Featured 2010 Peace Day Broadcast Segments

LIVE LOCATIONS:
New York: U.N. Headquarters, Ringing of the Peace Bell (September 17), the Millennium Review Summit (September 20-22).
Los Angeles:  Roots & Shoots Youth Celebration (September 20th).
Kenya: Global Peace Festival
Hawaii: Parade & Festival for the United Nations International Day of Peace, (September 21st)
Global: Stand Up Take Action, (September 17-19)
EarthDance Global Festival for Peace feeds from 20 locations will be included on September 18th.  Global Festival for Peace, now in its 14th year, coordinates over 200 simultaneous public and private events celebrating peace with music, dance, speakers and the synchronized Prayer for Peace that joins all locations in a moment of shared intention.On September 18 we will be broadcasting these feeds, check their event map (right) for locations near you.

Live event coverage from Peace Day celebrations, concerts, and other gatherings are currently in the planning stages.  If you have a live event taking place during our September 17 - September 21 Peace Day Global Broadcast, and you would like to be added to the live portion of the broadcast please contact us.  Live events will be mixed with special featured segments listed hereunder:

1) UN Millennium Development Goals, & Their Solutions

The 2009 Peace Day Broadcast focused a single hour on each of the United Nations Millennium Develop Goals, defining what they are and the challenges involved in achieving them. This year's Broadcast will show the progress that has been made over the last year,  solutions that can achieve these goals, and explain what each of the UN Millennium Development Goals are.

Click on any of the Millennium Development Goals listed below, short entertaining videos explain each:

• Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
• Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education
• Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women
• Goal 4: Reduce child mortality
• Goal 5: Improve maternal health
• Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
• Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability
• Goal 8: Develop a Global Partnership for Development

Visit our Millennium Development Goals Video Library, click here.

2) Interviews:

Special interviews from Positive Spin TV exclusive content, and other sources, include:

• Jane Goodall: United Nations Messenger of Peace, and Founder of the Jane Goodall Institute.  We will showcase a celebration of the life and work of Dr. Jane Goodall on her 75th birthday, looking back at fifty years of dedication to animal and human rights, and there welfare
• Mary Robinson: former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and former president of Ireland
• Sergio Duarte: UN Undersecratary-General for Disarmament
• Bob Gould: president of the Bay Area chapter of Physicians for Social Responsibility about their efforts to abolish nuclear weaponry
• Ron Kovic, disabled Vietnam veteran, peace activist and author

During the 2009 Peace Day Broadcast, Youth Peace Ambassadors interviewed Michael Franti, and Joan Baez, this year we have scheduled interviews by Youth Peace Ambassadors with Yuval Ron, the Dean of Peace, and others. We will pursue an interview time with the following listed current United Nations Messengers of Peace:

3) Peace One Day, the History of Peace Day

A special look at the history of the United Nation's International Day of Peace and the efforts of Jeremy Gilley to establish the first ever annual day of global ceasefire and non-violence with a fixed calendar date.

Remarkably, two years on, he achieved his primary objective when the 192 member states of the United Nations unanimously adopted 21 September as an annual day of global ceasefire and non-violence on the UN International Day of Peace. We call that day Peace Day.

4) Goldman Environmental Prize Recipients
The Goldman Prize honors grassroots environmental heroes for sustained and significant efforts to protect and enhance the natural environment, often at great personal risk.  Segments in this year's Peace Day Global Broadcast will showcase the work of the following recipients.

• Olga Speranskaya, Moscow, Russia: Formed a civil society network that has grown to include NGO groups, governmental bodies and academia in 11 former Soviet states. Together in equal partnerships with NGOs all over the region, she has focused on phasing out toxic chemicals and reducing harmful exposures to human health and the environment.
• Maria Gunnoe, USA: Fights against environmentally-devastating mountaintop removal mining and valley fill operations in the heart of Appalachia, where the coal industry wields enormous power over government and public opinion. Her advocacy has led to the closure of mines in the region and stricter regulations for the industry.
• Marc Ona Essangui, Gabon: In Gabon, a country without a culture of civic engagement, Marc Ona led efforts to publicly expose the unlawful agreements behind a huge mining project threatening the sensitive ecosystems of Gabon’s equatorial rain-forests. Ona’s efforts led to an unprecedented victory for civil society in Gabon, with the government adopting new environmental oversight regulations and significantly reducing the size of the mining concession.
• Wanze Eduards & Hugo Jabini: Members of Maroon communities originally established by freed African slaves in the 1700s, who organized their communities against logging on their traditional lands, ultimately leading to a landmark ruling for indigenous and tribal peoples throughout the Americas to control resource exploitation in their territories. (see: Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Rights)
• Rizwana Hasan, Bangladesh: Working to reduce the impact of Bangladesh’s exploitative and environmentally-devastating ship breaking industry, leading environmental attorney Rizwana Hasan led a legal battle resulting in increased government regulation and heightened public awareness about the dangers of ship breaking.

