The Millennium Development Goals, which "range from halving extreme poverty to halting the spread of HIV/AIDS and providing universal primary education, all by the target date of 2015," are probably not very familiar to many Filipinos. MDG, its acronym, will likely not be easily recognizable, either. Data on progress made by the Philippines since the MDGs were adopted are available through UNDP and NSCB. The goals are noble, but why should Filipinos care?
Well, Filipinos care very much about music, especially if celebrities are involved. And that, I believe, is the reason that there is now such a thing as an MDG Album. With artists like Sharon Cuneta, Gary Valenciano, Lea Salonga, Martin Nievera, and Sarah Geronimo involved, how can Filipinos not pay attention? Sadly, the songs do not seem to have become more widely known.
Perhaps because the songs are not available? When I first read about the album through "UN agency turns to Pinoy music to fight poverty" by Volt Contreras (Philippine Daily Inquirer, 23 October 2005), I wanted to write about it but couldn't find anything online beyond news articles. I eventually forgot about it.
Sometime between then and the end of the 2005, the album was made available online. The MDG Anthem is available in English ("No One Else But Us") and Filipino ("Tayo Tayo Rin"), but I prefer the latter, whose lyrics and the singers involved are listed at UniVOICEsal Productions. If you would like to listen to the album, please visit one of the following:
Happy New Year!!!
Category: Filipiniana Online
