My thoughts today are with the families of those who died and those who were injured in the terrible train crash in Halle in Brussels this morning, and those who survived.

Having been in the Hither Green train crash outside London which killed many people in 1967, I know exactly how they must be feeling, and I send my love.

As traumatic as it is and was for me, if it is any consolation, time will heal, but we never forget.

Love, Robin Gibb.

Robin Gibb CBE has become the first Ambassador of The Outward Bound Trust, the UK’s leading provider of experiential learning in the outdoors. Robin wants to assist the charity in reaching disadvantaged young people across the UK with the opportunity to discover their potential through adventure in the wild.
 
During The Trust’s gala event in January, Robin was introduced to four young people who spoke about their Outward Bound® experience and the impact on their lives.  Robin was deeply moved by these stories and immediately offered his support to Chief Executive, Nick Barrett.
 
Robin is now working with The Trust to develop its first Ambassador Programme, an exciting initiative for the charity’s fundraising programme.  He will work closely with HRH The Duke of York KG, Chairman of the Trustees to raise the profile of The Trust’s crucial work with young people.
 
Robin Gibb comments:
“As children, my brothers and I constantly challenged each other and drove each other on to new adventures and achievements.  We discovered music together, teaching ourselves how to play our instruments and write our songs. Without knowing it at the time, we were immersed in the Outward Bound process of discovering our potential.”
 
“It is incredibly important to challenge youngsters to develop skills and interests and channel them into positive projects.  That’s exactly what The Outward Bound Trust does, expanding horizons for young people and, through outdoor adventure, providing them with personal skills that will serve them throughout their lives.”
 
“I have been enormously impressed by the work of The Trust. My intention is to increase the public’s awareness of this work with young people allowing us to reach new supporters and generate the funds for courses which will inspire thousands of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.”
 
Nick Barrett, Chief Executive of The Outward Bound Trust, comments:
“We are delighted that Robin Gibb has agreed to become The Outward Bound Trust’s first ambassador.  The work of The Trust has never been more critical to the young people of this country.  Last year, 27,000 young people attended Outward Bound courses giving them intense experiences with real consequences and powerful, positive and memorable outcomes. 
 
“Robin brings great enthusiasm and passion for the work of The Trust. We look forward to working with him to raise awareness and funds for the young people who are our future.”

"We will remember them, Give thanks and honour them, For our tomorrow, They gave their today."

With Remberance Sunday approaching, music stars have gathered to record a moving tribute to British Armed Forces past and present.

On an extraordinary day last week, 200 people spilled into Abbey Road Studios, donating their time and talent to record an Anthem as a ‘Thank You’ to all our Military personnel who have served our country protecting our freedom.

This was the biggest ever 1 day session to be staged at Abbey Road in the history of the famous recording studios.

Multi-million selling artists from Michael Bolton, to Robin Gibb, to Haley Westenra contributed to the song, written by A1's Mark Read and The Jones Gang’s Robert Hart.  They performed alongside The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Pipes & Drums from the Army School of Bagpipe Music & Drumming, Bugles from The Academy of Music at Kneller Hall, a Choir of Celebrities and The Carmel Thomas Youth Choir.

Paul Carrack, Kenney Jones, Paul Rodgers, Lee Mead, Mark Read, Mica Paris, Natasha Hamilton,
Haley Westenra, Carol Decker, Nell Bryden and Liz McClarnon also starred.

"I never miss an opportunity to thank our troops,” said Michael Bolton, who dropped everything while rehearsing for appearances at the Royal Albert Hall this week to take part, “They are the bravest people you'll ever meet."

"We Will Remember Them itself goes back to the First World War," explains Bee Gee Robin Gibb, "but it’s very significant and it makes people stop and think just what these guys are doing for their country."

Joseph star Lee Mead said: "Two or three hours  in a recording studio on a Sunday is nothing compared to what our troops go through every day."

"I know people out there in the military, someone close to me was in Afghanistan and was blown up in his tank," says Natasha Hamilton of Atomic Kitten,  "He has been in rehabilitation for many months.  When it’s someone that you know that’s been out there fighting, it brings it home how important it is to remember through song."

