More than 300 children, from primary schools across the island, will join together in song later this month as ‘one voice for peace’ raising money for the children and families of Ukraine.
Children of the World in Mann will take place on Tynwald Hill in St John’s on Wednesday next week (September 21) - World Peace Day.
The gathering, which it’s hoped will be an annual event, is inspired by and registered with the One Day, One Choir group, a global choral project for peace which aims to ‘use the harmonious power of singing together to unite people around the world’.
Children from 16 primary schools will join together at Tynwald Hill to sing choruses from songs such as John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’ and The Beatles’ ‘All You Need is Love’.
They will be accompanied by Hello Little People’s’ Michelle James and Chloe Shimmin. And the children will be led in procession by members of percussion band Sambamann.
Children from Bunscoill Ghaelgagh will sing a song in Manx and a group of Ukrainian children will sing a song for peace.
Organiser Pauline Quayle DeHaven came up with the idea of a One Day, One Choir style event to promote peace while in the United States at the time of 9/11.
The war in Ukraine brought the idea back to the fore.
Pauline said: ‘The world is experiencing so much unrest.
‘My hope is that by bringing over 300 of our island’s primary school children together as ‘Children of the World in Mann’ to sing as one voice for peace on the One Day One Choir event, we not only celebrate our increasingly diverse island population but also demonstrate how important peace and unity are to us.’
She added: ‘Music is a universal language, it crosses all barriers, so linking up with the world renowned One Day One Choir Global Choral Project for Peace.
‘To hear our primary school children from across the island singing words from such songs as ‘Imagine’, ‘All You Need is Love’, ‘We are the World’ and other poignant pieces on World Peace Day will hopefully make a very powerful statement which will resonate with people everywhere.
‘And in this, our inaugural year, World Peace Day 2022, our children will be singing to raise funds for the children and adults of Ukraine.”
As this is the first year of the event and it is being organised by a very small team, organisers have said that it will be relatively low in terms of encouraging the wider public to attend. However, they hope the event will grow annually, as volunteer numbers increase.
They thanked everyone who had supported the project, the Rotary Club of Douglas and Soundcheck Charity, whose support is making the event possible.
To learn more or make a donation to support the people of Ukraine go to www.facebook.com/OneDayOne ChoirIOM.