will.i.am在美国国务院发表的一份声明里表示,“来自落后地区的孩子很少有机会到国外学习和游历,我们想要改变这一现状。我们一定要让美国学生掌握在全球经济中取得成功应具备的文化意识和技巧。”
'Kids from underserved communities rarely have the opportunity to study and travel abroad, and we want to change that,' will.i.am said in a statement released by the State Department. 'We must make sure that American students have the cultural awareness and skills necessary to succeed in a global economy.'
这次演出的组织者美国促进留学会(Americans Promoting Study Abroad)是一个为美国中学生留学中国提供奖学金资助的非营利组织。促进留学会的联席会长麦克口塔金斯基(Mike Dardzinski)说,在该组织愿意积极参与这项事业的艺术家名单中,will.i.am名列第一。其中的部分原因是这位音乐人管理着豆荚基金会(Peapod Foundation),这是洛杉矶一个专门为城市中心区的年轻人筹集资金的慈善团体深圳日语翻译。
The concert is organized by Americans Promoting Study Abroad, a U.S. nonprofit organization that funds scholarships for high-school students for language study in China. Mike Dardzinski, a co-chair of APSA, said will.i.am was at the top of the organizers' list of American artists who they were hoping to rope into their cause, in part because the musician already runs Peapod Foundation, a charity that raises money for inner-city youth in Los Angeles.
塔金斯基说,参与这项事业的还有其他美国艺术家,不过名单还没有最终确认。中国艺术家也有人要参加。塔金斯基说,这些人中可能会有顺子(Shunza),这位以唱情歌出名的女歌手生于中国、在美国长大。另外,还有生于纽约州罗切斯特市的王力宏,他以将中国传统音乐融入流行音乐而闻名上海翻译公司。
Mr. Dardzinski said other American artists will be involved, though no names have been confirmed. Chinese acts will also take part, and Mr. Dardzinski said they will likely include Shunza, a Chinese-born, American-raised singer known for her love ballads, and Leehom Wang, a Rochester, N.Y.-born star who's known for incorporating traditional Chinese music into his pop sound.