Uncovering hidden voices: empowering through music | Gabriella Gwen | TEDxJIS

It’s a misconception that helping the society solely involves donating money. Gabriella Gwen exemplifies her creative method of aid through music while illustrating the power of passion in creating a greater impact.

An avid service-oriented musician, Gabriella hopes to encourage people to use their passion to develop creative ways to enrich the global community. She has established her own NGO, performed in Carnegie Hall, released her own album, and advocates for Hidden Voices of the community. An avid service-oriented musician, Gabriella hopes to encourage people to develop creative ways to enrich the global community.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

(Music)

(Music ends)

(Applause)

The song that I just played
is one I composed myself

to convey the human spirit
of empowering one another,

inspired by the youth in Indonesia.

I'd like to start with a musical metaphor.

The four families of instruments
in an orchestra -

strings, woodwinds, brass and percussion -

can't be any more different.

They each create different sounds.

When an instrument plays a note,

the note may sound different
in another instrument.

For instance, the middle C in the flute

sounds different in comparison
to the middle C on the violin.

But when combined together,
they create a beautiful harmony,

mutually benefiting one another.

Today, I'd like to share my experience

of creating an intersection
between three different areas -

music, prosthetics, and education -

and show that by doing so,
empowerments can be achieved.

About a year ago, a friend told me
that she knew of someone

who really needed funding

for one of our supposedly
basic abilities as a human:

walking.

She introduced me to Francisca,
22 years old and disabled.

Francisca lost her left leg
when she was five years old.

At that time, electricity had not yet
been installed in her village in Sumatra.

So her family had to use oil lamps.

An accident with one of these oil lamps
severely burnt her leg,

and she lost it due to infection.

Her family had to sell
everything in their possession

in order for Francisca
to get the aid she needed,

including a prosthetic limb.

But now, her prosthetic limb
is almost broken,

and she needs it to walk.

Her daily activities
depend on the use of her leg.

She walks to college every day;
she stands up during work.

She has to juggle funds for her education,

living cost, and cost of supporting
her family back in Medan,

so she simply does not have enough money
to buy herself a new prosthetic limb.

A few weeks later,
I was acquainted with a violinist,

an aspiring one,
who aspires to be a musician

and pursue music as his further education.

However, there is a prevalent
culture in Indonesia

where musicians are
highly underrepresented.

Becoming a musician is seen
as a profession that is less desirable,

according to societal standards;

hence, his parents would much rather
he take on a more traditional major

for his further education,
such as accounting.

There are thousands of people
like the violinist and Francisca,

people under pressure
to forget their dreams,

and people who need help.

How do you feel
if you are forced into a mold?

Does it diminish your creative freedom?

Everyone is different.

Everyone is unique.

What you think is right for yourself
may not be for other people.

Talented people like him, talented people
like the violinist and Francisca

deserve assistance to reach
their creative potential.

Because when you do something you love,

then inadvertently,

you are going to have this drive
and aspiration to succeed

in doing what you are truly passionate at.

The satisfaction for me is in the sharing.

What I aspire to do
is to help these people,

the unheard voices,

and act as a medium
for them to project their voices.

I want to help the hidden talent
in society flourish

and target them one at a time.

So I thought, "What can I do
to help support these people

and at the same time help these musicians
that are underrepresented by society?"

So this is what I did.

I set up a crowd-funding website -
www.voiceofmusic.org -

to collect donations
for the underprivileged young children

in need of funds for their education

while simultaneously giving
an opportunity for musicians

to contribute to the society positively.

The website features
a short biography of each applicant.

The student is identified by a teacher,

and anyone who visits the website can
choose who they would like to donate to

and in return will receive gift tokens
proportionate to the amount they donate.

Gift tokens will then be used
to unlock music videos in the website.

Music videos are also donated.

Anyone who would like
to upload a music video,

be it their own composition or a cover,

may do so once approved
by the website staff.

So even musicians like the violinist
I mentioned in the beginning of this talk

can upload his own music video.

In return, he'll receive more coverage

and also contribute

by acting as an incentive
for people to donate to other students.

There'll also be a section
where people can apply for aid,

either for prosthetics or for education.

Once the applicant is approved
by the Voice of Music staff,

then the applicant's profile
will be featured on the website,

and people can donate to them.

Although the main platform
for the crowd-funding website

is the website itself,

funds for Voice of Music will also
be raised through charity-CD concerts,

charity-CD albums,
charity concerts and informal gigs.

I decided to utilize
my passion for the harp

to create a solo harp
and orchestral album,

featuring two of my original compositions

and specific pieces
chosen from all around Indonesia

to encapsulate Indonesia's national motto:

"Bhinneka Tunggal Ika,"
Unity in Diversity.

In fact, the song I played
during the beginning of this talk

is featured in my album
"Voice of Indonesia."

Voice of Indonesia is now available
on iTunes and Google Play.

All revenue received from this album
will be donated to Voice of Music

for funding of Voice of Music applicants.

So what I‘m trying to say

is that everyone can contribute
to the society in their own way.

Look into yourself,

find your uniqueness,

find your talent,

share your talent to other people.

Because sharing knowledge to people
who can't obtain it without your help ...

"Unity in Diversity."

This world is made out of people who have
different passions and different talents;

therefore, when we are combined together,
we can come out stronger.

Perhaps your passion lies in cooking;

you can always set up
a cooking club in your orphanage.

Or let's say your passion
lies in woodwork;

you can always set up
a woodworking station

for street boys to learn your skill.

They can even use the skills
they learn from you

to set up their own woodworking station

or even use it to create goods so that
they can sell and finance themselves.

What I did today is exemplify
what I did to help the society

and put forth ideas on how you can help.

I hope that today
can be a catalyst for you,

just like how Francisca
and the violinist are catalysts for me.

You can empower;
you can contribute; you can help.

Thank you.

(Applause)