We will start with a question that absolutely needs to be tackled; how do you give the most vulnerable populations around the world a voice? Oren Yakobovich, the founder of an international foundation “Videre”, helps local activists to capture evidence of human rights violations which is then distributed to those who have the power to create change. In a BBC Newsnight interview, Yakobovich explains: “We got a lot of footage of intimidation that’s done by perpetrators that were sure that because they’re working in the rural areas they got impunity. […]This footage was broadcasted in local channels, and the perpetrators understood that someone is watching them […] it’s an immediate deterrence.”

Refugees fleeing a war-torn city face dire challenges. But what about those who stay behind? Focusing on the civil war in Syria, Doreen Khouri works with people and organizations who are still inside cities like Aleppo and Raqqa as they struggle to carry on in the midst of civil war and in the absence of state structure. She recognizes that the “Syrian grassroots civilian opposition has been the primary engine of the popular uprising against the regime of Bashar Assad. They have created sophisticated structures of civilian administration in the liberated areas of Syria. Currently, the protracted violence, sectarianism, radicalization, lack of coordination among rebel forces and deteriorating social conditions are putting the survival of these local coordination committees and local opposition councils in serious jeopardy.” (Source)

On to a more positive note – call it “Indo-rock opera.” The duo Circle of Sound, consisting of Soumik Datta and Bernhard Schimpelsberger integrate influence and instruments across cultures pinned together by the Indian rhythm. Aged 29, Sournik Datta, the ‘British Sarod Maestro’ (Time Out) has taken the ancient, Indian, stringed instrument into a global arena. His self-built electro-acoustic Sarod is unique in its integration of classical Indian music with live looping, rock, punk and electronica. The British Austrian drummer Bernhard Schimpelsberger is a single phenomenon in the world of percussion today. A visionary in merging rhythms, he has unified the rhythmic tradition of India and the West in his unique personal drumming style. (Source)