NEWS RELEASES

September 10, 1999 (12:40 p.m. EDT) No. 201

CANADIAN CONCERT IN KOSOVO TO SUPPORT

BANNING LANDMINES AND REBUILDING THE HUMAN SPIRIT

Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy today announced a Canadian concert in Kosovo, sponsored jointly with UNICEF, to raise awareness of the ban on landmines and to help rebuild the human spirit. On Sunday, September 12, singer Bruce Cockburn and Tribe of One will perform at the Pristina Sports Complex in Kosovo.

Mr. Axworthy said, "Canada is helping rebuild Kosovo. That rebuilding effort must focus not only on bricks and mortar; we must also help rebuild the human spirit. The welfare of the Kosovo community merits special priority in Canadian foreign policy today."

Canadian singer-songwriter Bruce Cockburn will present selections from his rich and varied work, which has won him critical acclaim. Tribe of One, a Winnipeg-based group of four musicians, two dancers and two visual artists, will integrate rock music, dance and painting live on stage with an art therapy approach.

This uniquely Canadian event will take place on the fringe of "The Return," the International Festival of Music and Theatre. The Festival is being held under the auspices of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and UNICEF. Actor Vanessa Redgrave spearheaded efforts to organize the Festival and it has received support from a host of artists, including Mikhail Baryshnikov, Bono, Elton John, Sting, and Meryl Streep. The aim is to support the rebuilding of the Kosovo cultural and education community.

On September 10 in Skopje, in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the International Festival of Music and Theatre will present a concert featuring Philip Glass and Foday Musa Suso. On September 11 in Pristina, Kosovo, the playbill will include the Martha Graham Dance Company and the prèmiere of The Cursed, a drama written and directed by Enver Petrovci, with Vanessa Redgrave performing. The closing concert on September 12 in Pristina will feature world-renowned musicians, such as violinist Akiko Ono and pianist Katharina Wolpe.

Air Canada is arranging transportation for the Canadian artists taking part in this Festival.

To support the Kosovo cultural community, the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade has provided $200 000 in funding under its International Cultural Relations Program. The Program supports initiatives in the area of the arts and higher education undertaken abroad.

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For further information, media representatives may contact:

Debora Brown

Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs

(613) 995-1851

Media Relations Office

Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade

(613) 995-1874

Najwa Kefaya

UNICEF, Skopje, former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

(011-389) 70-254-094