At the UN General Assembly, Music Opens the World's Most Important Conversation

NEW YORK, Sept. 25, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The opening notes of this year's United Nations General Assembly did not come from a gavel or a speech, but from the soaring harmonies of young voices. The Sing for Hope HandaHarmony Youth Chorus, supported by the International Foundation for Arts and Culture (Dr. Haruhisa Handa, Global Patron) and the Sing for Hope Founders' Circle, joined with members of the Metropolitan Opera Chorus (Tilman Michael, Director) to transform the UNGA Hall into a concert of shared humanity.

For one rare moment, the heads of state, Nobel Laureates, and global delegates gathered in the chamber set aside their differences and breathed together—bound by music, the language of peace.

"The arts are our lingua franca, reminding us that what we have in common is greater than what divides us," said Sing for Hope Co-Founder Camille Zamora, who, alongside fellow Co-Founder Monica Yunus, addressed assembled delegates in a historic High-Level Side Event on Social Business, Youth, and Technology. "As such, the arts deserve a place at the policymaking table as a public good, fast-tracking progress across all key sectors, from education to diplomacy to public health."

Monica Yunus reminded the assembled leaders of the wisdom of her father, Nobel Peace Laureate Muhammad Yunus: "Human creativity is unlimited. It is the capacity of humans to make things happen that didn't happen before." She went on to discuss Sing for Hope's work that, in alignment with Sustainable Development Goal 17: Partnerships for the Goals, leverages a global network of partners in co-created arts programming that brings hope, healing, and connection to hospitals, schools, and public spaces worldwide. "Artists are the original community health workers, so including the arts in our UN conversations makes profound sense. Art is a time-tested tool for collaboration and co-development—vital ingredients of global progress."

Yunus and Zamora's remarks echoed the UN's own theme for its 80th anniversary: "Better Together." And together is exactly how Sing for Hope works: forging a network of powerful community partnerships and uniting youth, artists, global leaders, and organizations across borders to build a more just, connected, and sustainable world.

In keeping with that core value, Sing for Hope was honored this week to be the first arts organization invited to be an Official Partner of The Global Committee on Social Business for the Sustainable Development Goals. This distinguished committee, comprised of leaders from YY Foundation (Dominique Dauster), China-United States Exchange Foundation (James Chau), and other global ngos, foasters cross-sector partnerships that drive knowledge, creativity, and innovation aimed at achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) via the methodology of social business, with special emphasis on empowering youth and harnessing the transformative potential of technology.

During the committee's UNGA panel this week, Sing for Hope's Co-Founders invited to the podium 12-year-old Sing for Hope Lab student Lauren Martin, who spoke eloquently about the life-changing role of arts education in vulnerable communities. Her words highlighted the importance of the Sing for Hope Global Goals Arts Curriculum, the organization's free digital platform that equips educators and young people to take on urgent issues like climate change through the transformative power of creativity. For the past six years, the Sing for Hope HandaHarmony Youth Chorus—with members ranging from ages 8 to 18—has brought this vision to life on the UN's global stage. Their performances have become living proof of creative youth leadership in action.

Further, that creative youth leadership now has a constant emblem at the United Nations, as part of the UN's permanent art collection: the Sing for Hope HandaHarmony Piano, glowing with SDG-themed artwork by SFH Artist Partners Chris Soria and Danielle Macdonald, part of SFH's global fleet of playable art pieces reaching millions of people in more than 50 cities and 6 continents.

From public plazas to policymaking halls, Sing for Hope's message is clear: youth creativity is the world's greatest renewable resource. It is not ancillary to our shared future—it is essential.

Yesterday, world leaders listened as Sing for Hope delivered this message in spoken words from the podium and, more importantly, in the voiced harmonies of our youngest global citizens.

About Sing for Hope

Sing for Hope harnesses the power of the arts to create a better world. Our creative programs bring hope, healing, and connection to millions of people in hospitals, schools, care facilities, refugee camps, transit hubs, and public spaces worldwide. A non-profit organization founded in New York City in response to the events of 9/11, Sing for Hope partners with hundreds of community-based organizations, mobilizes thousands of artists in creative service, and produces artist-created Sing for Hope Pianos across the US and around the world. The official Cultural Partner of the World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates, Sing for Hope champions art for all because we believe the arts have an unmatched capacity to uplift, unite, and heal.

Sing for Hope's work is made possible by the Sing for Hope Founders' Circle: The International Foundation for Arts and Culture (Dr. Haruhisa Handa, Sing for Hope Global Patron), The Arnhold Foundation in loving memory of Sissy and Henry Arnhold, The Thea Petschek Iervolino Foundation, The Anna-Maria & Stephen Kellen Foundation, Jacqueline Novogratz and Chris Anderson, Pershing Square Philanthropies, The Seedlings Foundation, and Ann Ziff; The National Endowment for the Arts; New York State Council on the Arts; Fosun International; and the generosity of donors like you.

Learn more at singforhope.org

Media Contact:
Jennifer Register
[email protected]

SOURCE Sing for Hope