World Culture Open pulled out all the stops for their inaugural Awards Ceremony at Lincoln Center¡¯s Avery Fisher Hall, dazzling the near-capacity audience with a richly diverse spectrum of the world¡¯s offerings in music, dance, and martial arts. Artists from China, Georgia, Honduras, Israel, Mozambique, Pakistan, Palestine, Portugal, Rwanda, Sioux Nation, South Korea, Turkey and the United States graced the stage in a remarkably stunning four-hour performance on Thursday, September 9, 2004.

The Awards Ceremony, as the name implies, honored twelve finalists competing for one of three $100,000 Peace Prizes for Arts and Culture. The twelve finalists selected among 179 nominees from 57 countries include; Dr. Antonio Jose Abreu (Venezuela), Dr. Arthur Demarest (USA), The Barefoot College (India), NYC¡¯s The Boys Choir of Harlem, Casa Alianza (Central America), Chinese Theatre Circle (Singapore), Eloxochitl Ivonne M. Buendia Sanchez (Mexico), Grupo de Teatro Catalinas Sur (Argentina), Interactive Resource Centre (Pakistan), International Education for Peace (Switzerland), Orcamento Participativo (Brazil) and WITNESS (USA). During the Awards Ceremony, short films, created as a tribute to each finalist, illuminated the phenomenal contributions to peacebuilding each of the finalists have offered to this world.

Announcement of WCO Goodwill Ambassador

Highlights of the Awards Ceremony included a special appearance by internationally renowned hip-hop artist and activist, Wyclef Jean. Mr. Jean, who graciously appeared on Lincoln Center stage to announce the honored recipient of the inaugural WCO Goodwill Ambassador Award, reflected on the moment by saying,

"In honor of his outstanding work, building peace and understanding through the arts¡¦it is pleasure for me, Wyclef Jean as a student of Youssou N¡¯Dour, somebody I look up to and respect from the bottom of my heart, he is an inspiration¡¦we present the first ever WCO Goodwill Ambassador award to Mr. Youssou N¡¯Dour."

What followed was an emotionally riveting performance by musician activist and Goodwill Ambassador, Youssou N¡¯Dour. Internationally renowned as a singer, songwriter, composer and a powerful cultural icon in Senegal engaged in addressing social issues, N¡¯Dour deftly graced the stage with a voice and melody unparalleled.

Keynote Address

Additional highlights included the keynote address eloquently delivered by Dr. Hong, co-President of World Culture Open. Among the many noteworthy remarks in the keynote, Dr. Hong kindly reminded the audience of the real meaning behind the Awards Ceremony by saying:

"The artists performing tonight, as well as the twelve finalists being honored for their groundbreaking work, are inspiring examples of a growing movement that is building bridges between societies using the arts and culture. Tonight, we celebrate twelve phenomenal bridge-builders engaged in the Creative Arts, the Holistic Wellbeing and the Humanitarian Service who are working diligently for a better world. I invite you to join us on this exciting and necessary journey, building bridges where chasms exist."

Ceremony Performances

The Awards Ceremony was marked by a plentitude of unique and mesmeric moments: the Mayor of Seoul appeared at the Awards Ceremony to bless the evening festivities and to invite the audience to visit WCO¡¯s cultural Olympics in Korea the following week, and a gripping performance by Palestinian and Israeli Oud players working to bridge the devastating political divides that have plagued their region for half a century.

The Awards Ceremony frequently moved the audience to tears throughout the energetically charged evening. One audience member who runs the Albanian-American Women¡¯s Association exclaimed the following in response to the performance at Lincoln Center:

"Words are not enough to thank you for your most generous heart and giving us the opportunity to be there not as an individuals but as a whole community... my people danced, my people shone, their faces were in amazement to see beauty, rhythm, love, charity and service¡¦all united. Last night my heart was elevated, freed and I wanted to be disappearing in that music, which I really did but wished it had lasted to eternity." WCO Awards go to...
Near the close of the Ceremony, World Culture Open awarded its first "Peace Prize for Arts and Culture" to Brazil¡¯s Orcamento Participativo in the Humanitarian Service Category and the second Peace Prize for Arts and Culture to Dr. Antonio Jose Abreu of Venezuela in the Creative Arts category. The winners receive US$100,000 for their work promoting through arts and culture the wellbeing of a society and peace between different cultures. Because there were few nominations in the area of Holistic Arts, WCO announced there would be no WCO Holistic Arts award this year. However, the WCO plans to use the $100,000 award money to create a Holistic Arts Scholarship Program that will distribute grants to organizations to promote the holistic approach to wellbeing and its practice in actual life.