Through music, making the world A Better Place

The MDG Achievement Fund has joined hands with Playing for Change – a multi media initiative connecting musicians around the world - to mark Human Rights Day with the launch the song “A Better Place”, which unites musicians from around the world in a global call for action against inequality and for social justice.

The theme of this year’s Human Rights Day is the rights of all people — regardless of race, ethnicity, caste, gender, ability or age ,  — to make their voices heard in public life and  included in political decision-making.

Harnessing the power of music to make a better world possible, the MDG Fund and Playing for Change are joining efforts (and voices) to amplify this call against inequality and for greater social justice in the world, advocating for its inclusion as a centerpiece of any national and international development framework.

Making your voice heard against inequality

Our world is an extremely unequal place. In almost every society, in every region of the world, both rich and poor, vast numbers of people are being left out of the social and economic development of their country. Multiple inequalities combine to keep people stuck in unfavorable and unfair circumstances. But evidence shows that change is possible and inequality can be overcome.

The MDG Fund has placed the challenge of addressing inequalities at the heart of its work, and its 130 programmes in 50 countries have prioritized reaching those populations that struggle with inequality due to their race, religion, ethnicity, gender and even location.

In 2010, together with the Institute of Development Studies, the MDG Fund produced a study called Can the MDGs provide a pathway to social justice? The challenge of intersecting inequalities to show the relationship between social exclusion and the Millennium Development Goals, deepen understanding of its underlying causes and make policy recommendations that address it.

Inequality matters because it slows down the pace at which a society can reduce poverty. It slows down economic growth. At the level of everyday life, it undermines people’s sense of self-worth and agency, and is associated with despair, depression and substance abuse. It is also often at the heart of civil strife and conflict.

Building on this experience addressing inequalities, the MDG Fund and Playing for Change invite people from around the world to add their voice to this global call for action by expressing themselves through music, art, writing, dancing or mobilizing their communities to build a less unequal world.

Share your views at this website http://abetterplace.mdgfund.org

Or join the conversation on our Facebook page www.facebook.com/mdgfund

Or via Twitter using the hashtag #ABetterPlace.