In the beginning...

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World Voices Project began as a creative piece about language, sound and the beauty of voices. It became a project about the human family speaking as one.So far, over sixty languages are represented here reading the articles of the Declaration. You can listen by Language or by Article. Almost all of the audio files are posted on this site. However, the Declaration consists of a Preamble and I've posted only a few of those sixty-odd files. Those will be part of the larger physical installation. * The people who generously volunteered their voices did so giving permission to World Voices Project. Therefore, please do not use any of the tracks for commercial purposes and contact me if you'd like to present the installation yourself. It is meant to be heard and I encourage this. (see Participate page)

بنی آدم اعضای یک پیکرند
که در آفرينش ز یک گوهرندچو عضوى به درد آورد روزگار
دگر عضوها را نماند قرارتو کز محنت دیگران بی غمی
نشاید که نامت نهند آدمی
Human beings are members of a whole,
In creation of one essence and soul.If one member is afflicted with pain,
Other members uneasy will remain.If you have no sympathy for human pain,
The name of human you cannot retain.
Saadi of Shiraz (1195-1226)

Hamid Kermunshah reading the Saadi poem in Persian

The intention of World Voices Project is to be presented throughout the United States and throughout the world as an audio installation exhibited in a variety of venues. It's our goal that museums, corporations, governments, NGO's, colleges and universities, and any other entity or group, present World Voices Project in their respective locations. 

SOUTH STREET SEAPORT

For the premiere exhibit, World Voices Project was given a two week period to exhibit in the generous space of the third floor atrium at The South Street Seaport on Pier 17 by General Growth Properties (GGP). The nature of the third floor atrium space presented certain acoustical and visual challenges to an audio installation.


A jungle of headphones hung from a 30' x 16' grid and were labeled by language. Another tag told the listener where the language comes from , its etymological roots and how many people in the world speak the language. 
Each headset was fed the audio track via an MP3 player loaded with each language, played on a loop.

On the windows a semi-transparent map of the world informed the listeners where the languages come from. 

A banner hanging from the 25 foot cathedral ceiling welcomed visitors to the space. 

You can download the above images in high-resolution by clicking here and here.

The short version text of the entire declaration, and the contributors to the project, will be printed on 3-fold fliers that the listeners can read while listening to the installation, and take with them when they leave.

Other Installation Concepts:

World Voices Project may be mixed in a variety of ways and new voices and languages can be added at any time. The recordings can be presented in a space with speakers suspended from above, housed in individual Soundtubes™, or amplified through hyper directional speakers known as Holosonic™ speakers. The nature of the Soundtube™ and Holosonic™ speaker allows each listening area to be distinctly separate from the next, with minimal audio seepage beyond the speaker circumference. When you stand in the "audio beam" it sounds as if the voice is inside your head. When you step a few feet further, the voice fades away.

But alternative technology may be employed depending on the presentation venue. It can be presented outside using concealed or camouflaged speakers, and it can be presented using conventional surround sound speakers. Wherever the location, the declaration will either be posted or projected in English, or the local dominant language; on the walls, the ceiling, and the floor, so that regardless of the language being spoken it will be understood by the majority of visitors.

The techniques of presentation shall remain flexible so that the possibility of many different venues may be explored. Pictured above is a hypothetical venue using pyramid and dome screens with back projection to highlight the text. These come in various sizes. The speakers are pictured above in white for the purpose of this image but in reality would be nearly invisible.

We are looking for venue spaces in New York and cities around the world. If you know of a space you think would be appropriate, please let us know. We welcome your ideas and suggestions.

Response to World Voices Project @ The South Street Seaport,
July 20- August 3, 2008

Above you can watch the UDHR spoken in fifty languages with an English text translation
The Declaration of Human Rights: The Preamble through Article 4

The Declaration of Human Rights: Article 5-21

The Declaration of Human Rights: Article 22-30

 

Article 1
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Article 2
Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.

Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.

Article 3
Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.

Article 4
No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.

Article 5
No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Article 6
Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.

Article 7
All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.

Article 8
Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.

Article 9
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.

Article 10
Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.

Article 11
1. Everyone charged with a penal offense has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defense.
2. No one shall be held guilty of any penal offense on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal offense, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal offense was committed.

Article 12
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.

Article 13
1. Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each State.
2. Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.

Article 14
1. Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.
2. This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

Article 15
1. Everyone has the right to a nationality.
2. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.

Article 16
1. Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.
2. Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.
3. The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.

Article 17
1. Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others.
2. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.

Article 18
Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.

Article 19
Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.

Article 20
1. Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.
2. No one may be compelled to belong to an association.

Article 21
1. Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.
2. Everyone has the right to equal access to public service in his country.
3. The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.

Article 22
Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and international co-operation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality.

Article 23
1. Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.
2. Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.
3. Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.
4. Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.

Article 24
Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.

Article 25
1. Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.
2. Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.

Article 26
1. Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.
2. Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
3. Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.

Article 27
1. Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.
2. Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.

Article 28
Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized.

Article 29
1. Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is possible.
2. In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society.
3. These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

Article 30
Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.

Special Thanks to all contributors as of November 9, 2008:

Extremely generous in-kind design contributions and collaborative work by Design Studio ArchiCulture.net

Thanks to all of you who have lent your voices to this project. I could not have done it without you.

