PRESS CONFERENCE ON INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE

PRESS CONFERENCE ON INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE

The International Day of Peace, observed on 21 September, would be promoted by the global broadcast of two new public service announcements, the Under-Secretary-General for Communication and Public Information, Shashi Tharoor, told correspondents at a Headquarters press conference and screening this morning.

“The public service advertisements promote a product we would like to see back in fashion:  peace”, Mr. Tharoor said.  Created and produced through a joint effort of the United Nations, the History Channel (a division of A&E Television Networks), and the New York advertising agency DCODE, the ads would be broadcast on the History Channel and the Biography Channel worldwide.  In the United States, the public service announcements -- or PSAs -- would be distributed to all broadcast and cable networks by the Advertising Council with a grant from the United Nations Foundation.

The public service announcements featured two senior United Nations Messengers of Peace, Mr. Tharoor said.  Muhammad Ali, the United States former heavyweight boxing champion, and Luciano Pavarotti, the Italian opera singer, had provided their services, as did the others involved in the production, on a pro bono basis.

There were two versions of both spots, he explained.  The first version would play around the world starting today, in the lead-up to the International Day of Peace on Sunday, 21 September.  The second version, which would carry the message but not refer to the International Day, would spread the message of peace long after.

Established by the General Assembly in 1981, the International Day of Peace was, until two years ago, observed each year on the opening day of the General Assembly’s session.  In 2001, however, the Assembly called for the Day to be observed on 21 September each year, as a day of non-violence and ceasefire.

On behalf of the United Nations, Mr. Tharoor expressed his gratitude to A&E Television, DCODE, the Advertising Council and the two Messengers of Peace for donating their time and effort to promote peace.

Describing the process which lead to the production of the PSAs, Maria Komodikis, Senior Vice-President and General Manager of A&E Television Networks International Division, said representatives of A&E Television and the United Nations first met in June to discuss the possibility of working together on a project.  “We believed that partnering with the United Nations was a great fit for the History Channel”, she said, noting that the History Channel was an international organization with community-minded channels both in the United States and overseas.

At the meeting, it had been suggested that the History Channel produce two PSAs for the International Day of Peace, she continued.  Given current world events, and recognizing the importance of the message behind the Day, A&E Television had decided to sign on to the project.  The partnership with the United Nations had been a success, and she was very proud of the two PSAs produced in cooperation with the United Nations.  A&E Television’s overseas affiliates had also seen the value and importance of the International Day of Peace and would be airing the spots, which meant that the messages would be reaching more than 200 million television households in over 70 countries and in some 20 languages.

To further draw attention to the message of the Day, she said several channels were also creating peace-themed programming blocks to air on 21 September.  In addition, affiliates would be featuring a page on their Web sites dedicated to the International Day of Peace and including the two PSAs.

The United Nations, she continued, had been established in 1945 to preserve peace through international cooperation and collective security.  In the preamble to the United Nations Charter, Member States called upon one another to, among other things, save succeeding generations from the ravages of war, reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights and promote social progress and better standards of life and larger freedom.  She hoped that in some way, A&E’s channels could also help to educate viewers on the goals of the United Nations, namely that by learning from the past, people would make better choices for the future.

The History Channel was proud to be part of the International Day of Peace and looked forward to a time when such days would reign throughout the year, and it would no longer be necessary to designate just a single day to honour international peace, she said.

The inventor of the PSA concept, the Ad Council had been producing ads that raised awareness, inspired action and saved lives for more than 60 years, its President, Peggy Conlon, said.  Although the Ad Council’s efforts had been focused on promoting positive social change in the United States, it was thrilled to participate in the global effort, she said.

The voices of the United Nations Messengers of Peace were a powerful vehicle for the message, and the Ad Council was proud to partner with the United Nations to ensure that they reached Americans, she said.  In that regard, the Ad Council had distributed the spots to more than 1,500 broadcast and cable media outlets nationwide.  She was confident that the media would generously support the message by airing the spots in donated advertising time.

Thanking A&E Television for running the spots internationally, she also thanked the United Nations Foundation for initiating the Ad Council’s involvement in the effort and making broad distribution of the PSAs possible.

Responding to a question, Mr. Tharoor said the concept of the International Day of Peace was not a new one.  What was new with the General Assembly’s decision was that it would be observed on one specific day for the first time.  The International Day of Peace would now always be commemorated on 21 September.  Instead of a day that changed and did not get “fixed in people’s memories”, there was now one specific day that would remind people of the importance of a global ceasefire and the importance of peace.  With that development, there was all the more need to increase public awareness of the International Day.  The PSAs would let ordinary people know that 21 September meant something.  Getting the PSA out would not only fix the International Day of Peace in peoples minds, but also enshrine the idea of peace beyond the Day.

The History Channel was seen in over 70 countries worldwide and reached more than 200 million television households, Ms. Komodikis said.  The spots would be run on all of its affiliates, with the exception of Indonesia and Malaysia, which did not permit public service announcements.

Asked how other countries would be reached, Mr. Tharoor said the PSAs would obviously reach television audiences in certain parts of the world.  While one could say that half the world’s population did not have a television set, it was important to reach those who could be reached.  The message of peace was meant for everybody, and they would be reached in other ways.  Every United Nations office and peacekeeping operation would be commemorating the International Day of Peace.  Specific efforts would be made by Special Representatives of the Secretary-General to promote global ceasefires on the Day.  The United Nations hoped to reach as many people as possible, and the PSAs were a means to that larger end.

What other events were planned for the Day? a correspondent asked.  Much was planned to celebrate the Day, Mr. Tharoor responded.  Because it fell on a Sunday this year, United Nations Headquarters would celebrate the International Day on 19 September.  The Secretary-General would ring the Peace Bell on that day and several messengers of peace, including the American actor, Michael Douglas; the Italian writer, Anna Cataldi; and the former heavyweight boxing champion, Muhammad Ali would be at United Nations Headquarters.  The famous naturalist, Jane Goodall would lead children in releasing giant paper doves of peace.  There would also be a concert for peace by the famous Brazilian singer and politician, Gilberto Gil, who was currently Brazil’s Minister of Culture and who had just won a Latin American Grammy award.

Asked if the announcements would be aired in other languages, Ms. Komodikis said all of A&E’s channels were either dubbed or sub-titled into local languages.

Asked what stations usually charged for running such ads, Ms. Conlon said that while it was an imperfect science, the kind of support she saw for similar campaigns usually ran into the millions of dollars.  The Ad Council would be tracking which stations ran the spots and would be able to report back later.  Given current world conditions, she believed it would be a well-supported message, as it was both appealing and timely, and would resonate not only with American audiences but also with the people who decided to air the spots.

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