All proceeds will go directly to the Royal British Legion and the Help For Heroes charity. by 
SRLV accountants and Coutts Bank.  The money will help support injured troops and families whose loved ones have paid the ultimate sacrifice in service to their country.

This was the biggest ever 1 day session to be staged at Abbey Road in the history of those famous recording studios.

In addition to the musicians and artists involved in the recording, a 30 man film crew with 9 cameras donated their time and have documented this auspicious occasion. A Video/DVD is in edit to support the release of the single for Sunday 8th November, Poppy Day.

Creators gathered at the second World Copyright Summit, on June 9 and 10 in Washington DC, asked for stronger copyright legislation and protection around the world to ensure the future of the creative industries.

CISAC’s President Robin Gibb, of the legendary Bee Gees, opened and wrapped up the Summit reminding that, “Copyright is NOT a barrier. It is a facilitator of progress, creativity and communication. The existence of strong copyright will not stifle the development of the digital utopia which Google, Microsoft and others promise. Copyright will promote such development. Without copyright you have chaos and this is a far greater barrier to progress.”

“If we cripple our culture we are crippling the heart and soul of our society. That is why copyright protection for those who create is so important.” added Oscar-winning U.S. film director, Milos Forman, in a passionate speech denouncing online piracy. “Pirates see themselves as modern-day Robin-Hoods … They are in fact stealing from thousands and thousands of regular, many of them poor, people around the world, who depend on the creative industries for their livelihood.”

The World Copyright Summit was organized by CISAC (International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers) on June 9 and 10, 2009 at the Ronald Reagan Center in Washington DC. Attended by over 610 delegates from 290 companies and 68 different countries, the two-day Summit included keynotes and round table discussions focused on the need for global collaboration in addressing the challenges of creative industries in the digital era and building a constructive dialogue about the importance of copyright protection and the distribution of creative works.
Gibb’s plea for stronger copyright protection was backed by several high-profile legislators from the U.S. and other countries:

Senator Patrick Leahy, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, joined Senator Orrin G. Hatch, Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Congressman Robert Wexler, Member of the House Judiciary and Foreign Affairs committees, in talking with many other speakers about the importance of appropriate copyright and IP protections to facilitate and sustain long-term economic development. “I see intellectual property rights as an important way to ensure that inventors and creators have the incentives to produce their work” said Senator Leahy. “Your industry is one of the few that consistently generates a positive balance of trade,” said Senator Hatch. Congressman Wexler spoke about the need to reach out to the “so-called Napster generation”, which has come of age in a digital

French Minister of Culture and Communication, Christine Albanel, in the voice of the Ambassador of France to the United States, Pierre Vimont, presented her “realistic and ambitious” Creation and Internet law to fight against piracy. “Those who believe that Internet must remain an anarchic jungle are living in the wrong times. Piracy is a childish disease of the Internet that must now grow up, and take responsibility.” Even though the French Constitutional Court has ruled as unconstitutional certain aspects of the enforcement mechanisms proposed in this new Law, a recurrent theme of the Summit has been the beacon of hope offered by the French in the continuing battle against the plague of internet piracy and its law. France has set a precedent and many other countries have adopted similar legislation (Ireland and South Korea) or are engaging similar discussions with the industry.

Copyright protection and the fight against online piracy were among the myriad of issues addressed at the Summit and debated by over 100 speakers from 20 countries:

Intellectual property and copyright protection are still an integral part of the US policy. Global enforcement and copyright harmonization throughout the world are still on the agenda. Congressman John Conyers, Jr., Chair of the House Judiciary Committee, in the voice of Perry H. Apelbaum, Chief of staff and chief counsel, announced a hearing on audio-video performance royalties next July. US online media would be required to compensate creators for digital transmissions of their works in the form of a performance royalty (which is already the case in many European countries). Other US IP and copyright legislative projects announced at the Summit by US legislators include the reintroduction of an orphan works bill and the Performance Rights legislation to establish performance rights in sound recordings for over-the air radio stations.

