Liberia CHANGE Concert: 2015

LIBERIA CHANGE 2015 is a Festival of Music using known artist from various genres.  The artists have been surveyed and are found to have a heavy appeal amongst the youth and young adult demographic in Liberia.  Using these artists provide the maximum draw for the message of CHANGE.
 

The goal is to plant seeds of social awareness and responsibility into the lives of the upcoming generations.  Liberia is particularly in need of this type voice for many reasons.  Mostly because:

• Post civil war Liberia finds the population of the nation largely youth and young adults.
• Growing population of nearly 4million people, 60% of them are 30 years and under.
• The education system has been non-impacting since the war.
• The average Liberian lives on less than $1USD per day and most educational institutions require school fees that the average Liberian simply cannot afford.
• With a failing educational infrastructure and a waning hunger for long term professional studies,  the nation is heading for a uncertain future.
• Daily activities for most  young Liberians consist of a hand-to-mouth hustle without regard for future and longevity of national infrastructure.
• Many are left without hope that they can CHANGE and make a national difference. 
• There are not enough positive examples to inspire a CHANGE of daily habits of hopelessness.
• Education and responsibility for tomorrow needs to come to the forefront.
• As in most modern cultures, the Government is always relationally positioned to speak to the youth and young adult generation.  Most officials find they are relationally disconnected by generational gaps and the great divide of an ever changing social culture of youth and young adults.

 

With these factors in mind, we propose this Festival of Music that is more than a concert.  It is a concert for the masses to hear, see and get infected with the message of needed CHANGE.  For Liberia CHANGE 2015 we will use the platform of Joshua Milton Blayhi, former warlord called ‘General Butt Naked’ and the campaign of Journey Against Violence.  Journey Against Violence is a reformation compound run by Joshua for some of the ex-combatants, former child soldiers and present day vagabonds.   The campaign has serviced several hundred candidates and transformed the lives of many former child solider, combatants, criminals and drug addicts living in the streets without hope of returning to acceptance and productivity within the Liberian community.  The Liberian community is very small knit, and held together by tradition and reputation.  Once you receive a bad reputation e.g., a street person, criminal, former combatant ...etc, you are categorized by your history and previous heinous war acts and are excommunicated and disdained.  Since the war, Joshua Blayhi has converted from being one of the most feared African warlords to becoming one of the foremost leaders of humanitarianism.  He is conscious pro-action help in correcting the wrongs he once created and perpetuated.  He is doing so through an organization called Journey Against Violence.  He has the ear and respect of the youth, many of which once fought for him and are now in need of a CHANGE to take place in their own lives.  He has shared the stage with many religious leaders and government officials of many African nations, including the President of Liberia, the Honorable Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.  Some of the graduates have turned from a lifestyle of drug and life abuse and sleeping in cemeteries to now being completely drug free, married, owners of multiple businesses and acres of land.  We will parade these graduates before, during and after the concert to manufacture an aspiration and conviction of CHANGE.  We can only aspire for what we believe is possible.

The target market is the youth and young adult demographic of the nation.  However, both the young and the elders of the nation will benefit from this event as CHANGE is communicated  through the music of local celebrities and many respected artists of the West.  

Journey Against Violence currently operates a 20 member transformation complex.  From the proceeds of the concert, CHANGE is projecting to build a 500 member compound that can transform approx. 500 ex-combatants, vagabonds and drug addicts  every 6 months. 

We will aim to use the stage and platform of music.  Every genre of music enjoyed by this generation will be employed; from Rap/Hip Hop, to Reggae and Gospel we are aiming to utilize every form of musical influence to get this message of CHANGE across.