5) Human Rights

Time will be dedicated this year during the Peace Day Broadcast to reports on development in areas effecting Human Rights.  Often overlooked is the fact that the observance of human rights is also an indicator of development. The Millennium Development Goals and human rights have much in common, as injustice and discrimination are key contributors to poverty and hunger.

The brochure entitled "The Millennium Development Goals and Human Rights" clarifies the link between development and human rights, and vividly reveals how working to achieve the Millennium Development Goals will also result in progress on human rights.

6) Special Reports & Stories

• World Food Program efforts in decreasing extreme hunger
• Report on Brazil's innovative techniques and strategies to save the rainforest
• "We Unite":  a report on how Indian women are using micro-loans to better their lives, from the United Religions Initiative, an interfaith movement
• "Dance for Life": story on the United Nations Population Fund's "Dance for Life" program
• "Brother to the Dreamer: Behold the Dream": detailing the life and controversial death of the Rev. Dr. Alfred Daniel Williams King -- younger brother and an important strategist to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr
• World Water Crisis Report
• Report on the Iranian couple who are bicycling around the world to promote peace and environmental awareness

7) Global Oneness Project: Local Voices for a Global Future

Exploring how the radically simple notion of interconnectedness can be lived in our increasingly complex world. Since 2006, they have been traveling the globe gathering stories from people who base their lives and work on the understanding that we bear great responsibility for each other.

With the advent of communications technologies like the Internet, interconnectedness is made easier, in conjunction and support of this segment we plan a segment focusing on the impact of virtual communities.

8) Entertainment

Musical entertainment acts are now being solicited and accepted for participation in the Peace Day 2010 Broadcast Event.

Participants from the music industry may participate in live performances at various celebratory Peace Day locations around the globe, give permission for broadcast use of use a music video posted publically (such as on YouTube), or create a special video specifically for use in the Peace Day Global Broadcast.

Following are two of last year's included entertainment pieces from Peace One Day & Amnesty International

9) Leveraging Technology for Greater Sustainability & Equality

In depth look at the impact that Information Technologies can have in addressing poverty, and achieving the Millennium Development Goals.  We shall explore the potentials for a more sustainable and just socioeconomic model through the leveraging of telemedicine, distant learning,  online social networking, virtual worlds, and the new type of digital economies that they empower.

We will show how the Internet and Information Age technologies are a viable means for achieving the specific Millennium Development Goal Target 8A for "Developing further an open, rule-based, predictable, non-discriminatory trading and financial system".

"Is it possible that virtual world economies might make a gross impact equivalent to that of a real country? Actually, yes. Virtual worlds are already that big, economically speaking." ~ Virtual World Economy: It's Namibia Basically

If developing countries are going to rise out of poverty in a sustainable manner, without relying on value created from local natural resources, they will need an alternative for wealth creation that includes community access to the global digital market. The ability to earn from all things that can be created and sold digitally; music, art, literature, videos, marketing, and consultancy can be the basis for a more sustainable Information Age economic model.   A person who makes a living from shooting a lion for example, could in a digital economy instead shoot a lion video, which could be sold by anyone, and both the seller and content creator (the reformed lion killer) could profit.

In this case the lion is left alive, potential jobs for distributors are created, wealth is imported into the developing community from affiliate Internet sales to the 1st world, and an "equal" playing-field (flatter world) exist's for all to earn as either a creator or distributor of content.

Millions of people around the world will Stand Up and Take Action to show their support for the fight against poverty and for meeting of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).  Following on a proposal by the UN Secretary-General, the General Assembly has decided to convene an MDG summit (High-level Plenary Meeting) on 20-22 September, with the primary objective to accelerate progress towards all the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015. 

September 21 is the United Nations International Day of Peace,  Peace Day.tv will livestream portions of the UN Millennium Summit, and showcase th work of Peace Building groups working to achieve the Milennium Goals.   Join in, Stand Up!

