Philip performed at the Eiffel Tower on the opening night of the Paris Climate Change Summit, COP21, to help kick off 1 Heart 1 Tree‘s effort to re-forest conflict and war zones. The performance and virtual reforestation installation were live extensions of the 1 Heart 1 Tree app that allowed people around the world to let world leaders gathered in Paris know it’s time to take the bold climate action humanity needs. Joining Philip on opening night were 1 Heart 1 Tree founder, Ban Ki Moon (Secretary-General of the United Nations), Naziha Mestaoui, Nicolas Holut (special correspondent for the French President for the environment), Felix Finkbeiner (UN Youth Ambassador of 1 Heart 1 Tree), Chief Raoni (Tribal Chief of the Amazon Forest), actress and singer Marion Cotillard, and political leader and author Mogens Lykketoft.
1 Heart 1 Tree is a monumental artwork, projecting the growth of a virtual forest on the most emblematic monuments around the globe. At the crossroads of virtual and real, “1 Heart 1 Tree” is a global citizen work of art. The project gives people the opportunity to plant a unique virtual tree via a smartphone application that will grow on a world monument in sync with their heartbeat. Through cutting-edge technology and video-mapping techniques, each personalized tree is planted/projected on a monument with the person’s name or positive message. Each tree will have tangible impact: for every virtual tree, a real tree will be planted in one of our reforestation programs around the world. The organization aims to plant millions of trees all over the planet that will help reduce the impacts of climate change by absorbing the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. 1 Heart 1 Tree engages the public in a concrete social and environmental impact initiative. Following the success of 1 Heart 1 Tree on the Eiffel Tower for the opening of the COP21 in Paris, 1 Heart 1 Tree will begin a global tour. The project will transform some of the world’s most famous monuments into virtual forests while continuing the association’s work with real reforestation programs around the globe. A new regional reforestation action will be added for each country 1 Heart 1 Tree visits along the way. The artwork will be associated with a major international event including Film Festivals, Fashion Week, Cultural events, the Olympics, etc. Philip composed the original music for the 1 Heart 1 Tree app and the Eiffel Tower 3D projections, and has contributed payment for 500 trees. The music used by the app and during the Eiffel Tower 3D projections are from Philip’s album, Strange News from Another Star.
