GLOBAL VISION FOR PEACE “DOVE OF PEACE” PIN MAKES MAJOR STATEMENT AT ACADEMY AWARDS

Entertainment Industry shows support of peace and the U.N. on its big night "Lord Of The Rings" Peter Jackson and Annie Lennox, Jim Sheridan, Sir Ben Kingsley, Benecio Del Toro and others wear GVP Pin For Peace And The U.N.

(Hollywood, March 1, 2004) – Multiple Academy Award-winner "Lord of the Rings" Director Peter Jackson was joined by fellow film artists wearing the Global Vision for Peace "Dove of Peace" pin at Sunday’s Academy Awards Ceremony.

Sporting the “Dove of Peace” pin just above the "Lord of the Rings" pin on his lapel, the multiple award-winning director stated, "The Oscars bring us together from around the globe, much in the way the U.N. does and I salute the U.N."

Also holding up a light for peace and showing their support for the U.N. by wearing the "Dove of Peace" pin at the 2004 Academy Awards were Sir Ben Kingsley, Annie Lennox, Chris Cooper, Jim Sheridan, Benicio del Toro, Haskell Wexler, Michael McKean, Annette O’Toole, Frances Fisher and Thomas Newman.

For the second year in a row, the director of the Oscar-winning Best Picture showed support for peace by wearing the “Dove of Peace” pin. Director Rob Marshall, who won the Oscar for Best Picture and wore the pin last year, was succeeded this year by director Peter Jackson, who took home the Oscar for Best Picture and also wore the “Dove of Peace” pin to the Awards.

Last month, at a press conference at the U.N. Headquarters in New York City, Global Vision for Peace launched Artists for the U.N. to enroll artists from all disciplines, as well as statesmen and women, to collectively support the vision and power of the United Nations as the global peacekeeping and humanitarian organization.

Since last month, artists and spiritual leaders from across the creative spectrum have been lending their voices to Artists for the U.N., including His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Robert Altman, Deepak Chopra, Melanie Griffith, Sharon Stone, Alan Cumming, Illeana Douglas, Donna Karan, Yoko Ono, Kurt Vonnegut, Marianne Williamson, Jessica Lange, Chris Cooper, Anjelica Huston, Michael York, Robert Graham and Henry Dunay, who designed the pin inspired by Picasso’s legendary peace doves.

Actress Drew Barrymore joined Global Vision for Peace co-founders Xorin Balbes and HeathCliff Rothman at the Artists for the U.N. launch at U.N. Headquarters. She was pinned as the inaugural Friend of the U.N., an honorary, unofficial designation arranged in association with the U.N. Barrymore spoke of the role of artists within the culture. Additionally, former U.N. Assistant Secretary-General Gillian Sorensen spoke of the mission of the United Nations.

Artists for the U.N. recognizes and honors the role of artists within a society as embodied by the philosophy of author Mordechai Richler: “Be an honest witness to your time.” Artists play a unique role in culture: to be beacons of consciousness, to transcend politics and partisanship, to autonomously hold up a mirror to their time – the illusions, ideals and ideas.

Global Vision for Peace and Artists for the U.N. will introduce artists to the vast global outreach of the U.N., develop projects in various media to support and promote U.N. initiatives, and invite enrolled artists to participate.

Global Vision for Peace is co-funding and co-sponsoring a film documentary, “Angels of Africa,” about a group of children in Uganda orphaned by AIDS who tour America every two years as a musical performing group, raising both money for the orphanage and visibility for the devastating crisis of AIDS, though offering an uplifting message of hope and possibility. The documentary will complement the U.N.’s coordinated global AIDS outreach. GVP will be hosting a performance by the children in March when they are on tour in Los Angeles, and GVP has approached the U.N. about unveiling the documentary at the U.N. on World AIDS Day, December 1, 2004.

PRESS CONFERENCE, UNITED NATIONS, FEBRUARY 4, 2004

Global Vision for Peace held a press conference at the United Nations on February 4, 2004 to announce the partnership with The United Nations in the creation of an exciting, ambitious initiative, Artists for the U.N., to support the vision and the power of the United Nations through the collaborative voice of artists.

