22 May 2012: The winners of the 2012 Global Youth Music Contest have been announced. The contest was held to encourage youth to use music to express their hopes, concerns and thoughts on the future of the Earth, ahead of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20).

The contest was organized by the International Association for the Advancement of Innovative Approaches to Global Challenges (IAAI) in collaboration with Global Rockstar and other partners. The vision and mission of the contest was “Let the Music talk, let the Rhythm Play and Let the World Know What the Youth Have to Say!” Entries, in the form of music videos, had to be related to at least one of the pillars of sustainable development (environment, economic or social). A total of 313 song submissions were received from 40 countries.

The winners, which were selected by online voting, are: in the “Young” category (up to 15 years), the Choir, Santo Amaro de Oeiras from Portugal with the Song “Meu Planeta Azul” (My Blue Planet); and in the category “Youth” (15-30 years), Milena Paraschiv and Radu Popescu from Romania with the song “Open Your Eyes.” The winner in the “Young” category is also the overall winner of the contest.

The winners will perform at Rio+20 at the side event titled “Choosing Our Future: Open and Participatory Sustainable Development Governance.” Additional public appearances of the winners are planned with Rio+20 Secretariat staff, UN system officials and governmental delegations. [IAAI Announcement] [Contest Winners]