In life, John Lennon was a great humanitarian who changed the lives of many with his thought provoking lyrics and music such as “Imagine.” Although he died 34 years ago this December 8, his words and music continues to inspire others to help change the world for the better.
On November 20, UNICEF, along with Yoko Ono, Hugh Jackman, and ABBA member Björn Ulvaeus kicked off the #IMAGINE project at the UN General Assembly as part of celebrations for the 25 th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child as reported by Rolling Stone . The campaign launch included a video of John Lennon’s “Imagine” that featured cameos by more than 100 people, including musicians, actors, sports figures, dignitaries and children’s choirs. Among them were Katy Perry, Adam Lambert, and Lance Bass singing alongside clips of Lennon performing the song.
#IMAGINE is a UNICEF initiative with hopes of uniting millions of people together to raise awareness and funds for children’s rights globally. In collaboration with DJ and producer David Guetta and Yoko Ono, UNICEF wants to bring the world together to create the first video of its kind. This new interactive digital experience, powered by TouchCast, will allow people across the globe to record their own version of “Imagine,” John Lennon’s iconic anthem of hope and peace, alongside their favorite stars, in what UNICEF hopes will be the largest-ever global sing-along.
Producer Guetta said about his participation, “I’m really excited to be working with UNICEF on this incredible new project. Our ‘world’ version of ‘Imagine’ will be like no other – I am proud to be a part of this collaboration. We have to get the word out that every voice counts and every child counts, too.”
These individual recordings and those of UNICEF’s Ambassadors and other artists will be made into a multi-lingual ‘world’ version of “Imagine,” produced by David Guetta. To learn more about Guetta , read a related article from The Inquisitr about his upcoming album.
Everyone who records the song has the chance to have their vocals and videos used in the new UNICEF version of “Imagine” and in the accompanying interactive music video, created by TouchCast and TheBridge.com – both of which will be released in the lead up to New Year’s Eve 2014.
#IMAGINE participants can also share their own recording of Lennon’s song with friends and family on social media and encourage others to perform “Imagine” too. They can also record personal messages describing what they imagine a better world for children would be like.
To participate in this global, history making music event, you can download the free TouchCast app via Apple’s App Store or at http://imagine.unicef.org website, sing your version of “Imagine” with John Lennon and share with friends.
Share your recordings with friends with the hashtags #EVERYVOICECOUNTS and #IMAGINE.
Participants will also have the opportunity to donate to UNICEF. Funds raised through the #IMAGINE project will support the organization’s programs providing education, nutrition, healthcare and immunizations, clean water and sanitation, and protection and emergency relief for children in more than 150 countries and territories.
Yoko Ono summed up her thoughts on the event with this powerful sentence.
“A dream you dream alone may be a dream, but a dream two people dream together is a reality.”