroville in India dedicated to the improvement of its local, indigenous neighbourhood in the surrounding villages of Tamil Nadu. This vocational education, cultural training and employment activity helps to develop local indigenous youth into skilled crafts people with both artistic talent and viable employment skills. Initiated as a development project for ‘youth at risk’, the original trainees are currently raising families and stepping into responsible positions in their homes and village communities. Individuals who experienced illiteracy issues are now senior craftsmen/women meeting daily challenges in the management of instrument production, training of younger apprentices and promoting the development of organisational life skills.

SVARAM offers vocational training apprenticeships in musical instrument building for the youth of these villages. The training programme focuses on practical skills as well as theoretical knowledge in the fields of traditional and new instrument making and repair, instrument design and material studies, machinery and tuning, musical theory and acoustics, mathematics and technical drawing as well as organisational and life skills. In addition to the artisan skills, young people are exposed to traditional performing arts and crafts and develop an enhanced awareness of their rich Tamil heritage and Indian culture. SVARAM also supports social outreach programmes sharing acquired skills in village cultural education and participates in local, national and international cultural programmes.

Having fulfilled its first ten-year plan of establishing a sustainable income generating project, operations are being expanded. To bring all the aspects of their programme into a comprehensive holistic model, the concept of a SVARAM campus is now in its planning phase. Land has been made available by the Auroville Planning Board. Fundraising efforts are underway, and support is being sought to make this crucial expansion to realise full potential of SVARAM possible.

Fundación Nacional Batuta

In Columbia, ‘Fundación Nacional Batuta’, a public/private foundation, was created in 1991 by a joint effort between the national government of Colombia and the private sector. Its programmes were inspired, in part, by the National Youth and Children Symphonic Orchestras Organization of Venezuela (El Sistema).

Batuta offers music lessons and group music-making activities to children, adolescents and young adults that contribute to the comprehensive development and improvement of the quality of life for children, young people and their families in vulnerable areas, through the construction of a social fabric to open spaces of reconciliation and coexistence. They help to build useful individual capacities for active participation in society give all children, young people and communities access to cultural offerings, promote social integration, strengthen cultural and educational processes in the country and promote cultural diversity. Many of the children served have suffered directly from forced displacement associated with violence. Batuta also works with children who belong to families that have been victims of armed conflict and those that come from extreme poverty and have two or more of their basic needs unsatisfied (health, education, employment of their parents, shelter, nutrition, etc.). These conditions have affected children’s physical and emotional development and, as a consequence, their academic performance.

Batuta has many diverse programmes including Music Stimulation (children between two and four years old), Musical Transitions (children between four and six years old), Music Initiation Program (children between six and sixteen years old), Choir Training (boys, girls, adolescents and young adults); Symphonic Training (boys, girls, adolescents and young adults) and music education for children and teenagers with disabilities.

A national effort that addresses social justice issues, Batuta is considered one of the largest arts programmes of any kind in Latin America and is the largest in Colombia. It has gained international attention. Currently, it has centres in all 32 departments (states) of the country, serving approximately 39,000 children and adolescents.

Music for Mental and Physical Health

Music is playing an increasing role in addressing the areas of mental and physical health and the creation of optimal health for all people. The Compendium has projects that address many kinds of physical problems such as such as cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, serious burns and blindness through music. Adults and children with serious mental health issues, as well as special needs children, also benefit. Music therapists often play a critical role in creating and running these projects, because of their special training to address these issues.

