Power of song : an analysis on the power of music festivals or conserts as a tool for human rights education in Africa

Abstract

Music has been an intrinsic part of not only my life but human life and the development of every people, society and culture throughout history. Music possesses the power to cross social, racial, cultural, economic and religious barriers and has the ability to truly touch people on a personal and emotional level which is why some even today fear the influence and impact of music. The process of trying to redeem humanitarian values can seem almost impossible in certain situations, however, human rights educators and researchers in social development have held that “change is successful when brought about at the micro-level.” Those in charge of organising human rights education (HRE) programmes need to take into account the social, political, cultural and economic contexts and the extent to which this education will have for social transformation. HRE in itself is primarily focused on building a human rights culture in communities and the programmes set up is evaluated on the basis of its realisation of this.In addition to building a human rights culture, HRE also leads to advocacy on those human rights issues. This is mostly as a result of societies where there is a struggle to embody and uphold human rights values. HRE would therefore need specific target groups and programmes following particular frameworks such as “fostering and enhancing leadership; coalition and alliance development; and personal empowerment” aimed at firstly healing of that community, its development and social transformation finally.