UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra as the United Nations Global Advocate for Cultural Understanding, a UN spokesman said here Monday.

Ban made the announcement together with the orchestra's co-founder Daniel Barenboim in Geneva Monday, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at a daily news briefing here.

Argentinian-Israeli pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim -- considered one of the greatest classical musicians of his time -- co-founded the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra with the late Palestinian scholar Edward Said in 1999.

The orchestra brings together musicians from Israel, Palestine and other Arab countries to promote peace and religious understanding.

"The orchestra's every performance is a testimony to the power of music to break down barriers, to promote cultural understanding and to build bridges between communities," said Ban.

Barenboim -- who is also a UN Messenger of Peace -- and the orchestra will perform at the World Humanitarian Summit in Turkey, in May, said Dujarric. Endit

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