Vaktang Sazan, Georgia
Gorka Askasibar
, Basque/ Spain
Rick Catalan, Tagalog/ Phillipines
Chloe Mantzari, Greece
Kristin Iglum, Norway
Ganbat Chuluunkhuu, Mongolia
Yvonne Voigt, Germany
Ingrid Greenfield, Germany
Ueli Steiger, Switzerland
Thomas Nellen, Switzerland
Kerim Smires, France
Maryse Alberti, France
Natalie & Patrick Aubriot, France
Watari Nishida, Japan
Kevin Ren, China/Mandarin
Alina Parizianu, Romania
Ana Prvacki, Romania
Rob Houtenbos, Netherlands
Maria Elmvang, Danish
Alex Rastopchin, Russia
Molly Messai, Ethiopia / Amharic
Berekti Mengistu, Eritrea/ Tigrinya
Natalya Gonchar, Ukranian
Ashot Navasardyan, Armenia
Tsewang Phuntso, Tibet
Gregory Sandon, Haiti/ Haitian Creole
Hakan Nesser, Sweden
Octavio Molina Sr, Mexico
Robert Schaeffer, Brazil/ Portuguese
Joe San Nicholas, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Tinian / Chamorro
Bernadeta, Tinian / Chamorro
Marie Maciak, Poland
Padraig Ó Céaruill, Ireland / Gaelic
Cosma Atomica Siekierska, USA
Patsy Ray, USA
Tabitha Jackson, UK/ English
Zoran Zelic, Croatia
Rastam Hadi, Malaysia
Jackie Altaha, Apache/North America
Kunu Matima, South Africa- Zulu & Sesotho
Agi Clark, Hungary / Magyar
Ghiora Aharoni, Israel / Hebrew
Faris, Morrocco /Arabic
Irfan Akdag, Turkey
Luisella Meloni, Italy
Sang Gyu Lee, Korea
Priyanka Srivastava, India/ Hindi
Tanya Minhas, Pakistan/ Urdu
Magret Oskarsdottir, Iceland
Hamid Kermunshah, Iran/ Persian
ANONYMOUS, Shona/ Zimbabwe
Phyllis-Marie Attipoe, Ghana / Ewe
Nayang Charwath, Botswana / Tswana
Vide Cofie-Robertson, Ghana / Ga
Ivana Davidovic, Serbia
Aissatou Jobe, Senegal / Wolof
James Kilonzo, Kenya / Swahili
Oseloka Obaze, Nigeria / Igbo
Paula Salako, Togo / Mina 
Qais Sultan, Arabic
Satish Malla, Nepali
Tatjana Sile & Andris Silis / Latvian
Farida Dabas / Vietnamese
Palin Dogg Helgadottir / Icelandic
Pamella Ene Ujah, Nigeria / Hausa
Petronella Fernando, Sri Lanka / Sinhalese
Agus Gani / Indonesian
Harris Nasution / Indonesian
Krisanhty Supangkat / Indonesian
Supharidh Hy, Cambodia / Khmer
Sovanna Sun, Cambodia / Khmer
Genc Janaqi / Albanian
Emi Katayama / Japanese
May-Thi Kha / Burmese
Khin Sandi Tint / Burmese
Thiri Thiri / Burmese
Kaisamaija Valimaki-Erk / Finnish
Paivi Koskinen / Finnish
Ben Lowensohn / Yiddish
René Löffler / German

Additional contributors, gratefully acknowledged, are:
The Manhattan Community Arts Fund, supported by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and administered by the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council.
The Consulate General of Sweden
The Puffin Foundation
Consulate General of Norway
The Consulate General of the Republic of Croatia
The U.K. Mission to the U.N.
The Permanent Mission of Germany to the U.N.

Special Thanks to Private Donors:
Patsy Ray
Richard Marks
Margaret Lloyd
Mindy Schreier
Emma Brockes
Bill & Mary Griffin
Carol Calhoun
Marje & Dick Cartwright
Sandra Ray
Alexis Bloom
Diane Leuci
Agi Clark

The Third Floor Atrium Space at South Street Seaport was generously contributed by Seaport Market Place and General Growth Properties.

Generous In Kind Contributions from
Ron Yoshida of Hello World Communications
Danyell Ray of Georgia Ray's Country Caterers
Noah Prince of Phosphoria.com

Special thanks to the die-hard friends and volunteers who helped make it happen:
Jay Dalton and crew.
Mike Urdaneta
Andrew Chugg
Kim Jackson
Kay Denmark
Maryse Alberti
Scott Breindel
Anne Seidlitz
Courtney Williams
Priscilla Hill

Thanks to the individual readers for the Arabic, Danish and Malay recordings, who volunteered for Librivox , the free audio download site.

Thanks for continued tech support and understanding from Impecca, USA and the staff at Z-Reiss/Impecca: Miriam Friedman, Alan Goldstone and Sammy.

Special thanks to NASA for all of the extraordinary images of the countries and our planet downloaded from their web site Visible Earth.

Thanks to my dear friend Serge Everdepoel for his design concepts and enthusiasm in helping to move the project toward exhibition in Europe.

Special thanks to Zoran Zelic for moral and technical support, humor, encouragement, design work, keeping me updated on grant deadlines and so much more…. He really is an amazingly generous man.

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