Europe -‐ with Power and Passion The Background Theme Europe is in deep trouble. The Euro, financial crisis, jobs, climate. Na?onalis?c tendencies abound. European voters are running away from Europe and the European idea. It seems very hard for Europe to sing from the same songsheet. Everybody seems to prefer their own songs. Nobody wants to listen to European songs. The European audience is uninspired, bored, disillusioned. Europe is NOT a hit. Europe is NOT hot. And the Danes don´t care. 1/3 of the Danish popula?on will not follow the Danish Presidency of the EU at all this spring according to a recent poll.
Our Idea We want to create a European choir of relevant stakeholders during the EU presidency in Denmark in the spring of 2012. The choir would ideally hold representa?ves of all member states. The number of par?cipants could be anywhere from 27 to 300. The members of the choir could be representa?ves from The European Council, The European Commission or The European Parliament. Ministers, officials, staff. Other relevant stakeholders could be included in the choir e.g. people from business, educa?on, culture, media and ordinary ci?zens.
The Challenge Step 1 • We set the stage -‐ briefly explaining the value of the musical metaphor to enliven European debates. • The conductor takes par?cipants through a 1-‐hour pra?ce session. • The session concludes with a final performance in front of an audience -‐ live or imaginary. • Reviews from the global press are read aloud • The goal would be a powerful and passionate performance that would get raving reviews in the global press. Step 2 (op?onal) A discussion among par?cipants could be facilitated illustra?ng how the musical metaphor can be used to make it easier for the European public to engage in discussions about key challenges of crea?ng European unity, a European mindset, European energy and op?mism across personal, professional and cultural differences. Total ?me investment 1-‐2 hours. Morning, noon or evening.
The Benefits Par?cipants in the EU mee?ngs would get a boost of energy, fun and inspira?on in an otherwise packed agenda of serious poli?cal discussions. The event would symbolize European power, passion and unity. The event would gain considerable media a\en?on -‐ great pictures in the performance of the choir. The event would provide a perfect metaphor for discussing central European themes -‐ ques?ons such as: • Why should Europe sing from the same song sheet ? Can you sing the Lisbon Treaty ? • When would regional choirs be much be\er for Europe ? How would that work ? • When would you want and expect great solos ? What about the Bri?sh euro solo ? • Which songs need to be composed to win the hearts and minds of 27 different na?ons ? • Who should compose these songs ? • What does it take for a European choir to a\ract the a\en?on of Chinese, American and BRIC audiences ? • Or to a\ract global a\en?on for that ma\er ? • What do you do with choir members that just don´t manage to hit the right notes ? Greece e.g.
Who should buy the idea ? The idea would appeal to the Danish EU Presidency. Key decision makers would be the organizers of EU mee?ngs in either Horsens or Copenhagen. Key influencers: anybody interested in the future of Europe -‐ from the Danish Government, via the organizing ci?es of Copenhagen and Horsens to ordinary Danish and European ci?zens.
Media Coverage We see great media poten?al in this event. Na?onal TV-‐sta?ons and CNN would probably be interested in geeng powerful footage that could inspire a global discussion of European affairs.
Prac?cali?es We need a space with ample light and sufficently a\rac?ve to support media a\en?on. Otherwise nothing -‐ we provide the music, the conductor, the master of ceremonies and and global press coverage.
Who are we ? A coopera?on between Empower and Human Entertainment. We have run the Power and Passion concept with several hundred Danish and interna?onal companies, organisa?ons and ins?tu?ons. We represent a strong combina?on of personal experience from EU poli?cs, business, educa?on and culture.
If you want to know more ? Please contacts us: Povl Henningsen at henningsen@empower.dk, owner of Empower -‐ www.empower.dk or +45 21757509 or Vagn Egon Jørgensen at vagn-‐egon@dirigent.dk or +20820844 conductor and owner of Human Entertainment -‐ www.human-‐entertainment.dk Sondrup Bakker January 2012 Povl Henningsen