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Tuesday, May 27, 2008 – Web site updates
Since the end of the 2008 Just Peace Summit, we’ve continued to add new content and new features to the web site to keep you well informed of what took place at the Summit, as well as the progress that Three Dot Dash® Global Teen Leaders have made on their projects.
One such update is the creation of a new Media & Press section, which includes photos from the 2008 Summit, videos, news articles and press releases. Check it out, and see how the Three Dot Dash Movement is spreading!
Tuesday, May 20, 2008 – GTL Tara named grand prize winner of the “Teen Hero Award”
Three Dot Dash Global Teen Leader, Tara, from the United States was named the grand prize winner in the Taco Bell Foundation for Teens’ “Teen Hero Award” today for her organization “H.O.P.E.” (Helping Orphans Pursue Education), which works to provide all children–regardless of sex, race or religion–with the opportunity to reach their full potential by meeting their basic human needs, as well as increase youth volunteerism across the globe. Click here to learn more about her project.
The Taco Bell Foundation for Teens, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) public benefit corporation, created the “Teen Hero Awards” to recognize and inspire teens to reach their full potential, and will award Tara with a $15,000 grant to an eligible charity of her choice. Click here to learn more about Tara’s “Teen Hero Award.”
The Three Dot Dash Team is so proud of Tara for her accomplishments, as well as the accomplishments of all our Global Teen Leaders, who work tirelessly to create and inspire peace throughout the world.
Friday, April 4, 2008 – A Successful 2008 Just Peace Summit!
The Three Dot Dash Team is pleased to announce the completion of the hugely successful and inspiring 2008 Just Peace Summit! During the Summit, the 30 Global Teen Leaders created a worldwide network, dedicated to furthering their projects and supporting their fellow GTLs in promoting a more peaceful society by addressing the basic human needs of food, water, health, shelter, safety and education.
And all we can say is “wow!”
We had high expectations for the Summit, but what occurred here in New York City was beyond even our wildest dreams.
We brought the 30 GTLs together to learn how to better “tell their stories” through various forms of media, technology and distribution methods, including written word, spoken word, talking to the media, photography, film, music, branding, public service campaigns and action planning. These topics were taught by influential figures, including Jamal Joseph, Ray Kotcher, Danny Schechter, Jeni Stepanek, Derrick Ashong, Teun Voeten, Tom Silverman, Nile Rodgers and many, many more!
They also partnered with Mentors, who will provide invaluable advice, guidance and support throughout the upcoming year.
But above all, they became a family of powerful and connected Global Teen Leaders who will continue to feed off of each other and work together to find a “just peace.”
These teens are an inspiration, and we are so excited to see what the upcoming year will bring!
Now, to end things for today, here is an amazing clip from CNN International, which features our very own David Z. from Colombia and Mousa from Jordan.
http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/world/2008/04/04/sesay.intv.just.peace.cnn
Tuesday, April 1, 2008 – New York City Night Out
The GTLs got to enjoy a NYC night out tonight. And boy did we enjoy it too!
The event was held at the Zipper Theater, which is a wonderful, small theater in midtown Manhattan that has old car seats for chairs. Great venue! It featured performances by teen band Creation, improv comedy troupe Headshop Guerillas, and Academy Award-nominated IMPACT Repertory Theatre.
And it was here IMPACT revealed the “Three Dot Dash” song! What an amazing, inspirational song! The night ended with (almost) everyone onstage cheering, singing the Three Dot Dash song, and flashing the Three Dot Dash hand signal. It was an amazing night that brought everyone closer together. And a night we will not soon forget!
Saturday, March 29, 2008 – The 2008 Just Peace Summit Has Begun!
Today we can proudly say that the 2008 Just Peace Summit has begun!
The day got off to a great start when Janet, Alicia, Luke and Nile Rodgers (legendary songwriter, musician, producer and Founder of the We Are Family Foundation) were invited to speak about the Three Dot Dash initiative on The Today Show. They did an amazing job, and the entire Three Dot Dash Team is so proud of them!
Almost all of the GTLs and their Guardians are here – we’re only missing Consolée and her Guardian, whose flight out of Rwanda was cancelled. But their flight has been rescheduled, and they are due in tomorrow night, fingers crossed!
Tonight’s Opening Reception marked the official opening of the Just Peace Summit. It brought together the GTLs, Guardians, Team, Coalition Partners, Sponsor Partners and guests to celebrate the initiative, welcome the GTLs and listen to intimate conversation between Ishmael Beah and Ian Stewart.
Ishmael Beah is the bestselling author of A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, detailing how his life in Sierra Leone was destroyed by rebel fighting and how he was eventually swallowed into the fighting as a boy soldier. Ian Stewart is an award-winning AP journalist and author of Ambushed: A War Reporter’s Life on the Line, discussing his life of reporting in war-torn areas and his run-in with a Sierra Leone boy soldier that left his partner dead and Stewart paralyzed on his left side, thanks to the bullet that was put through his head.
The conversation was moderated by Caryl Stern, President & CEO of US Fund for UNICEF, and covered topics of peace, anger, hope, rebuilding, forgiveness and commitment. They discussed how their lives were shattered and how they’ve had to rebuild their shattered lives to create what they have today – lives that are inevitably different, but incredibly powerful due to the lessons that they’ve had to learn and the lessons that they can now teach. And we witnessed this power first-hand as Ian and Ishmael came together to open this compelling peace initiative of Three Dot Dash.
Thursday, March 27, 2008 – The Arrivals Have Started...
With only two days left until the official start of the 2008 Just Peace Summit, things are certainly in full-speed here! Lots of items being delivered to the Summit Venue, lots of prep work, lots of final details to iron out. But we know it will all be worth it!
Early this morning at 2am, our very first Global Teen Leaders arrived – Peggy and Josephine from Kenya!! After traveling nearly 18 hours to get to New York City, they were excited to finally be here and certainly excited to finally be off the plane.
The rest of the GTLs, Guardians, Speakers and Facilitators will continue to flood in over the next couple of days to participate in the first ever Just Peace Summit. We can’t wait to see what the upcoming week will bring!
Friday, March 21, 2008 – Gearing Up for the Just Peace Summit
Today marks eight days until the start of the 2008 Just Peace Summit, which will bring together 30 Global Teen Leaders between the ages of 12-19 who are doing extraordinary projects that help promote a more peaceful society by addressing issues related to the basic human needs of food, water, health, shelter, safety and education.
It’s hard to believe that it is actually about to happen, since the Three Dot Dash initiative has been in planning for almost four years now, when the late 13-year-old poet and peacemaker Mattie J.T. Stepanek inspired us with his words and ideas in his last book Just Peace: A Message of Hope. The entire Three Dot Dash Team and the We Are Family Foundation is proud that such a powerful initiative is about to begin.
Stay tuned for more updates before, during and after the Summit!