Sudan365 Drumming Flashmob @ Latitude Festival

Join the crowd at Latitude this weekend wielding homemade drums, djembes and dustbin lids in a giant Sudan365 [2] drumming flashmob.

Organised by activists as part of the global Sudan365 campaign [2], the flashmobbers will use pots, pans, and other percussive instruments to drum along to a Beat for Peace [3] that started in Sudan and has travelled across the world.

The organisers haven’t yet revealed the mystery special guests but the flashmob promises to be lots of fun and full of surprises.

Jamie Catto, founding member of Faithless and one of the initiators of Sudan365 said: “Hundreds of people will join the ‘Beat for Peace in Sudan’ on Sunday. You can make a difference. Grab a drum, a pot or a pan or even a friend’s shoulder and start drumming.”

For more information, look out for posters telling you where and when it’s happening, check the Facebook page [4], and follow the Twitter feed [5]. And bring something to bang on!

These flashmobs will be appearing at many more festivals this summer – so watch this space.

 

Sudan365: the story so far

January 2010 a global drumbeat echoed around the world as people across Europe, Africa, the Middle East and the Americas came together to call on their governments to prevent a return to serious, widespread conflict in Africa’s biggest country, Sudan.

This marked the launch of Sudan365 – a year-long campaign drumming up support for Sudan’s peace process as it faces one of the most momentous events in African history: the landmark referendum in January 2011 where South Sudan will vote on whether to become an independent country.

This beat for peace was led by Phil Selway of Radiohead, Jonny Quinn of Snow Patrol, Stewart Copeland of The Police, Nick Mason of Pink Floyd, the renowned Egyptian drummer Yehia Khalil, Egyptian music star Mohammed Munir and Mustapha Tettey Addy from Ghana who has been drumming since the 1970s. Maxi Jazz from Faithless also features in the film, using music to bring the world together on the issue of Sudan.

The resulting video – ‘A Beat for Peace’ [6], produced by Jamie Catto and Splinter Films – featured on the YouTube homepage and received over 100,000 hits in its first day.

Simultaneous Sudan365 drumming events were held in Mali, Senegal, London, New York, San Francisco, Cairo, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Togo, Sierra Leone, Canada, Italy, Norway, Turkey, Kenya, Germany and South Sudan – making it a truly global beat for peace.

The campaign has already succeeded in getting commitments from the US, UK, Norway (who all helped to negotiate the original peace agreement), EU, African Union and the League of Arab States to increase their diplomatic engagement to prevent conflict.

Contact Pia on [7] / 0207 269 9450 for more info on Sudan365.

Join Sudan365 on Facebook [8]

Join Sudan365 on Twitter [5]

Visit sudan365.org [2] for more information