THOUSANDS OF YOUTH UNITE IN WASHINGTON, DC TO END THE LONGEST-RUNNING WAR IN AFRICA

MEDIA ALERT
April 26, 2007

THOUSANDS OF YOUTH UNITE IN WASHINGTON, DC TO END THE LONGEST-RUNNING WAR IN AFRICA

"Invisible Children" Leads the Growing Grassroots Movement and Transforms Apathy into Activism

What: On Saturday, April 28th, the nonprofit Invisible Children is organizing tens of thousands of young people across the nation for an event called "Displace Me." Participants will gather overnight in 15 central locations throughout the United States to demand U.S. support of the peace talks in Northern Uganda. Throughout the night, there will be video testimonies by those impacted by the war to educate and personalize a tragedy largely unknown to the international community. Participants will create their own houses out of cardboard and voluntarily ration food to simulate some of the effects of displacement.

Why: Ten years ago, thousands of Ugandans were forcibly evicted from their homes and transported to overcrowded camps due to the horrific war in the North against the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). Initially created as a temporary solution, these displacement camps now house more than 1.5 million men, women and children. More than a thousand are dying every week due to the harsh and inhumane living conditions. Northern Uganda now has a generation of youth that has never known peace.

Who: Invisible Children Inc. was founded in 2005 after three young filmmakers created a documentary called, "Invisible Children: Rough Cut", which has now been seen by more than 2 million people. Last year, Invisible Children hosted a similar event, the "Global Night Commute," to bring awareness to the child soldiers of Uganda; more than 80,000 slept outside to end the war. "Displace Me" is cosponsored with "ENOUGH Project" (www.enoughproject.org) and "Resolve Uganda" (www.resolveuganda.org).

Where: National Mall
Directions: Corner of Constitution Ave. and 15th St. **Currently, more than 4,000 people will be gathering in the National Mall and 60,000 nationwide.

When: Saturday, April 28th at 3 p.m. thru 9 a.m. the following morning.

Press Opportunities: Program begins with opening remarks by Laren Poole (filmmaker and co-founder of Invisible Children) and Norbert Mao (Mayor of Gulu, Uganda) at 7:30 pm, and continues through 10 pm with video profiles. The Invisible Children National Tour "roadies" will also be available for interviews. The morning program will begin shortly after sunrise.

**Footage of the event will be available the following week for broadcast.

Contact:
Carolyn Sams – PR Director, Invisible Children (619) 562-2799 or (818) 370-2312

**Ground Contact – Sarita Hartz (703) 888-6693

To download this press release in Microsoft Word format, please click here Or go here: http://compassionateaction.org/displace_me_press.doc/view