Nobel Peace Laureates Offer a Message of Hope on America's Most Solemn Day - September 11, 2008

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 18 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 18 Loyola-PeaceJam-event

On one of the most solemn days in American history, September 11th, seven Nobel Peace Laureates will hold a press conference at the PeaceJam Foundation's "Global Call to Action Conference" in Los Angeles, California, launching a campaign of hope and inspiration for the people of the world. Through the PeaceJam Foundation, the Laureates will be announcing a Global Call to Action, encouraging the people around the world to work with them on ten core issues to serve humanity and end the suffering that so many face. The goal is one-billion simple acts of peace within the next ten years. At the PeaceJam conference young people will engage in a once in a lifetime opportunity to work alongside the Nobel Peace Laureates on the projects that they have created and are creating.

The Nobel Peace Laureates attending include Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Shirin Ebadi, Rigoberta Menchu Tum, Jody Williams, Adolfo Perez Esquivel, Betty Williams and President Jose Ramos Horta. The PeaceJam conference will run from September 11-13, 2008 at Loyola Marymount University.

The ten core issues that the Nobel Peace Laureates have designated for projects include:

• Ending racism and hate
• Social justice and human rights for all
• Halting the spread of global disease
• Equal access to water and other natural resources
• Rights for women and children
• Eliminating extreme poverty
• Restoring earth's environment
• Controlling the proliferation of weapons
• Investing in human security
• Breaking the cycle of violence

This September, PeaceJam will be at the center of a number of huge events in addition to the conference that will highlight and underscore the importance of the organization's mission: the publication of a new book: PEACEJAM: A Billion Simple Acts of Peace (Puffin; September, $16.99) co-authored by PeaceJam founders Ivan Suvanjieff and Dawn Gifford Engle, which is the handbook for the Global Call to Action campaign and contains profiles of each of the Nobel Peace Laureates involved in PeaceJam and the firsthand accounts of the young people and their work with the Laureates, plus tools and resources to inspire others to action;

The Global Call to Action Challenge Contest, sponsored by the Pearson Foundation, which will honor the best Global Call to Action projects in the U.S. -- a top prize will be awarded to the winning project and will include a visit by a Nobel Prize Laureate to the winner's school or youth organization; and in the spring of next year, a 10-part PBS TV series narrated by Peter Gabriel and with music by the White Stripes, the Arctic Monkeys, and Flobots will be broadcast to highlight exciting youth projects from the Global Call to Action campaign.

The PeaceJam Foundation hopes to create a new generation of young leaders committed to positive change in themselves, their communities and the world through the inspiration of the Nobel Peace Laureates. Working with schools and youth groups, PeaceJam workers travel the globe to find people who want to make a difference in the world. All of the board of directors of PeaceJam are Nobel Peace Laureates. In addition to those attending the press conference, other members include The Dalai Lama, Oscar Arias Sanchez, Mairead Corrigan Maguire, Aung San Suu Kyi (still under house arrest in Burma), and Sir Joseph Rotblat (Emeritus).

As a result of their incredible work, PeaceJam co-founders Ivan Suvanjieff and Dawn Engle have been nominated for the 2008 Nobel Peace Prize.
PRESS CONFERENCE DATE: September 11, 2008

TIME: 3 p.m.

LOCATION: Ahmanson 1000, University Hall

Loyola Marymount University

1 LMU Drive

Los Angeles, CA

SOURCE Loyola Marymount University