Nairobi — Italian-based group Gen Rosso which has been promoting world unity through music will perform at the Carnivore Nairobi on September 6. The group will also hold free concerts at St John's Church in Korogocho and Mariapolis Piero in Juja.

This is the first time the group will be performing in Africa.

The group which comprises 18 members from Kenya, Brazil, DRC, Argentine, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Philippines and Poland has performed in 43 countries worldwide.

The theme of their Kenyan tour is; Strong Without Violence, which is in line with the group's educational projects aimed at sensitising young people on the theme of non-violence, cultural integration and peace.

Founded by the Focolare Movement, Gen Rosso has performed in different social and cultural contexts supporting humanitarian actions and victims of natural disasters.

Throughout its 40 years of existence, more than 200 artistes have taken part in Gen Rosso's crew performing in 24 different languages.

At the heart of Gen Rosso lies a philosophy that seeks to unite people of all cultures and faiths as well as encourage hope for a better future.

"We see that people are more than ready for this message of peace," says Gen Rosso director, Valerio Gentile, who has taken his troupe to schools and universities worldwide. "When we went to Lebanon after 17 years of war, the seed of peace was much stronger than the hate that they had experienced, " he says.

The roots of Gen Rosso go back to the 1960s - a time of peace, protest and revolution - when a group of young people began performing peace songs in a small town near Florence. The group had such impact that it was soon performing to communities all over Italy and Europe until it began to travel the world.

Eric Mwangi, who has been with the group for more than five years, said he is happy that he will be performing at home and he has been helping the members do a few songs in Kiswahili.

"We have mastered 24 languages and we are soon doing songs in Kiswahili because after this tour we expect to get more invitations to perform in Kiswahili speaking nations, " said Mwangi.