Watch this moving video, "Unshaken", our friends at charity:water created for their World Water Day campaign to deliver safe drinking water to Haiti!   Unshaken is a fundraising campaign to help Haiti recover from the earthquake by providing people with access to clean, safe drinking water. Communities will directly benefit from the money raised. The goal is to raise $1.3+ million, funding 11 large-scale water projects which will serve more than 40,000 people in need.

Unshaken - charity: water's campaign for Haiti from charity: water on Vimeo.

Building on the success of the first ever “UN PEACE DAY GLOBAL INTERNET BROADCAST” in 2009, which saw more than 2 million viewers, we are proud to announce the PEACE DAY 2010 event.    Event producers are now seeking corporate and non-profit sponsors for funding this years event, and it our pleasure to extend an invitation to your organization to participate.  Please call Stephen at 541-306-6467.

Established by U.N. resolution in 1982, "Peace Day" has grown to include millions of people around the world who participate in all kinds of events, large and small. Since it's inception, The International Day of Peace has been a focal point for Peacebuilding organizations to showcase, educate and advocate on behalf of the solutions they offer. Over the years, September 21^st, Peace Day, has become an uniquely intergenerational and inter-community event, engaging all sectors of society including: governments, faith groups, non-profits, universities, businesses & Non-governmental organizations.

In the past few years, it’s been a day of global ceasefire, which has had a tremendous impact on millions of children, especially in Afghanistan, who’ve been immunized from polio and had food delivered on this day. As the world becomes increasingly interconnected through technology, Peace Day is being frequently adopted as a day to unite on the most urgent issues of our time: climate change, the environment, hunger & poverty, social justice, & human rights. The Peace Day Broadcast is a means for further connecting these groups and educating people from around the world.

In 2009 the global broadcast was twelve hours long, focusing on the activities of Peacebuilding groups, corporations, and individuals from around the globe working to achieve the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. The broadcast was aired with live studio controls three times consecutively starting at the International date line and continues to play on a 12 hour loop over multiple websites such as www.peaceday2009.org to this day. This years event will also play continuously after the live broadcast event is recorded. The event player can be embedded on websites, social networks such as Facebook, and other digital medium channels.

This years event is scheduled to be twenty-four hours long, it will contain live feeds from celebrations around the world, pre-produced segments featuring Peacebuilding partners and sponsors, entertainment, Youth Peace Ambassador interviews such as last years with Michael Franti and Joan Baez, and feature new technologies designed for improving all sectors of our society.

There are several different levels at which you can participate in supporting the Broadcast. Each level offers excellent exposure and promotional opportunities for your organization. This event is produced by a non-profit 501(c)3 therefore all sponsorship contributions are tax-deductible in accordance with IRS regulations.

“UNITED NATION’S INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE 2009”

For more information please contact The Unity Foundation

Mr. Bill McCarthy: 310-450-5592 e-mail: unityfoundation1@aol.com

Today, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and the Federal Ministry of Health of Nigeria announced the largest single malaria initiative ever signed by the Global Fund, which will provide the resources for 30 million bed-nets in Nigeria. Each year, there are approximately 57 million cases of malaria in Nigeria, causing an estimated 225,000 deaths annually. Check out the full press release here.

As part of its efforts to eliminate malaria, Nigeria aims to place two bed nets in every household in the country by distributing 62 million bed nets by December 2010. Global Fund grants will provide half of this total. Other contributors include: the World Bank, DFiD, USAID, UNITAID, UNICEF and the Nigerian government.

“I am extremely pleased that our partnership with Nigeria continues to grow: it shows Nigeria’s strong commitment to fight malaria, and strengthens our relationship since Nigeria is also a Global Fund donor,” said Professor Michel Kazatchkine, Executive Director of the Global Fund. “Nigeria is showing why reaching global targets for malaria is no longer fanciful but something that can actually be achieved,” he said.

The malaria grants signed today amount to US$ 285 million over two years. The Global Fund used a flexible approach by signing, in July 2009, an interim agreement to allow for the timely distribution of 3.4 millions bed nets, which have just arrived in country in time for the mass distribution campaign planned for December this year. Two other grants were also signed, one for tuberculosis for US$40 million and one for Health Systems Strengthening for US$55 million.

 

And yet, whole continents depend on their labors. In sub-Saharan Africa, where some 80 million smallholder farmers (mostly women) supply 80 percent of the food, they are the future.

