The world needs more love, according to international music producer and DJ David Guetta, who has partnered with the United Nations to raise money for aid relief in Typhoon Haiyan-stricken Philippines and other humanitarian needs, and who released his new music video last week.
Credit/Copyright: UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe
“Music is a powerful way to connect and to bring people together,” said Mr. Guetta.
Together with the UN and international aid organizations, he launched in New York a specially-produced video for his new track ‘One Voice’ in support of “The World Needs More___” campaign.
“If we can make a change just by saying what the world needs now and raise money to help the UN – wow. That’s incredible,” Mr. Guetta noted.
Launched on World Humanitarian Day, marked on 19 August, the campaign allows leading brands and individuals to sponsor a word.
The music video was last week projected onto the exterior of the world body’s iconic New York Headquarters building at a special event that featured UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Mr. Guetta.
Mr. Ban, who started last week with a visit to the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland, and who sees the divisions, atrocities and wars of the world, thanked Guetta for his “courage to change and create a new future for us all.”
The new video for ‘One Voice’ can be seen on both Guetta’s Facebook page and the campaign website, where the video will be featured exclusively.
Following the broadcast of the music video, the building was used as the backdrop for an interactive Twitter wall, becoming the canvas for tweets from around the globe.
“When I play, people are as one on the dance floor. I want the same for the world. No matter how busy you are or where you are, we all share this planet and help each other. We should be as one.”
The French musician has already sponsored ‘#love’ and each time the word is shared on Twitter or through the campaign website www.theworldneedsmore.org, it unlocks a dollar towards aid efforts in the world’s most underfunded crises – literally turning words of support into financial support.
The campaign is a collaborative effort between the United Nations Foundation, the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the International Council of Voluntary Agencies (ICVA), and advertising agency Leo Burnett New York.
By supporting a sponsored word through the double hashtag #theworldneedsmore #yourword, $1 will be donated to the efforts. In the United States only, individuals also have the options to contribute $10 by texting ‘ONEVOICE’ to 90999.
Mr. Guetta said he hopes his fans – some 47 million followers on Facebook and 16 million on Twitter – can help raise the millions needed in the Philippines, “I created the video especially for this campaign, and use it to reach out to fans.”
“I wanted to help, but I didn’t know how, so I went to the people that do,” he said about producing the music video for his new song. "Working with the UN, with the people who really are in charge, has been an inspiring and humbling experience.
