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UN Secretary-General To Open Global Insight Summit At 2008 Festival

Jackson, WY and New York, NY – The United Nations and The Jackson Hole Film Institute, announced the first Global Insight Summit to take place at the fifth annual Jackson Hole Film Festival, June 5-9, 2008.

The Global Insight Summit represents an unprecedented collaboration, bringing together entertainment leaders and UN officials to explore how film and television can be leveraged to bring awareness to global issues. The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon will open the Global Insight Summit and will conduct a series of private meetings with leading members of the film and television community.

The Global Insight Summit is a groundbreaking effort by the United Nations and the Jackson Hole Film Institute to work with the entertainment community to highlight critical international concerns. Actors, writers, producers and directors from film and television will join the Secretary-General and other senior UN officials to discuss important global issues and the role of film and television media in raising public awareness of these problems and of the UN’s role in addressing them.

“I look forward to attending the inaugural Global Insight Summit this year and meeting with leading film executives and industry leaders,” said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. “This dynamic initiative by the United Nations and the Jackson Hole Film Institute will help tackle critical global issues. By promoting greater public awareness and engagement, the Summit will be an important contribution to the work of the UN.”

The Global Insight Summit 2008 will include:

  • A welcome address given on June 6, 2008 by the Secretary-General to attendees from the film and television community and the public.
  • Small group meetings between the Secretary-General, senior UN officials and leading members of the entertainment industry to discuss world events, to highlight UN activities, and to discuss ways to engage the world on specific neglected and critical issues.
  • Panels open to the public, focusing on the theme (to be announced) of the Global Insight Summit. Panel participants will include Goodwill Ambassadors, UN senior officials, media figures and national leaders.
  • Private meetings organized between the entertainment industry and UN officials and diplomats.

“The many diverse and critical jobs handled by the UN around the globe are not well understood even by those with a reason to study this type of work,” said William J. Rouhana, Jr., board member of the Jackson Hole Film Institute and chairman of its Global Insight Committee. “Entertainment industry leaders have the ability to change this awareness by participating with the UN at the Global Insight Summit. It is our hope that increased understanding of these issues and the UN’s work will lead to increased public support for solving some of these problems.”

The collaboration between the UN and the Jackson Hole Film Festival was spearheaded by Rouhana, a former vice chairman of the United Nations Association and co-founder and current vice chairman of the Humpty Dumpty Institute, an organization that regularly brings members of Congress to the UN for private, off-the-record briefings on critical U.S. - UN issues.

Complementing the Summit will be a selection of films that exhibit the power of visual media to focus world attention on urgent issues. Through a juried selection process, the Global Insight Film Award will honor the film that best serves as a catalyst for raising public awareness and engagement in an important global issue.

“Our Global Insight Program has always demonstrated the power of film and television to raise awareness of important global issues,” said Eben Dorros, president and chairman, Jackson Hole Film Institute. “We believe that our partnership with the UN will significantly increase our ability to achieve that goal.”

About Jackson Hole Film Institute
Jackson Hole Film Institute, presenter of the Jackson Hole Film Festival, is a non-profit organization whose mission is to empower independent filmmakers and global audiences through film and new media.

The 5th annual Jackson Hole Film Festival will take place June 5-9, 2008, and will screen approximately 70 independent films competing in seven program categories including: Independent Features; Independent Shorts; Documentaries; World Program: Spotlight Latin America; Global Insight; Sports Action; and Student Voices. Representing more than 20 countries, the Festival is committed to creating a platform for global inspiration and change. In addition to its film programs, the Festival is also recognized for its extraordinary evening events and high profile forums that enrich the Festival and give festival-goers the opportunity to interact with filmmakers in a casual setting.

Together with the United Nations, the Jackson Hole Film Institute presents the first Global Insight Summit, an international gathering where entertainment leaders and UN officials come together to explore how film and television can be leveraged to highlight critical international concerns.

For more information on the Jackson Hole Film Festival, The Global Insight Summit or to purchase festival passes visit www.jacksonholefilmfestival.org.

For more information about the United Nations please visit www.un.org.
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Press Contacts
Jackson Hole Film Institute
Paula Cavagnaro/Antenna Group
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(415) 977-1915

United Nations
Susan Farkas
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(212) 963-3407