In celebration of World Humanitarian Day on 19 August 2020, the UN Chamber Music Society of the United Nations Staff Recreation Council (UNCMS), in partnership with The Sound Bridges International will perform a concert – to pay special tribute to the real-life heroes from the United Nations and other humanitarian organizations, who have committed their lives to helping others in the most extreme circumstances throughout the world. Opening remarks will be delivered by Mark Lowcock, Under-Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). The music programme will feature musical works that represent an artistic tapestry of human experience, to provoke empathy and create a more compassionate world, in hopes of building bridges of cultural understanding. During the concert, messages will be delivered by Richard Blewitt, Permanent Observer and Head of Delegation of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to the United Nations; Dr. Joseph W. Polisi, President Emeritus of Juilliard; Dr. Adam Meyer, Provost of Juilliard; and Dr. Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de León, Director of the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization.
