Italian opera singer Andrea Bocelli launched his "Voices of the World" musical education program at UNESCO's headquarters in Paris on Wednesday to help children affected by armed conflicts. The multi-year program will expand on the renowned blind tenor's 2016 "Voices of Haiti" project that provided musical therapy and training, lessons, rehearsals, play time and meals to 12,000 children in one of the world's poorest countries. 

"Voices of the World" will be funded by Saudi Arabia. "Music is a universal language that can influence the human soul in a positive way," Bocelli, 61, told Reuters in Paris where he also signed an agreement with UNESCO to set up similar music education programs in Mali and other countries.