SOCIAL WEB FOR CHARITY!
Hello all! My Name is Dieter Huober, I am managing the Sawubona Music Jam Project.
In my professional life I am working (since countless light years) with IBM in Communications.
Connecting people to share knowledge, talent and culture for charity is a great experiment!
I am in "Good Hope" that you and me will have a lot fun with the "Songs & Poems Of Good Hope" - fun that helps South Africa!
To get this done, we need YOU! Check out the Sawubona Project and join our Community!
Sawubona Music Jam is a Corporate Social Responsibility Project.
All proceeds from the Sawubona Project, (CD and online sales as well as from the concerts) will support Township projects -
mostly in the education area like IBM South Africa's Corporate Social Responsibilty projects or Youth Unlimited
which organises soccer cups in Cape Town's Townships. Charity Projects
The Sawubona Music Jam is open for every musician and an IBM initiative together with partners.
The project runs from March 2008 until middle of 2010. Musicians all over the world can collaborate
via online tools to create the sound for 17 lyrics about South Africa.
The content of the lyrics are more or less real adventures of a foreign traveller at the Cape.
The result of the Sawubona Music Jam will be an album (CD & online) "Songs Of Good Hope" and concerts of a "Global Band".
In the context of "Poems of Good Hope" all Sawubona-visitors are invited, to post poems with the topic
"Good Hope" on the Sawubona Website.
The language of the poems is free choice, the lenght is restricted to 1500 characters.
Each user can work with the posted poems, combine, develop and vote. It's also possible to add voice recordings of the poems.
Hans-Dieter Huober tells:
The project "Songs Of Good Hope" was launched in 1994 when I wrote an article for the Think Magazine on IBM South Africa on behalf of the corporation.
One part of the article deals with CSR projects that IBM handed over to the succeeding organisation ISG (Information Service Group) after IBM left South Africa in 1987. ISG had different conditions to meet (no IT-deliveries to police, military and government as well as to continue the CSR projects). IBM invested approximately 30 million dollars in South African CSR projects from 1987 to 1994. The article puts its emphasis on these projects.
Prior to my South Africa journey, I was not able to get to know much on the projects because the responsible South African colleague was "on holiday" – no one knew anything about the 30 million dollars.
When I arrived at Johannesburg, I met Peter Mbelengwa, "the colleague who used to be on holiday" the next morning at the hotel. He assured to show me the projects right now. We left by car and I asked him where we were driving. Peter replied "We will spend the entire day in Soweto". At once images from the TV came in my mind…
We visited a Kindergarten, a primary school, a centre for adult education (where they offered business studies and basic accounting courses. With a certificate graduates could get small loan from credit institutes to start up a small business.) Our last stop was at the first built retirement centre. My wife talked to an 84 old female resident about the political changes. The woman mentioned: "To me it does not mean anything. But our grand children will benefit from it." We asked her whether she expects quick and small benefits and she replied: "We have been waiting for 342 years, what is a generation to wait?"
That day in Soweto was unique and an unbelievable experience. Therefore I wrote a song called "Soweto June 2004" dedicated to Peter Mbelengwa. We decided to visit more townships in company with Peter and spent eight weeks in South Africa in 1995. We experienced many adventures and stories. That is the origin of "Songs Of Good Hope", 17 songs on South Africa."
The first tours of the initial Sawubona band go back to 1998 and 1999 and took place in Germany. On November 21st the first concert in Karlsruhe was arranged in cooperation with IBM, "Die Zeit" and the Radio Bremen in occasion of the ending Online-Literature-Competition. The event was broadcasted live to Soweto where IBM South Africa simultaneously conducted a special event for its clients.
Beside many locations SAWUBONA played at the Theatre in Stuttgart, the English Garden in Munich (in occasion of South Africa’s national holiday), at the CeBIT in Hanover, at the Jazz Club "Hotel Bayerischer Hof" in Munich and at the "South African Party" in Travemünde.
