Multi Grammy Award-Winning Artist Jason Mraz to Perform at Historic MTV Exit Concert in Yangon, Myanmar to Raise Awareness of Human Trafficking

YANGON, Myanmar, November 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

First ever international concert to be held in Myanmar in front of iconic Shwedagon pagoda on December 16

Concert to air in more than a half-billion homes as a special edition of "MTV World Stage"

MTV EXIT (End Exploitation and Trafficking) today announces a historic live concert in Myanmar to be held on December 16^th to raise awareness and increase prevention of human trafficking. The free live concert will be held at the Yangon People's Square, which lies at the base of the magnificent 2600 year-old Shwedagon Pagoda, one of the most iconic and auspicious sites in the country.

Multi GRAMMY award-winning singer songwriter Jason Mraz will headline the event becoming the first international artist ever to perform at an open-air concert in Myanmar. Also performing are Myanmar's top artists including Phyu Phyu Kyaw Thein and R Zarni. Sharing the stage at the free concert will be speakers from the anti-trafficking sector, government and donor community who work to fight human trafficking in Myanmar.

In addition, MTV EXIT today launches a contest giving fans a chance to win a trip to see Jason Mraz live in Myanmar. Contest details are at http://www.mtvexit.org.

MTV EXIT Live in Myanmar will be broadcast in Myanmar on national television and will air across MTV's international network in early 2013 as a special edition of "MTV World Stage," MTV's weekly live music series. Available in more than a half-billion homes, the program will feature performances, interviews and key educational information about human trafficking.

The event is funded by the Australian Government's Agency for International Development (AusAID), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Walk Free, a global movement to end modern-day slavery; and produced in partnership with the Government of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, the United Nations Inter-Agency Project Against Human Trafficking (UNIAP) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Jason Mraz has taken his musical journey from coffee houses to stadiums globally and now has two GRAMMY awards and six GRAMMY nominations to his credit.  In 2008, his third album, We Sing We Dance We Steal Things, featured the hit "I'm Yours," which sold more than 21 million units worldwide and the GRAMMY-winning songs "Make It Mine" and "Lucky."  Most recently, Mraz released Love Is A Four Letter Word, which features the chart-topping song, "I Won't Give Up."  Mraz has been a longtime advocate against human trafficking, engaging with anti-trafficking organizations in Ghana and The Philippines.  The Californian singer last performed to capacity crowds in Asia in June 2012 as part of the Tour Is A Four Letter Word world tour.

Human trafficking is a tragic crime that enslaves and exploits its victims, the majority of which are women and children. There are more than 20 million people living in slavery around the world with Myanmar and Southeast Asia particularly affected. The concert forms part of a wider initiative that seeks to educate and train youth through innovative television programming, digital content, capacity building workshops and community-based events. MTV EXIT Live in Myanmar follows the production of two Myanmar MTV EXIT documentaries on human trafficking, which were broadcast in 2010 and 2012 on national television to educate the public about the dangers of trafficking.

MTV EXIT is also proud to partner with Edelman, the world's largest public relations firm. Further details on the concert including how to obtain free tickets will be released soon. For more information, visit http://www.mtvexit.org or follow MTV EXIT on the following social media platforms: Twitter @mtvexit and Facebook http://www.facebook.com/mtvexit.

More Information:

MTV EXIT

The MTV EXIT (End Exploitation and Trafficking) campaign is an award-winning multimedia initiative to raise awareness and increase prevention of human trafficking and exploitation. MTV EXIT was launched in Europe in 2004 and expanded across Asia with USAID in 2007. To date MTV EXIT has produced an extensive catalogue of powerful TV programming to promote awareness about human trafficking. MTV documentaries include Sold: An MTV EXIT Special presented by Lara Dutta; Traffic: An MTV EXIT Special, presented by Lucy Liu; and Inhuman Traffic, presented by Angelina Jolie; each of which have been translated into a dozen local language versions presented by Asian celebrities such as Rain of Korea and Phyu Phyu Kyaw Thein and R Zarni in Myanmar. Further MTV EXIT programming also includes short films, public service announcements, animated drama and music videos. MTV EXIT and Radiohead collaborated on an anti-exploitation video for their song All I Need, which premiered across MTV's global network with similar collaborations with The Killers, MUSE, The Click Five, etc. MTV EXIT has also established partnerships with over 100 non-governmental organizations, distributed hundreds of thousands of anti-trafficking brochures in over 25 languages, and reached out to millions of young people through anti-trafficking messages at concerts and music festivals featuring R.E.M., Radiohead, The White Stripes, The Hives, Thievery Corporation, Placebo, Jason Mraz and hundreds of other international and local artists. For more information visit http://www.mtvexit.org 

USAID

USAID, the United States Agency for International Development, is an independent U.S. Government agency that operates under the foreign-policy direction of the U.S. Secretary of State.  Since 1961, USAID has been the principal U.S. Government agency extending assistance to countries worldwide recovering from disaster, trying to escape poverty, and engaging in democratic reforms.  USAID's Regional Development Mission for Asia, based in Bangkok, oversees a broad portfolio of regional and transnational programs, and also provides support to several USAID bilateral missions in Asia as well as manages programs in countries in which it does not have a permanent presence.  Its regional approach addresses problems that cross national boundaries, such as human and wildlife trafficking, HIV/AIDS, natural resources conservation, trade, and political and economic conflict.  Please see http://www.usaid.gov for more information.

AusAID

AusAID is the Australian Agency for International Development. Australia's development assistance is guided by the Millennium Development Goals, the internationally agreed targets for poverty reduction, and by the Australian aid program's objective to assist developing nations to reduce poverty and achieve sustainable development. Australia works with NGOs, multilateral institutions and volunteers, as well as directly with national governments. Australia's support to the MTV EXIT Campaign complements other anti-trafficking work AusAID is undertaking in the region. These projects include the Asia Regional Trafficking in Persons (ARTIP) Project, which aims to strengthen the capacity of criminal justice agencies in South East Asia to respond to human trafficking; Project TRIANGLE, which works with governments in the region to improve the living and working conditions of migrants; and Project Childhood, which seeks to better protect children from child sex tourism and improve government systems to put the perpetrators of this crime behind bars. See http://www.ausaid.gov.au for more information.

Walk Free

Walk Free is a new movement of people everywhere working together to end one of the world's greatest evils: modern slavery. As we build our community across the world with the powerful tools of new technologies and social media, we will seek change at local, national and global levels. Walk Free's aim is to mobilise citizens, governments, businesses and communities to take action - so that slavery in all its forms is brought to an end, and people everywhere can walk free. http://www.walkfree.org

Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)  

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was established on 8 August 1967. The Member States of the Association are Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. The ASEAN Secretariat is based in Jakarta, Indonesia. General information on ASEAN appears on-line at the ASEAN Website: http://www.asean.org.

Human Trafficking

Human Trafficking is defined by the United Nations as "the recruitment, transportation, and receipt of a person for sexual or economical exploitation by force, fraud, coercion, or deception" in order to make a profit. It is a form of modern-day slavery with the UN estimating that there are more than 20 million people living in slavery around the world, with the majority of these victims in Asia and the Pacific. It is the second-largest illegal trade after drugs, with criminal traffickers earning over US$10 billion every year through the buying and selling of human beings. Often, victims are young men and women - the MTV demographic - who are guilty only of wanting a better life.

SOURCE MTV EXIT