The annual Free the Slaves Freedom Awards honors the heroes of the modern anti-slavery movement. The awards ceremony is a soul-revving, heart-thumping, shout-out-loud celebration that attracts hundreds of authors, artists, actors, musicians, politicians and activists. Emmy-award winning musician and philanthropist Peter Buffettwill contribute to the evening by performing his issue-inspired song, “Blood into Gold”. The Freedom Awards will be taking place on October 13th, 2009 on the USC campus in Los Angeles.
“Blood into Gold” was originally written for an event at the United Nations General Assembly to commemorate the ‘International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade’. Peter had asked international recording artist Akon, who has previously collaborated with him, to loan his voice and production expertise to the song. The result was a moving advocacy tool to create awareness for the fact that human trafficking is still prevalent around the globe. The song’s accompanying poignant video has been produced by UNICEF, and is a powerful visual representation of the song’s message, utilizing moving images and video that depict the severity of this issue. The video can be viewed here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4G6v3Jag9o8.
Buffett will be among Actress Demi Moore, Author Isabel Allende, Football great Emmitt Smith, Olympic Sprinter Maurice Greene, and Actress Camilla Belle, to pay tribute to the people working on the frontlines to free slaves worldwide. This year’s awardees include women who have been enslaved on farms and in brothels, but are now free and have dedicated their lives to freeing others. The night is not about despair – it’s about hope.
Entrance to the event is free; however, guests will need a ticket to enter. Tickets can be requested here: http://www.freetheslaves.net/Page.aspx?pid=516and will be reserved based on availability.
EVENT DETAILS:
WHAT: Free the Slaves Freedom Awards
WHEN: Oct. 13, 2009 at 7:00 pm
WHERE: Bovard Auditorium
Universityof Southern California
3551 Trousdale Parkway
Los Angeles, CA90089
ABOUT FREE THE SLAVES AND THE FREEDOM AWARDS:
Free the Slaves is one of the world’s leading anti-slavery organizations. It is the U.S.sister organization of Anti-Slavery International, the world’s oldest human rights organization. Free the Slaves liberates slaves around the world, helps them rebuild their lives, researches solutions to the root-causes of slavery, and enlists businesses to clean slavery out of their product and supply chains.
The Freedom Awards are funded by the John Templeton Foundation. The foundation provides the award winners with substantial financial support to continue their work. The goal is to showcase the best anti-slavery work in the world today, to provide an international spotlight to keep activists safe on the ground, and to dramatically expand the reach and impact of grassroots anti-slavery programs. For more information, visit www.thefreedomawards.net.
ABOUT PETER BUFFETT:
Peter Buffett is an Emmy Award-winning composer, producer, songwriter musician, and philanthropist. He is also Co-Chairman of a foundation which seeks to foster a transition in global society from a culture of domination and exploitation, empowering women and girls as the primary agents of change. Buffett has partnered with Grammy-nominated, international recording artist Akon, to launch IsThereSomethingICanDo.com-- a social-networking website designed to promote social action. Buffett has recently launched his own social network community, peterbuffett.com/ning, to release new material to his exclusive network of fans on a monthly basis. His latest album is entitled Imaginary Kingdom, and was released on his own imprint, BeSide Records. Buffett has plans to release his first book, Life Is What You Make It, in 2010 through Harmony (Crown). For more information, visit www.peterbuffett.com.
