Co-founded in 1999 by the world-renowned conductor and pianist Daniel Barenboim and the late Palestinian scholar Edward Said, the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra unites young musicians from Israel, Palestine and several Arab countries to promote inter-cultural dialogue through music. The Orchestra has performed at the main international festivals and music centres, as well as at the General Assembly Hall of the United Nations in New York, and the Human Rights Council Room in Geneva.
In February 2016, the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra was designated as a United Nations Global Advocate for Cultural Understanding.
The United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) supports the Orchestra in its mandate as Global Advocate to promote tolerance, understanding and unity among peoples of different cultural and religious identities.
