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For Immediate Release
October, 01 2009, 03:34pm EDT
Contact:
Sam Husseini, (202) 347-0020; or David Zupan, (541) 484-9167
"World Peace March" Begins
WASHINGTON
This Friday, October 2, the World March for Peace and Nonviolence kicks off in New Zealand, marking the start of the world's first six-continent peace march calling for the elimination of wars, nuclear weapons and violence of all kinds.
Launched by the international organization World Without Wars, the World March has been endorsed by Desmond Tutu, Jimmy Carter, the Dalai Lama and other Nobel Peace Prize winners, Sarah Obama (President Obama's Kenyan grandmother), thousands of organizations including Mayors for Peace, Abolition 2000, Veterans for Peace, Code Pink, and more than a million people, including writers Noam Chomsky and Eduardo Galeano and celebrities Yoko Ono, Cate Blanchett and Viggo Mortensen.
Chomsky brings the ideals of the World March back to the principles of Gandhi, whose October 2 birthday was chosen as both the International Day of Nonviolence and the day the March begins its 93-day journey around the world. "The World March for Peace and Non-Violence is a wonderful idea," says Chomsky, "a fitting commemoration of Gandhi's legacy on the centenary of his birth... It could hardly be more timely, and should serve as an inspiration to those who seek to fulfill the noble ideals that Gandhi's life and work symbolized in ways that are rarely approached."
In the U.S., the march kick-off will be marked by dozens of events around the country, including:
* The formation of a human peace symbol in Santa Monica, California;
* An interfaith blessing ceremony at the New York Harbor; and
* An environmental peace walk in Richmond, Virginia.
Between November 30 and December 3, 2009, the international marchers will visit several U.S. cities (beginning in New York City), including Washington, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
For more information, including a complete list of events, visit World March USA (national) and the World March (international).
Contact: Nicole Myers (212) 580-8029, press@worldmarchusa.net
A nationwide consortium, the Institute for Public Accuracy (IPA) represents an unprecedented effort to bring other voices to the mass-media table often dominated by a few major think tanks. IPA works to broaden public discourse in mainstream media, while building communication with alternative media outlets and grassroots activists.
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