Press Releases

U.S. Embassy Celebrates Daniel Pearl World Music Day

October 15, 2009

The U.S. Embassy is pleased to announce that for the first time Daniel Pearl World Music Days will be celebrated in Mauritius, in collaboration with Radio One, through a FREE concert/show on Friday, October 23 from 18.45 to 22.00 hrs at the Indira Gandhi Center for Indian Culture in Phoenix.  The concert will feature various well-known local artists: Eric Triton, Gina Jean Charles, Black Men Bluez, La Foule and Kreol Jazz Pioneers.  The show will also feature live painting and poetry. 

Tickets are available, on a first-come first-served basis, from Monday to Thursday between 11.00 and 12.00 hrs and 15.00 – 16.00 hrs and on Friday from 10.00 to 11.00.

Daniel Pearl was a Wall Street Journal reporter who was kidnapped and murdered in Pakistan in 2002.  A talented musician, Daniel Pearl connected to people through music in every country he visited, often joining local music groups and participating in impromptu jam sessions.  After his death, his family and friends established the Daniel Pearl Foundation.

Daniel Pearl Music Day is a program of the Daniel Pearl Foundation, which is committed to promoting cross-cultural understanding, combating cultural and religious hatred, encouraging responsible and creative journalism, and uniting people through music and dialogue.  The 8th Annual Daniel Pearl World Music Days, a global network of concerts and performances from October 1 to 31, celebrates the power of music to bridge cultural and religious barriers. Since 2002, Daniel Pearl World Music Days has grown to include the participation of more than 3,100 performances in 85 countries.

The concert on Friday, October 23 will mark the end of a week’s activity on press freedom and journalism ethics in Mauritius - a program conducted under the Department of State Speaker Program.  The Embassy hopes to make the Daniel Pearl World Music Day celebration an annual event.

More information on the Daniel Pearl World Music Days is available at:  http://www.danielpearlmusicdays.org/ and http://www.danielpearl.org/.