Ucodep: Healthcare (and music) for all

Francesco Monetti and Davide “Dudu” Moranti. You may never have heard of them, but in Italy, the Modena City Ramblers (MCR) and their combat folk have been around for 17 years. With almost 200 thousand views on MySpace and more than half a million cd’s sold world wide people love this band not just for the music (a fusion of folk, ska and world music) but also for their combat element. Perhaps this is why Oxfam International and their Italian partners Ucodep have chosen them as testimonials for their Italian For all campaign.

Part of a global campaign to bring health care, water and education to people everywhere, the Italian side of the campaign is seen as particularly strategic given that Italy will be hosting the 2009 G8 talks.

Vita Europe met MCR singer and violinist during the launch of the For All campaign in Arezzo in September.

What does it mean to be a testimonial for such a high profile campaign?

Francesco (violinist): Well, the role of testimonials is to use the hold that you have over your public and the people that support you to promote a social message that you believe in. This can be simply by becoming a spokesperson for the cause, or more actively by using your concerts as a platform to promote the campaign, by showing videos, handing out flyers, selling t-shirts… Our experience in the past has taught us that perhaps the most effective actions are those that bring the very people who are involved in the campaign into contact with the public at concerts, inviting them to stand on the stage and tell the audience what the project is and what it means. What they can do to help. Obviously we will also be working on the online front, publishing banners on our MySpace and website.

Of the many causes there are out there, why did you choose this one in particular?

Francesco: The link between us and Oxfam International is their Italian partner, Ucodep. They are from Arezzo, which is where I live and you could say that this is what has brought us together. We have already and very successfully worked with Ucodep before, travelling to Palestine with them and financing, with the proceeds of our concerts, the construction of rehearsal and registration studios and donating instruments.

Davide (singer): I think the fact that Ucodep is such a committed NGO has played an important part in our work together, but also the fact that they are an important player both nationally and internationally. I am looking forward to the campaign and hope to bring all the enthusiasm I can to it.

Has this campaign inspired you artistically?

Francesco: Not in the sense that I’ll charge down to the studio tomorrow and write some new music! But certainly in the past, working in close contact with NGOs and especially with the beneficiaries of projects can be very moving. In Palestine we saw with our own eyes what it means to live with checkpoints, without running water, with war and for a musician I think it is impossible not to turn these experiences into music.

Davide: Yes, definitely. There are songs in our 2006 album that can clearly be traced back to previous experiences with Ucodep and our trip to Palestine. Oltre la Guerra e la paura [beyond war and fear] is a song that reflects on the situation in Palestine and on the work that NGOs carry out. And I am sure that in the future it will be the same. Our music is a result of our travels and what we see with our own eyes and touch with our own hands.

In the UK charities have Bono, Radiohead and Coldplay. Oxfam International in Italy has chosen you. What do you make of this choice?

Francesco: I don’t think that the type of music that you play is important when it comes to being a testimonial for a charitable cause. For example, we also work with another charity in Modena, Rock no War, who uses other, more commercial bands Italian bands as testimonials, bands that have a very different audience to ours. But I think that this is a positive kind of brotherhood, people who listen to the Pooh [Italian band that has been around for years] can aspire to peace as an ideal just as much as those who listen to our music can. Certainly it makes sense to use bands that are successful and who are likely to bring in big crowds and then of course there are those who are big and socially committed, like Bono Vox, REM and even Bruce Springsteen. Big success doesn’t make you a sell out in my world.

Is there any activist who particularly inspires you?

Francesco: Nobody famous. I am inspired by the people I have and continue to work with, people from Rock no War, Nema Frontiera from Turin, with whom we travelled to Bosnia .. there are lots of people who I see dedicate themselves to social causes, people who volunteer their time for others rather than go out partying. These are the people that inspire me.

Find out more:

www.ucodep.org

Photo by: Stefano C. Montesi – Photomovie for Ucodep