In November 2011, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) officially designated April 30 as International Jazz Day in order to highlight jazz and its diplomatic role of uniting people in all corners of the globe. International Jazz Day is chaired and led by Irina Bokova, UNESCO Director General, and legendary jazz pianist and composer Herbie Hancock, who serves as a UNESCO Ambassador for Intercultural Dialogue and Chairman of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz.
International Jazz Day brings together communities, schools, artists, historians, academics, and jazz enthusiasts all over the world to celebrate and learn about jazz and its roots (you can learn the scales here as well), future and impact; raise awareness of the need for intercultural dialogue and mutual understanding; and reinforce international cooperation and communication.
In December 2012, the United Nations General Assembly formally welcomed the decision by the UNESCO General Conference to proclaim April 30 as International Jazz Day. The United Nations and UNESCO now both recognize International Jazz Day on their official calendars.
Why International Jazz Day?
• Jazz breaks down barriers and creates opportunities for mutual understanding and tolerance
• It is a vector of freedom of expression
• It is a symbol of unity and peace
• It reduces tensions between individuals, groups, and communities
• It fosters gender equality
• It reinforces the role youth play for social change
• It encourages artistic innovation, improvisation, new forms of expression, and inclusion of traditional music forms into new ones
• It stimulates intercultural dialogue and empowers young people from marginalized societies.
Did You Know?
International Dance Day was introduced in 1982 by the International Dance Council (CID, Conseil International de la Danse), a UNESCO partner NGO, and is celebrated yearly, on April 29. The main purpose of Dance Day events is to attract the attention of the wider public to the art of dance. Emphasis should be given to addressing a new public, people who do not follow dance events during the course of the year.
