MUMBAI: Brazilian cultural group Afro Reggae and 45 Indian youth activists will come together and perform in concert on 3 November in Delhi.

It will be an evening of Brazilian percussion, singing, graffiti, and capoeira (martial arts). The 45 freshly trained youth will display an entirely new way in which music and art can change lives. This concert is the culmination of a three weeks intensive musical journey. Organized and hosted by Breakthrough, it is supported by the Ford Foundation.

Breakthrough is an international human rights organization based in New Delhi and New York. Over three years, Breakthrough`s band of 250 "Rights Advocate" has been working with young people from marginalized communities to colleges. These young change makers, trained by Breakthrough have become flag bearers of "human rights for all". They have been reaching out to their communities to build awareness on how to prevent HIV/AIDS and respect the rights of positive people.

"AfroReggae was born out of chaos," says Jos© J?nior, the founder of the group. He is here in India with a 16-member strong team of trainers and musicians. The chaos he refers to is the violence of everyday life in Rio`s shantytowns, known throughout Brazil as favelas. He says "The Grupo Cultural Afro Reggae has used music and culture to show the youth, that alternative to drug trafficking do exist by giving them the opportunity to prove to society that they are citizens, stewards of their communities and not criminals." The movement that started in the favelas has reached several European countries, the United States and is now here in India.

Afro Reggae depicts the power of music as a channel to change lives and help people assert their rights and live with diginity. Breakthrough has used popular music to centrestage human rights issues. Our first music album Mann Ke Manjeere, an album of women`s dreams, took on violence faced by women. Subsequently Breakthrough produced Haman Hai Ishq to build bridges between groups affected by communitarian violence. Alika Khosla, Associate Director, Breakthrough says that "We are both muscial cultures. This cultural exchange has given our Rights Advocate exposure to another musical tradition and how it is used in conflict resolution. Now armed with these new tools they are bound to have greater impact in the communities they work in."