Awareness Concerts - Are They Making A Difference
As I sat in my lounge room watching the last Live 8 concert late one night, with my daughter, I marvelled at the amount of people in the audience. All were celebrating and cheering, as each singer and band came on to perform. I too was even captivated by a man I do not particularly like, Sir Bob (Geldof), as he gave his humanitarian speech about ending world poverty. ‘I am all for that goal,’ my daughter said, 'but I can’t help thinking…
Do Awareness Concerts really make a difference in the end?'
“They may help raise money for things like third world poverty, but do they really ‘raise awareness’ in the long run,” she said. “I mean the kind of changes that affect votes when new politicians are due?”
A good question I thought as it has also previously been suggested here on envirowarrior, by a couple bloggers [in a previous post, that], at the time of the concert, most people probably don’t care wether their concert ticket money goes to helping solve poverty or not, most people just go to see the concert for the show, get drunk, or stoned and have a good time.
Or Do they?
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Bono first became involved in issues affecting Africa as part of the Live Aid response to the Ethiopian famine in 1984. The July 13, 1985, concerts in London and Philadelphia were organized by Boomtown Rats singer Sir Bob Geldof, to raise money for famine relief. Bono and his wife then traveled to Ethiopia and lived there for a month while working at an orphanage.
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The organisers hope to bring together more than 100 of the world’s top musical acts, in much the same way Geldof did with Live Aid. It is hoped that the concerts will simultaneously take place in many countries around the world including, Australia, UK and the USA, using local talent. It is hoped that the concert(s) will reach 2 billion people, through attendance, or broadcasts.
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Ahmed has also raised this same objection, which in his view is due largely to people using the concerts as an excuse to take drugs and get drunk, worship the music and not the cause. He concludes that “Awareness Concerts” are indistinguishable to any other concert, because the substances undermine the messages to raise awareness and maintain it.
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According to the ‘Concise English Dictionary’ there are two meanings for the word ‘concert’; the first is expressed as ‘an agreement or joint action.’ The second is explained as a ‘public performance of music’.
Taken literally, the second definition does not have a lot to do with raising awareness for global issues, par se; however, the first meaning fits the purpose of an awareness concert perfectly. It is a group of people agreeing on an issue and taking joint action to help correct it.
Under the conditions of drug and alcohol abuse being observed at concerts, raising awareness to create an agreement or joint action in this case may be less of an objective (or outcome) in the end, when weighed against alcohol and drug abuse, carbon credits used to get people to concerts worldwide and furthering personal agendas, which has also been suggested by many anti-awareness groups.
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Care to Share Your Thoughts on This...?
Rugby World Cup 2007
Just a quick comment....
I am not a big fan of these 'awareness concerts'....they may have worked back in the day of Band-Aid because it was novel (not to mention, amazing seeing all those egos in one place!) but now it's an excuse to party then feel smug about doing ones bit for preservation of humanity.
All those 'celebrities' who gave their 'time' for these concerts...all they had to do was donate a mere million of their wealth....just 10 of them...how much is Madonna worth? How much does Bono earn?...
Aaarrrgghhh....this annoys me...sort of like seeing people recycle their garbage but be cruel to animals.
Like Arnie....I'll be back.
Hope you are well pyaari Lilla...
Dusk
I wonder if that's the same as a veteranarian going out for a burger on his lunch break.
I think the intent is good, but the method may be off. Dusk brings up valid points about past vs. present concerts for a cause... it was new then; it isn't anymore.
This reminds me of a special I'd watched a while ago about a community of wealthy women, mostly widowed or divorced, who compete with each other doing charity drives. They end up spending more money on lavish parties and balls than they can possibly raise for their charity and I just rattled my head! Why not just cancel the ball, save the head aches, and donate the cash?
And there's a loss of faith in our celebrities as well, I think, that makes them less "powerful" with their causes and organizations. Wasn't it Paris Hilton who sponsored the vote campaign during the last election, wearing her "VOTE" tee shirts and making special appearances... and then didn't vote? We used to idolize super-stars much more than we do today, I think. Now, more than being impressed at their prestige, we're eagerly awaiting the next tabloid explosion to find out who got married, who got divorced, who cheated, who got pregnant, who is in rehab, and god forbid, who shaved their head!
As I said, I believe the intent is good. People do need to be aware and there does need to be a coming together for the sake of our environment and worthy causes within our environment, but I don't know of concerts is the best way to do it.