In 2008, the World Food Programme (WFP) bought $1.1 billion worth of food in 73 developing countries. That same year, we launched a 21-country pilot initiative called Purchase for Progress (P4P), which seeks to leverage our huge purchasing power to the advantage of the smalltime farmers in the poorest countries where we work.

The program, which receives funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates and Howard G. Buffett Foundations, aims to empower tens of thousands of small-scale farmers to move beyond subsistence— by connecting them to markets. The food WFP buys from the farmers will feed the hungry in the same country. A guaranteed buyer also gives farmers the confidence—and the cash—to invest in their own enterprises.

This formula has already proved a “win-win” for small farmers from Asia to Latin America.

In Nicaragua, we heard from 76-year-old farmer Dionisio Blandon, who can finally afford quality seeds and fertilizers for his 1.4 hectare plot of maize because his P4P-supported cooperative has extended credit—to be repaid after the harvest. He expects his income to increase by 40 percent.

Anne Rono, a mother of seven from Kenya, tells us she’s usually at the mercy of traders who take advantage of small farmers by offering them below-market price for their maize. But this year—thanks to P4P—she’s getting a reliable buyer and a fair price, putting more cash into her hands so she can purchase fertilizer for her fields—and school books and clothing for her kids. In her words: “P4P can change my life.”

Find out more about Purchase for Progress here.

 This blog written by and originated on Oct 16th, 2009 2:30 PM EST, by ONE.Partners

A Thousand Suns tells the story of the Gamo Highlands of the African Rift Valley and the unique worldview held by the people of the region.   This isolated area has remained remarkably intact both biologically and culturally.   It is one of the most densely populated rural regions of Africa yet its people have been farming sustainably for 10,000 years. Shot in Ethiopia, New York and Kenya, the film explores the modern world's untenable sense of separation from and superiority over nature and how the interconnected worldview of the Gamo people is fundamental in achieving long-term sustainability, both in the region and beyond.

//www.globalonenessproject.org/media/gop-player.swf"

The First algae fuel-powered vehicle in the world was officially launched in San Francisco. The car, called Algaeus is a modified Toyota Prius, which derives power from green crude. The car runs on an astonishing 150 miles per gallon of green fuel. But they are aspiring to cross the US on approximately 25 gallons of fuel.

According to FUEL producer Rebecca Harrell, “Powering our cars with algae-based fuel could be the next Apollo mission.” Rebecca Harrell is the co-founder of the Veggie Van Organization and producer of the upcoming film FUEL. In the coming 10 days she’ll be accompanying the Fuel director and Veggie Van Organization cofounder Josh Tickell. Together they will take the Algaeus on a countrywide road trip. The duo’s other travel companions will be other green energy vehicles (including the Veggie Van and the biodiesel-powered big green energy bus), “It hit us that we needed to drive the car across the country,” Harrell said. “People think of algae fuel as this long-term, far off thing. But seeing is believing.”

This countrywide tour will serve a dual purpose. People will be aware of the new clean and green fuel and they will give publicity to their forthcoming film FUEL. This film depicts America’s dependency on foreign oil. They claim that their film is different from other environmentally-themed movies. Till now these movies raise a question mark and present us with bleak future. Those movies were usually silent about the answers to environmental hazards. FUEL tries to fill the gap here. They talk about the various methods to make the transition from oil to alternative sources of energy. What’s important for everyday people is information. People don’t say ‘Can you give me something else to be scared about?’ They say, ‘How can I get my car to run on algae fuel?’ Tickell explained. FUEL will be released in New York City, San Francisco, Berkeley, and Washington DC on September 18th.

But you can not fill your tank with algae fuel at your local gas station in the foreseeable future. But the company aims to increase production of algae-based jet fuel this year and plans production of over 2 million liters of algae based diesel fuel per year over the next two years. The car is powered by a mixture of 5% algae fuel and the manufacturers claim that the demonstration car will leave its mark as the environmentally friendly-fuel-driven automobile.

Though, it is early to conclude that we can use algae as transport fuel. We all know that five percent blend of algae doesn’t precisely indicate the initiation of an algae revolution. But as the saying goes, glass if half full too. It states that advancement is being made on the fuel with great potential. This road trip will allow people to witness the progress in action. The main point of the Algaeus is to show the capability of algae to be used in an ordinary engine.