Sony Music Group’s commitment to giving is at the heart of our philanthropic programs and activities across the globe.
Each year on February 20, World Day of Social Justice brings together diverse communities to raise awareness and drive action to eradicate poverty, discrimination, inequity and all forms of unfairness in our society.
Since launching our $100 million Global Social Justice Fund in June 2020, we’ve supported over 400 organizations worldwide. Over 56% of our partners are led by a person of color or a member of a historically under-resourced population.
We consider each partnership incredibly valuable and influential—and we take the time to ensure every organization supported is the right fit.
There is a rigorous submission process to become a Global Social Justice Fund partner, and each potential organization is thoroughly vetted. While this review process is important, it’s also equally important that the organizations align with our Company’s mission and values and operate programs around our three core pillars: Civic Engagement, Criminal Justice Reform and Education. (You can read more about that here.)
Below, learn more about some of our partners and the impact they’re having on social justice in different communities around the world.
Bridges For Music
Partner Task Force: SMG Africa
“In the face of an ever-increasing lack of education in our communities about what equal rights and opportunities really mean, ensuring everyone has equal economic, political and social opportunities is becoming an increasing challenge. Through our program (and its music) we have been able to change minds, and we consider that the most important tool for social justice.”
– Thulani Headman, Co-Founder and Operations Manager, Bridges For Music
Drummond Street Services
Partner Task Force: SMG Australia
“For us, social justice work means we work with and for communities. We share our resources, knowledge and creativity to support the hopes and aspirations of every young person that we connect with. Our program, Real Youth Music Studio (RYMS) is a platform for local young people to showcase their talents, learn new things, meet positive peers and just have fun.
RYMS continues to celebrate our local young people with a number of recordings, showcases and live performances over the past year. The program is in the process of evolving to a mobile Caravan of Sound, aimed at ensuring young people from across the different Inner Melbourne public housing estates can access opportunities to write, perform and record.”
– Karen Fields, CEO, Drummond Street Services
Milaan Foundation
Partner Task Force: SMG Asia
“Gender justice will be achieved when girls and women will be able to exercise their human and constitutional rights and live a life with dignity, free from violence, discrimination, abuse and exploitation. Our work aims at ensuring that girls continue and complete their secondary education, challenging norms that maintain the patriarchal status quo to unlock their potential.
From the girls we work with, the results of the programming have been very encouraging: 58 percent pursue higher education, 85 percent of the girls we work with report improved adolescent health outcomes, 99 percent have delayed their age of marriage, and over 80 percent are able to prevent and defy gender-based discrimination and violence.”
– Dhirendra Pratap Singh, Chief Executive Officer, Milaan Foundation
Plansverige (Plan International Sweden) & Sisters Create
Partner Task Force: SMG Continental Europe
“The project has provided a place for young girls and non-binary people where they can be themselves. Young people from different socio-economic backgrounds have been able to meet and this has helped them to gain an increased understanding for each other. For myself, the project has helped me to feel more assertive in a music studio, which is an environment often dominated by men.”
– Isabella, Sisters Create group leader and young musician
Pour3Points
Partner Task Force: SMG Canada
“We believe that with the right training, sports coaches can become mentors and community leaders. Pour3Points has grown into a community of over 100 certified coach-mentors and civic leaders who make a difference in the daily lives of the young people they coach in low-income communities across Québec. Today, Pour3Points’ programs support coaches as they accompany thousands of young people each year as they fight for social justice, racial justice and equality in their communities, and reshape the sport and education sectors.”
– Fabrice Vil, Founder, Pour 3 Points
Sistema Aotearoa
Partner Task Force: SMG New Zealand
“Sistema Aotearoa provides rare opportunities and creates pathways for students and tutors. As well as developing the students musically and socially, it has created a safe space for people like me to feel a sense of belonging in such a competitive field. As one of the Polynesian tutors, it is an absolute privilege to be part of the journey of unleashing the limitless talent in the youth of South Auckland, New Zealand.”
– Anne Filimoehala, Lead Tutor, Sistema Aotearoa
Small Green Shoots
Partner Task Force: SMG UK
“Small Green Shoots champions under-represented young people, supporting them with opportunities and access into the music industry. Working around London, we have successfully placed 150 young people in permanent jobs in music and creative businesses, thanks to our incredible partnerships with various organisations, including Sony Music.”
– Makeda McMillan, Managing Director, Small Green Shoots
Tennessee Innocence Project
Partner Task Force: SMG U.S.
“The Tennessee Innocence Project is leading efforts across the state around wrongful convictions, giving voices to individuals who have been unheard for decades, and educating thousands of Tennesseans about our justice system. Since opening our doors in 2019, we have achieved four exonerations – individuals who collectively spent 95 years wrongfully incarcerated. We fight every day for our clients’ freedom, to bring them home to their families, and to make our community more just. We could not do this without the support of partners like Sony Music!”
– Hayley Levy, Director of Development, Tennessee Innocence Project
Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights
Partner Task Force: SMG Latin Iberia
“At the Young Center, our mission is to advocate for children who are forced to navigate our country’s immigration system alone, whether they traveled to the U.S. by themselves or were forcibly separated from their families. A tremendous amount of work remains ahead to advance the rights of all immigrant children, but our team remains committed to fighting for the justice immigrant children and their families deserve.”
– Gladis Molina Alt, Executive Director, Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights
Visit the United Nations website to learn more about World Day of Social Justice, here.