Rugby World Cup 2007
And yes, I agree with W...the intent is good but the method has lost its purpose.
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Wendi and Dusk, seriously (troppo)....
You have written more sense in these two comments than I can hope to deal with, amidst my present circumstances .... and brings me back to the point of my original thought .... wondering if people are in some way lost? (not me mind).
Why have these awareness concerts in the first place? ... Is it the only way left of reaching down into the drunken *hic* level of society to shine the light? Does that then serve the purpose... is that the intent of those who feel superior to those drunken masses?
I feel like I'm playing Beethovens 5th, typing this message, sorry I'll be back in a second with a serious reply to each of you ... A package just arrived by courier and I've just got to write a letter to some very good friends of mine... and my mood is... well... jubilant as they are really old friends, and are to visit soon ...
Lilla~
Flashes of memories
I think these concerts are a lot of what everyone has to say...but at the same time even if they do raise awareness to a few thousand in the crowd is that not better than none at all? Let`s face it these people aren`t going to donate anyways, stars or partygoers... or else they would have already... and they need to get the money from somewhere...
I was at the U2 concert here in Brisbane last year and Bono was talking about Aid in Africa and got people to send SMS's as a show of support for the cause. In the last song of the evening they put all the names up on the stage of those who had sent in a text...how much money did they raise just from that one concert in those text messages...money that would have ordinarily been spent on texts that make the phone companies rich instead.
btw I heard on the radio yesterday by the very trustworthy 'tabloids that be' that U2 are worth an estimated $900 million!
I reckon it`s not the ideal way of going about it, but they are bringing some awareness to people who may not ordinarily take much notice...I think it`s the following up of the message that is the problem...what happens when the effect of the concert wears off...
it`s been a scorcher hasn`t it??? geez enough already....
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*lol* this is so true when you consider their worth... indeed. I hadn't thought about it from that angle before, actually... I suspect that the same could be said for Al G.. if he hadn't made serious attempts to educate traditionally, first?
I can see both sides in this argument, as always and can't help but wonder, if the concerts do raise awareness ... enough perhaps to grant a green vote in coming elections?
I guess that'd be the material point, or is it just increased sales of participating bands CD's... hmmm, it is a proven fact, that what enters the brain wraped in a package of emotion is more readily retained than just plain information... perhaps that's the pull of these things?
Great comment... and ... I am great, still, thanks...
...sorry about earlier response...
..great to see you back in action~btw
Lilla~
From The Home Front
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…what a great point you make too… I have to agree with you…
So true, so very true, especially when you count the carbon credits used for thee ball itself. Wattage of power for lights (and I bet they aren’t the energy savers either)… electricity for the band and PA system. Transport vehicles and fuel; energy for catering, drycleaning for clothes; and paper/trees for formal invitations, as I’m sure that emails would not suffice at one of those Doo’s?
I can remember a time when women liked to be considered beautiful and entered beauty pageants to raise money. In Australia, the funds they raised was so impressive, it ran institutions like the Cerebral Palsy League and places like it… not now… nobody wants to be beautiful anymore…
I’m with you on the suspended vote… but how else do you reach this generation of young people about their future and what matters?
Thanks for the great comment,
...Good to have you back...
Lilla~
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…you also raise a really valid point…
Too true, but Wendi is right too ... why don’t U2 just donate a million themselves.. or did they? The have obviously grown fat off the land, where is the tithe, the appreciation for all they have gained?
Maybe their performance is enough and the starving, over taxed, masses should put up the money?
I don’t know… I’m just playing around here with both sides of the argument, but I hear you and think you make a really valid point. I think the concerts should continue, because at some level, I do believe that it is the ONLY way to reach some of the youngsters today…
It may also be a great way to allow teenagers, to vent their anger constructively, about the rotten world they are inheriting from a generation of oil rich, fat cats… I’m good with that too!
Yes, I’ve been inside in the aircon all day – well with the exception of having to go to the play rehearsal for next weeks performance *lol* what a farce, truly. Another story for another day… I may do a post about it, if I get a moment to spare this week?
Ciao for now,
Lilla ~
Thank you all for the diverse responses... very interesting...
- Anthony
Killer Beats
Ramble On
Hipnotherapy
Here is the real game: Al Gore says climate change is a crisis but he doesn’t live like it. That is not a “doubt or distraction” just a media circus around a real environmental crisis.