The Louis Armstrong Center for Music and Medicine

In the United States, ‘The Louis Armstrong Center for Music and Medicine’ is a model for the use of music therapy with a large variety of medical issues. The Louis Armstrong Music Therapy Department, located at Mount Sinai Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City, has provided a broad range of services throughout five medical centres in Manhattan (and within the community) for the last 21 years. This programme is a full in-hospital, out-patient and community-based programme that services a variety of populations. Music therapy is used throughout the hospital to enhance, restore or change medical, physical and/or psychosocial functioning. The team is trained to offer the most current treatment approaches including clinical improvisation, music meditation, pain management, sedation, end-of-life and breathing modalities. The music therapists conduct daily sessions with patients in many areas of the hospital: Music Psychotherapy for musicians, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), Pediatrics, Family Medicine, Maternity, Oncology, Intensive Care Units, Peter Kruger Clinic for Infants, Children and Teens with Emotional and Developmental Delays, HIV, Orthopedics, Hospice, Pain Medicine and Palliative Care.

The mission of the programme includes conducting research and publishing material to further advance the care provided to patients and enhance the practice of medical music therapy. The team conducts research in conjunction with doctors and nurses, providing the utmost care and attention to the patients and families served. Current ongoing research projects involve mixed designs that provide for quantitative and qualitative data collections. The studies include the following:

  • Multi-site Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) Study (Loewy et al. 2013; Loewy 2015)

  • Clinical Music Improvisation in Chemotherapy Study

  • The Effects of Music Therapy in the Recovery of Patients Undergoing Spine Surgery

  • Music Therapy and the Effects of Noise in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU)

  • Music Therapy during Simulation in Radiation Therapy

Dissemination of the Compendium

MAGR feels that it is important to share these exemplar projects and spread the knowledge of how music can be used for health, social and economic issues that face our world today. All four editions of the Compendium have been broadly disseminated by distributing printed copies to Ambassadors and government leaders, UN missions and UN policymakers, among others. E-mail copies have been sent to all project directors and they have been asked to share them widely. The 2010, 2011 and 2015 Compendiums have been posted on a number of web sites including the UN Public Administration Network and the ICCC. Five-minute videos presenting several representative programmes have been produced in English, Spanish and Chinese for use at conferences and meetings. These videos have also been posted on YouTube. Both the Compendium and the videos are available on the MAGR web site (musicasaglobalresource.org).

Towards the Future

The experiences of MAGR in working with project directors to compile the information presented in the ‘Music as a Global Resource’ Compendiums clearly underscore the important contributions that the power of music makes in helping to achieve health equity and social justice on the local, regional and national levels. But, while the outcomes of these projects are both impressive and significant, in the main, their impact on organisational and political decision makers is still very limited. Expanding the use of music to help address critical issues in achieving health equity and social justice for all people becomes a very important objective as one looks to the future. A three-pronged strategy is being proposed.

The first component of the strategy has already been discussed as a part of the mission goals and operational plans for MAGR. Having a robust, web-based platform would provide the means to strengthen and expand existing programmes while also being an invaluable resource for new programmes. It would also serve individuals and organisations interested in the power of music.

Reaching out to major international membership-based organisations such as the European Union (EU), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the Organization of American States (OAS), the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, among many others to introduce the potential of music to address critical quality of life issues is a second component. All of these organisations state in some format the mission of achieving health equity and social justice for all people as major goals. A series of comparable High-Level Working Sessions for organisational decision makers and representatives from the member countries and other interested individuals could have a profound impact on expanding the use of music as a solution for addressing health, social and economic issues. Further, it is interesting to note that many of the member countries of these international organisations already have successful functioning music projects.

Many professionals working with music may not be aware of the impact that music is having and its broad potential in addressing critical issues stemming from attaining health equity and social justice for all people. Building awareness and obtaining their involvement is the third component of the futures strategy. In addition to this, students at both the undergraduate and graduate levels working towards their professional degrees in an area of music may also be unaware of how music power is helping to solve health, social and economic issues. Working with university and college faculty, together with professional associations, we are proposing that a course be developed that focuses on MAGR.

The success of the UN original MDGs initiative has led to a significant expansion to the numbers of people whose quality of life will greatly improve over the next 15 years through the SDGs. This effort together with the recommendations being proposed in this paper will result in making MAGR a major tool to help achieve health equity and social justice for all.