YouTube partners with U.S. State Department to promote peace
Jun 24, 2024 – minute read
We are proud to introduce the U.S. Global Music Ambassadors Chuck D, Herbie Hancock, Armani White, BRELAND, Denyce Graves, Grace Bowers, Jelly Roll, Justin Tranter, Kane Brown, Lainey Wilson, and Teddy Swims. Watch the announcement with remarks from the U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and more here.
Music is a unifying force – it transcends language, culture and borders. It helps us understand and appreciate each other in ways almost nothing else can. During the height of the Cold War, the United States launched the Jazz Ambassadors program and sent artists like Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie and Sarah Vaughn overseas to bridge cultural gaps and cultivate goodwill across the globe. The Jazz Ambassadors program left a lasting legacy, demonstrating the power of music as a diplomatic tool for fostering cultural understanding.
Today, we’re proud to announce that YouTube is partnering with the U.S. State Department to build on that legacy. This collaboration is part of the State Department’s Global Music Diplomacy Initiative, a worldwide effort to elevate music as a diplomatic platform to promote peace and democracy.
This effort will be grounded by a remarkable group of Global Music Ambassadors representing different genres of music and generations of people. We are thrilled to share the inaugural cohort of ambassadors, which consists of Chuck D, Herbie Hancock alongside Armani White, BRELAND, Denyce Graves, Grace Bowers, Jelly Roll, Justin Tranter, Kane Brown, Lainey Wilson, and Teddy Swims, with more to come. You can read more about what inspired each of these talented humans to join us on this plight here.
As the center of global music culture, YouTube is uniquely positioned to help amplify these voices. In addition to the new U.S. Global Music Ambassadors, this partnership will focus on several key areas:
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- Micro-Grants for Social Impact: We will make investments to support U.S. exchange alumni internationally who are using music to drive positive change in their communities, expanding access to education, economic opportunity, and social inclusion.
- English Language Learning Through Music: We will assist State Department efforts to leverage music programming as an English language learning tool, opening doors to new opportunities for learners worldwide.
- Supporting the Creative Economy: We will support opportunity and equity in the creative economy through in-country engagements with audiences and aspiring creators, beginning in Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, and India.
- Leveraging Global Events: We will utilize major international gatherings, such as the G20 meetings in Brazil to inspire action around the unifying power of music.
This new partnership was catalyzed by the bipartisan PEACE Through Music Diplomacy Act, a 2022 law that authorized the State Department to work with the private sector to design and implement music-related exchange programs. We're excited to be a part of the next chapter in music diplomacy, helping to amplify the voices of artists and strengthen our community bonds across borders.
Music reminds us more of what we can have in common than what separates us. That is the message we intend to echo around the world as we embark on this partnership, using the power of music to inspire peace for all.
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