Here is what started the ruckus: Al Gore's Nashville mansion used amost 221, 000 KWH of electricity in 2006 and dumped over 230 tons of CO2 into the atmopshere while lecturing the rest of us about our much smaller emissions. That is twenty times more than the average American home; and he spends about a thousand dollars every month on natural gas. To me it’s about living the high life while badgering anyone else who aspires to such a station. It’s about living in a house for years, making millions upon millions of dollars, and not even bothering to retrofit your house to use less electricity or natural gas.
Mis
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You raise a good point, but hasn’t global warming been falsely disproved so often, that it really is a novelty now (especially to John Howard) that …”Hey, it really is happening, the earth is warming up because of human activity…OMG!”
Glad you enjoyed the post and really heartfelt appreciation for your voice and opinion..
Thank you
Lilla~
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Indeed it may well be the last line of true democracy left to swing a vote …
…you speak the truth… loud and clear… thank you.
Lilla ~
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…your words are genuinely revelatory to an Australian… especially a rather sleepy one like me *lol*
Wow : why am I not surprised?
I also read somewhere too, that Al Gore recently joined the board of Apple Mac, just after they were incited for all kinds of environmental naughtiness … no idea what’s going on there, except that a whole new rage of Apple Mac’s came out here. As you may know, the US usually off-loads the “dangerous” stuff to Australia… I think it was badly designed ergonomic furniture and faulty heart valves last time... it’s something that infuriates many of my American (and Canadian) friends… but I say, Caveat Emptor (Buyer Beware or beware when you buy)…
...it’s time Australians woke up and voted in a leader who will rub this nonsense out, just like the UK and other countries have, without the need to live in each other’s pockets… blab la, I could go on, but I loved your comment! You see it got me going on all sorts of injustice and ridiculousness…*lol*
Thank you for truly enlightening comment Miss…never made the frontline news here? If it did, I missed it…
Lilla~
Rugby World Cup 2007
I thought you might be interested in this;
celebrity tourism The Bulletin
Aap kaise he aaj?
Dusk
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Bahut Acha...Main hun bahut kammen (spelling?)
I loved this article ... and this woman.. you know my feelings are, that she will end up leaving us early, like in her movie "Across Borders" ... on one of her missions?
What Damo says is so... spot on... and it may be the only 'front-line' defence left... at least she is doing something with her money, other than primping around like Paris Hilton... that's for sure ... If I had the millions she has, I'd probably be doing the same too, in fact, I'm pretty sure I would... power to her ... and to Mother Theresa who coined the phrase : There are no great works, only little works done with great love...
Perhaps that's all an awareness concert is trying to achieve too, in a twisted consumerist way?
Dhaniwhad Mera Mitr...
Ap Hain..?
Lilla~
Rugby World Cup 2007
I too admire this woman for doing what she does....mainly because hers is a profession I have never understood...
(I have always thought it odd these people are paid millions to be fundamentally insecure....how else could they shed their 'real' selves so well and adapt and adopt another character...)
...and because she is doing something with the opportunities life has given her.
I do know she gives over a third of her "ridiculous income from a superficial job" (her words) away.
So many people like to condemn her for being nothing more than a 'show pony'....but I truly believe it's because she looks the way she does.
It's like she cannot possibly be altruistic and beautiful.
Nor 'give up' walking red carpets on Tosscar Award nights to do fly by night (literally) food drops.
Sheesh.
Yes.
And yes to this...
I suppose...any raising of awareness is a good thing but it is....twisted.
Why can't things just be done?
Why must there always be something given to get help?
That's what bugs me.
These concerts...I feel....they're selfish.
Pander to the masses. Make them feel good first.
Because you can't get something for nothing, blah, blah.....
grrrrrrr....I'm about to blow my Aqua top!!!!!
Lilla...main aapke barey main sapna dekhi thi....I don't know why....we were deep in baat....
Learning Something Everyday
If it can even only touch one person's heart to look into poverty issue, it is a small breakthrough.
Have a blessed day
An article would like to share with you. Hope you'll have some time to read.
The Power Of One Person
From The Home Front
Enviro Warrior
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...thanks for your thoughtful comment... it is a sad truth, but it is a truth, none-the-less - just one soul reached is a good thing in the issue of poverty. There is no doubt that these concerts do reach many many many people and as I've said before, may well manage to swing young voters - to greener pastures - come polling day...
I enjoyed the link too, thank you.
Lilla ...