Fostering the dialogue between new business models, digital service providers (DSPs) and rights holders to find market driven solutions was one of the objectives of the Summit. Google’s participation was a good example of what dialogue can bring and how to provide new opportunities for revenues for rights holders. “We can be partners, not enemies,” said David C. Drummond, Senior VP for corporate development and chief legal officer of Google, who talked at the Summit about YouTube and the Google settlement with authors and book publishers. “Downloading e-books is not an established behavior” and the Google settlement should enable the publishing industry to create a more regulated market, said President of Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments and former chairman of the Association of American Publishers Richard Sarnoff. “Our music makes [your] devices relevant,” said David Israelite, President and CEO of the National Music Publishers Association, to Gary Shapiro, President and CEO of the Consumer Electronic Association, “so it’s time we determine how to move forward legally”. Today many rights societies in the world still find it challenging to generate fair remuneration for creators from the websites who use their works (music, films, photos, books…).

Not only do collective rights management organizations fully serve a purpose for both creators and services using creative works in the digital century but they can really be the un-lockers of the so-called copyright gridlock, as explained by Michael Heller, Law professor and author of The Gridlock Economy. “Well-designed collective rights management can be one focal point for solving new media gridlock.”

Faced with the continued erosion of the value of rights with the emergence of “new business models” that generate huge traffic but very small turnover, CISAC unveiled a study that served as the basis for discussions on possible scenarios for a contribution from ISPs in the fight against online piracy and financing creativity. ISPs should be prepared to recognize their responsibilities when their networks are used to abuse copyright. Equally, rights owners should ensure that ISPs understand the value creators and rights owners bring to their business.

Considering the current state of the global economy, intellectual property and copyright are key to economic growth recovery. Creative industries create value and jobs within national economies. WIPO, the Worldwide Intellectual Property Organization, pointed out that copyright industry is responsible for about 6% of a developing economy. That’s also the reason why The World Bank helped developing markets in Africa, Asia and Latin America improve their IP protection frameworks as Anne-Marie Leroy, the World Bank’s Senior Vice President and Group General Counsel, reminded the participants.

For the many creators gathered at the Summit, their moral rights and creative freedom are as important as their economic rights. “Artists like to be respected but they would settle for having their works respected,” said world renowned painter and sculptor Frank Stella. “The integrity of the music I’ve done is protected. I’ve given the rights to a lot of people and I’ve refused the rights to a lot of people when they mutilated a couple of the song and I didn’t think the production was worthy,” confirmed U.S. songwriter and performer Lamont Dozier. “I don’t want my work to sit in a drawer. I want it to be explored and used by other artists, spliced and diced, but I want to be taken care of for it and that’s what performing rights societies are for,” concluded U.S. songwriter, recording artist and actor Paul Williams.

“By inviting all the stakeholders involved in the global digital economy at the World Copyright Summit, CISAC’s ambition was to confront different experiences and visions of the future,” said Eric Baptiste, Director General of CISAC. “The debates were open and frank, and while we may not all agree on our visions of the future, one common thread emerged throughout the Summit: creators, such as music composers, film directors, painters, photographers, writers and their works are at the heart of the digital economy, and their contributions must be recognized and their rights must be preserved and protected.”

Many positive ideas came out of the discussions in Washington, DC. The entire World Copyright Summit material is now available online (Videos, photos and speeches) on www.cisac.org. In addition, a detailed report of CISAC’s 2009 World Copyright Summit will be published in the coming weeks.

World Copyright Summit: Washington DC, 09/06/2009 – 10/06/2009.

Robin Gibb's opening speech

As President of CISAC it is my great pleasure, on behalf of CISAC and in the name of all creators, to welcome all of you to Washington and to the World Copyright Summit.

We meet in interesting times. The system of copyright, which has protected creators for 300 years, is facing challenges. And we are ready for that!

One criticism I keep hearing about copyright is that it acts as a barrier to creativity. Let me be clear about it, copyright is NOT a barrier to creativity. On the contrary, Copyright is an incentive to creativity.
Millions of copies of one of my co-works with my brothers - “Staying Alive” – have been made available for consumers worldwide. It is almost certain that “Staying Alive” is being played on a radio station somewhere in the world as we speak. So where do you see a barrier?

On the back of the wealth generated by “Staying Alive”, record companies have been able to invest in new acts. On the back of “Staying Alive”, collective management organisations have been able to collect for all their members – not just the successful. And, they have been able to keep creators alive!

