PRESS CONFERENCE BY 'BIRDS OF HOPE -- A TRAVEL FOR PEACE'

Press Briefing

PRESS CONFERENCE BY 'BIRDS OF HOPE -- A TRAVEL FOR PEACE'

It was always possible to go further and higher in a spiritual way, to share love and the projects one was working on, Roseline Gravrand said this morning at a Headquarters press conference. The conference, to launch a hands-across-the seas project baptized "Birds of Hope -- a Travel for Peace", was sponsored by the Permanent Mission of France and the Permanent Representation of the International Organization of la Francophonie to the United Nations.

Ms. Gravrand, representing the PREMA Association, which helps children placed in the care of the French State, said that the “birds” in “Birds of Hope” represented “the hope we have for children to fly across borders and across countries”. The birds also symbolized the fact that one could “fly over” one’s own limitations.

Françoise Cestac, President of the Association Culturelle Francophone, said that Airlines Ambassadors International NYC had organized the “Birds of Hope –- a Travel for Peace” project, which united a French school and an American high school from Harlem, New York. [The project is an art and cultural exchange in partnership with Wadleigh High School in Harlem; PREMA Association in France; the Parish of Calvary/Saint George’s Youth Education Department in New York; the French Permanent Mission to the United Nations; and the Association Culturelle Francophone. Eight youths from France were visiting New York, and on 15 June, 15 New York high school youths would visit France to take part in the first annual “Children’s World Festival”, a project by the United Nations Educational and Scientific Organization (UNESCO) and the Trinational Association.]

Ms. Cestac announced that from 1 to 3 p.m., in the Dag Hammarskjöld Auditorium, "Birds of Hope -– A Travel for Peace" had organized a recital of poetry and music. The poetry had been written by the French and American children, she said, and would be accompanied by pianist Father George Paulin. The English poetry would be read by William Dise, the French by the actor Eric Chartier. The event paid tribute to the spirit of the late writer/aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. The illustration on the title page of his book The Little Prince, a flight of birds, had inspired the name of the event, which was also sponsored by the Cultural Services of the French Embassy in the United States.

The recital would be followed by refreshments, after which, from 4 to 6 p.m., an exhibition connected with the event would officially be opened in the United Nations garden. That was where “you can see the birds fly”, she said.

Edith Bramerie, representative of Airline Ambassadors International, said that Mr. Dise, of the same organization, had traveled all over the world to help children. That was why it would be appropriate for him to read the poetry about human values written by the children of Wadleigh High School in Harlem.

[Airline Ambassadors International is a not-for-profit network of volunteers, affiliated with the United Nations, consisting of airline employees and committed to serving people in need in their home communities and throughout the world.]

Birds of Hope Press Conference - 2 - 16 May 2000

Mr. Dise said that dealing with children from across the ocean and from the United States had confirmed his belief that “you children really are our future”. Addressing the children in the audience, he said, “If you learn now, as you grow older, this world will be a much better place”. “Travel for Peace” would be a very important part of their lives.

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