Media Invited To Watch Via Videoconference as Rutgers , UNESCO Sign Agreement In Paris Establishing Rutgers Peace Center as a UNESCO Institute

 

WHAT:  A two-part videoconference on the Rutgers-Newark campus. First, the videoconference will air a press conference at UNESCO headquarters in Paris to discuss the Rutgers International Institute for Peace (IIP) and the agreement which establishes the IIP as a Category 2 institute under the auspices of UNESCO.  This pact makes Rutgers the only American university to have a center with UNESCO designation.  Media in the U.S will be able to ask questions. Then the videoconference will show the actual signing of the agreement. 

The press conference will also be live-streamed on UNESCO’s website, at mms://stream.unesco.org/live/room_5021_floor.wmv

WHO:  Rutgers-Newark  Interim Chancellor Philip Yeagle; Rutgers-Newark  Professor Aldo Civico, cofounder of the Rutgers International Institute for Peace (IIP) and actor and humanist Forest Whitaker, co-founder of the IIP and UNESCO’s Goodwill Ambassador for Peace and Reconciliation; UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova; and David Killion, U.S. Ambassador to UNESCO.

WHEN: Tuesday, Feb. 7, 11:30 a.m. for the press conference, approximately noon for the signing ceremony.

WHERE:  The Rutgers Center for Law and Justice, Room 202, 213 Washington Street, Newark NJ

HOW MEDIA CAN ATTEND THE VIDEOCONFERENCE:  Members of the media must pre-register:  973/353-5263, Carla Capizzi,  capizzi@rutgers.edu

BACKGROUND:  The Rutgers International Institute for Peace was co-founded in 2011 by Whitaker and Civico, a Rutgers-Newark professor of anthropology and a conflict resolution expert.  Based at Rutgers-Newark, it promotes sustainable peace rooted in human rights, respect for cultural diversity, and the elimination of poverty and strives to educate the next generation of peace-building leaders. The IIP works with communities in urban areas around the world to foster community and peace-building among educators, community and religious leaders, entrepreneurs, local police, and youth affected by violence. The IIP also builds capacity in civic diplomacy to advance the role of citizens in building and sustaining peace and democratic participation.