Angelina Jolie and Peter Gabriel to Host Benefit Gala for WITNESS

Corporate Social Responsibility Press ReleaseProvided by CSRwire

11/28/2005: Press Release from Witness

Angelina Jolie and Peter Gabriel to Host Benefit Gala for WITNESS

Event to highlight WITNESS’ ongoing work to document human rights violations and emphasize the group’s current initiative to secure sustainable peace in Sierra Leone

(CSRwire) New York – Academy Award-winning actress Angelina Jolie and musician and activist Peter Gabriel will co-host a benefit gala for WITNESS, the international human rights group, on December 5, 2005 in New York City. The event, to be held at The Supper Club in Times Square, will include performances by folk rock icon Emmylou Harris, legendary performers Nile Rodgers and CHIC, and other special guests.

WITNESS (http://www.witness.org/), the New York-based organization that deploys video and technology to promote human rights causes worldwide, was co-founded in 1992 by Peter Gabriel. Since its founding, WITNESS has partnered with groups in more than 60 countries, bringing often unseen images, untold stories and seldom heard voices to the attention of key decision makers, the media, and the general public — prompting grassroots activism, political engagement, and lasting change.

The December 5th event highlights WITNESS’ work in the West African country of Sierra Leone, where a devastating 11 year conflict, notorious for the rebels’ practice of amputating limbs of civilians, came to an end in 2002. Jolie traveled with WITNESS Executive Director Gillian Caldwell to Sierra Leone in May 2005 and helped secure key commitments from the country’s president to implement the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (TRC) recommendations. (The TRC was established as a forum for truth telling, a non-partisan investigative body, and a catalyst for the longer-term process of reconciliation.)

Selections of "Witness to Truth," a companion video to the TRC’s written report (produced by WITNESS), will be screened at the Gala. In addition, Ishmael Beah, a former child soldier from Sierra Leone, will offer his inspirational story of surviving the loss of his family and repeated trauma during the conflict and his hope for lasting peace in Sierra Leone.

The Gala will also showcase Artists Support http://www.witness.org/, a benefit fine art print edition involving internationally known visual artists and photographers such as Olaf Breuning, Fabrice Hyber, Alfredo Jaar, Shirin Neshat, Izhar Patkin, Dayanita Singh, Sebastiao Salgado, and William Wegman. The effort promotes awareness of the WITNESS website as a global meeting place for people interested in promoting human rights and involves the collaboration of two artists born in different parts of the world.

For information on individual tickets or for corporations interested in event sponsorship, visit: http://benefitoffice.org/witness/ or call The WITNESS Benefit office at 888.292.8488.