There is much to discuss and to debate and I look forward to the conference. In the name of CISAC and CISAC creative community, I declare officially open the second World Copyright Summit. Enjoy the drinks tonight and the discussion tomorrow.

Robin Gibb's closing speech

1,500 years ago the Irish King Dermot of Tyrone uttered what is perhaps the first statement of a principle of copyright: “To every cow its calf and to every book its copy”

Things have moved on since then and this basic principle has developed over the succeeding 1,500 years, into the worldwide system of copyright we have today.

As I said in my opening words to the Summit on Monday, “copyright is facing challenges”. This has been discussed over the past two days and many interesting points have been made

We have heard from Professor Heller about the “tragedy of the anti- commons”; we all knew that we needed to improve the way in which we granted online licences – we now have a name for the problem: … “Copyright Gridlock”. A small step perhaps, but at least we have identified the problem.

In all of the discussions over the last few days, there are three points which have struck a particular chord for me. We must not lose sight of these three points if we are to preserve the value and usefulness of copyright.

First of all, we must portray copyright as the right of the individual creator and not of corporations. It is important to remember that most of the time creators are not the target of the effective propaganda directed against copyright.

Opinion polls demonstrate that most consumers are overwhelmingly on the side of creators. We must pay heed to this. I believe that if we are to preserve our rights, then it must be acknowledged that the Anglo-American tradition of copyright as a pure economic right must be adapted. This Anglo-American tradition has a lot to learn from the continental European idea of copyright as an authors’ right. Copyright and the restrictions that it places on the world at large, can only be justified if it is seen to protect the individual creator.

Few people have sympathy with the rights of what they see as faceless corporations. However many do have sympathy with the rights of the individual.

Secondly, copyright law must be applied consistently. I said a few minutes ago that we had a worldwide system of copyright. It is true that copyright is recognised around the whole world and progress has been made in areas such as China and the former Soviet Union. However, there is little consistency in the way in which it is applied.

For example, US Copyright Law exempts some 70 percent of outlets in the US such as bars and restaurants and more than 45 percent of shops and boutiques from having to pay performing right royalties. This exemption is in breach of the USA’s international obligations but nothing has been done to remedy the problem. The US depends upon strong intellectual property protection for a considerable portion of its success. When the largest economy in the world, which depends upon intellectual property, allows such an exception… what hope is there for the creator?

Thirdly, the importance of copyright must be recognised - not just for the creator, but also for society. I have, for more than 40 years, made my career and my living out of writing, recording and performing songs. Even without copyright, I might have written a song or two. But that is not the point. What I can say for sure is that without copyright, my brothers and I would not have written anything like the number of songs which we have created. I can also say that without copyright only a very few people would have heard our songs.

Copyright is not a barrier to progress. It is a facilitator of progress, creativity and communication. The existence of strong copyright will not stifle the development of the digital utopia which Google, Microsoft and others promise. Copyright will promote such development. Without copyright you have chaos and this is a far greater barrier to progress.

I am conscious that these three points may sound idealistic; it may even sound old fashioned. This is not surprising. The creator has always played the role of social and political commentator, a conscience of the people. This is how Picasso produced “Guernica”. In performing this role, it is critical that the creator be protected. Fortunately, the protection of the creator can be found in most cultures around the world. The creator, be he troubadour, jester or fool, has always been afforded the right of free speech. The creator has always been permitted to criticise the great and the good, even when others were not. Modern copyright provides the creator today with the tools to tell the artistic truth.

I started this talk with a quotation and I will end on another one. These words were written by the humorist Tom Lehrer in his song “Lobachevsky”:

“Plagiarize, Let no one else's work evade your eyes, Remember why the good lord made your eyes, So don't shade your eyes, But plagiarize, plagiarize, plagiarize - Only be sure always to call it please 'research'.”

Without strong protection for creators these words may become more than a funny song – they may be a vision of the future.

As for my own part allow me to say this....it is a personal mission and as President of CISAC I will fight the powers that be until we get a result. Damn the torpedoes for there will always be torpedoes.

It will not be a smooth sail but again let me say this by being united dismissing the obstacles and keeping our eyes on the goal...we will win!

Thank you.