The press release read:

Global Vision For Peace partners with United Nations in launching Artists For The U.N.
Artists will be named "A Friend Of The U.N."
Actor Chris Cooper is first presenter to wear GVP Dove Of Peace Pin to support the U.N. and Global Vision For Peace at 2004 Academy Awards

(New York), February 4, 2004 – Global Vision for Peace has partnered with The United Nations in launching a visionary new initiative, Artists for the U.N.
Artists for the U.N. is enrolling artists of letters, philosophy, visual arts and entertainment, and statesmen and stateswomen who explicitly support peace, to join their collective, conscious voices together in affirmation of the vision and power of The United Nations as the global peacekeeping body. Participating artists will be named “A Friend of the U.N.”

The joint initiative by Global Vision for Peace and The United Nations as Artists for the U.N. has received the support of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, 5 Nobel Peace Laureates, several members of Congress, film artists like Robert Altman, Chris Cooper, Susan Sarandon, Anjelica Huston, authors like Kurt Vonnegut, artists like Yoko Ono and Robert Graham, all of whom have joined the Honorary Committee.
Academy Award-winning Best Supporting Actor Chris Cooper (Adaptation) and multi-Academy Award-winning cinematographer Haskell Wexler (Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Bound for Glory) are the first Academy Award Ceremony attendees to confirm wearing the Dove of Peace pin at the Academy Awards 2004 initiative to support peace and publically affirm the mandate and power of The United Nations. Mr. Cooper will wear the pin on-stage, as presenter.

Artists for the U.N. acknowledges the organic role of artists within a society as embodied by the philosophy of author Mordechai Richler, who said, "Be an honest witness to your time." We see an artist’s role as beacon of consciousness, transcending politics and partisanship, beholden to no one, telling the truth and holding up a mirror to the times -- the illusions, injustices, dysfunctions, ideals and ideas.

Global Vision for Peace is inviting artists to create a collective voice through Artists for the U.N.. to support the ideals, vision and mandate of The United Nations: bringing nations together to find global solutions to problems and conflicts while it continues to define and redefine itself in a challenging, changing global landscape.

The Dove of Peace pin, inspired by Pablo Picasso’s numerous renderings of doves of peace, was designed and created by American artist Henry Dunay, and will be given to all enrollees in Artists for the U.N.

Global Vision for Peace was launched in 2003 by Xorin Balbes and HeathCliff Rothman, with the support of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, The Honorable Mikhail Gorbachev, Leonardo DiCaprio, Drew Barrymore, Yoko Ono, Martin Scorsese, Meryl Streep, Daniel Day-Lewis, Anjelica Huston, Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins, Pedro Almodovar, Brendan Fraser, Rob Marshall, Chris Cooper and others.

Last year, Global Vision for Peace focused on the causes of landmine removal, environmental threats and neutralizing weapons of mass destruction via support of the Roots of Peace, Green Cross International and Global Green USA.
For 2004, Global Vision for Peace focuses on the crisis of AIDS, particularly in Africa, which has been devastated by the HIV virus. GVP is supporting the production of a documentary film about the Children of Uganda, orphaned by AIDS, who tour America every two years to raise visibility of the AIDS crisis in Uganda and raise funds for their orphanage by performing in concert as a 24-person choir. The documentary is currently being shot, including footage at the U.N. press conference where the joint initiative between Global Vision for Peace and the U.N. will be announced, on February 4, 2004.

Xorin Balbes is the heralded designer and restorer of historical homes including the Lloyd Wright Sowden House, and has been profiled in Architectural Digest, Home and Garden Television and elsewhere. He produces and hosts numerous philanthropic events and is currently writing his first book for a Los Angeles publisher. HeathCliff Rothman is a producer and journalist. His most recent profiles are for Vanity Fair and O Oprah Magazine. He hosts and produces philanthropic events, and just launched FYI/ FILM YOUR ISSUE, a national college film competition in partnership with The American Association of State Colleges and Universities.