Global Peace Women hosted its second session of their 2021 webinar series. The series features women leaders sharing their experience and expertise to help peacebuilding in the home and society. The series launched in February and will run through July. Global Peace Woman was founded as a division of Global Peace Foundation in 2011 and has since grown to become an independent non-profit organization seeking to advance women-led initiatives for peace and human development.
The second session addressed “How to Use Music to Connect Generations.” Mrs. Rachel Murray opened the laughter and idea-filled webinar on March 28, 2021, with “We are the World.” The song was produced by a conglomerate of musicians in the ’80s to end hunger in Africa and has since become an anthem for positive social transformation around the world.
Mrs. Murray is co-pastor at the Lighthouse Church, USA, and a member of Global Peace Women’s International Advisory Council. She has served as Director of Music for more than 19 years. She was joined by young professional Ms. Won Moon Cho, and a student of Foreign Studies at Hankook University in the Republic of Korea and project director of “Peace Creator 2020.” The live-streamed webinar was joined by participants joined from 26 countries.
Mrs. Murray shared data that shows how music can create healthier and happier familial bonds. Families with more music in their lives ate 5.6 more meals together per week with 160% more time spent together around the dining table, were 22% more physically close, and 35% more likely to laugh together. She also shared that music can open communication that builds intergenerational bonds. “Start by trying to build the universal language of music and bridge the gap between the generations. Try to find common ground and respect each other’s music and have fun with your children and family members. It takes you and me to build the bridge and not break it down.”
Mrs. Murray gave 5 fun musical activities to create tighter and stronger familial bonds:
- Family Jam Session
- Family playlist
- Music dance night
- Family karaoke night
- Music trivia night
You can find her full list of 11 family music activities on the Global Peace Women site.
Ms. Won Moon Cho, a GPW Leadership Academy graduate, opened her part with “Korean Dream,” a song written by five-time Grammy award-winning duo Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis inspired by the vision for Korean reunification of the same name articulated by GPF founder Dr. Hyun Jin P. Moon. The song was written as “We are the World” for Korean reunification.
Jam and Lewis’s song inspired Won Moon to launch “Peace Creator 2020,” which combined online video tutorials and an awareness campaign for Korean reunification. The project created a space where university students could develop social consensus through a cultural platform. Video creators answered the question, “How can we contribute to making a better nation?” Despite setbacks due to COVID19, 80 videos were created during the project, and participants had positive reviews. Won Moon’s project is a good example of how music and video can be a tool for peacebuilding and education.
The Question and Answer session reaffirmed the power of music to connect not just generations in a family but even conflicting groups and nations. “It is about communication and finding a common thread,” said Mrs. Murray. She encouraged families and musicians to harness the power of music to build heal and connect in the family and the world.
The third session of Global Peace Women Webinar 2021 will be hosted on Saturday, April 24, 2 pm UTC, entitled, “Peacemaking as a Practice: Weaving Service into Everyday Family Life,” with Sara Aadland, director of Doing Good Together’s Big-Hearted Families Program and GPWLA graduate, and GPW Philippines Coordinator, Ah-Na Mira. We look forward to seeing you there for more hands-on strategies for building peace in the home and society.
