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BRITs to launch new special recognition award, War Child first recipient

By | Published on Thursday 13 December 2012

War Child

A new Special Recognition Award will be added to next year’s BRITs, and will be presented to a very worth recipient, the War Child charity, which marks its 20th anniversary next year. An organisation that works to save and change the lives of children in some of the world’s most war-torn countries, War Child has always had a very close relationship with the UK music industry, which has participated in numerous fund-raising initiatives over the years.

Confirming the launch of the Special Recognition BRIT trophy, and that the first such award would be presented to War Child, Universal Music UK chief David Joseph, in his BRITs Chairman role, told CMU: “For two decades now, War Child has worked with artists to raise funds and awareness to help children whose lives have been torn apart by war. The BRITs are proud to give recognition for their vital work as well as saying thank you to all the artists who have given their time, help and energy to something so important”.

War Child’s Music & Fundraising Director Ben Knowles added: “This is fantastic news for us. When we began in 1993, in response to the Bosnian conflict, we had one simple belief – that children are the innocent victims of war and no child should be affected by it. Twenty years on, our belief remains the same. Our relationship with artists and the music industry means that we’ve helped children born into some of the most violent conflicts. Music has been a powerful tool in rebuilding children’s lives. This award helps further highlight our work. Everybody who works for War Child and everybody who has helped War Child should feel fantastically proud of all our ongoing achievements”.

The new prize will replace the Outstanding Contribution presentation at the 2013 Brits. The lifetime achievement prize was presented to Blur this year, having been rested at the previous year’s event.



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