Pangea Day is a global event bringing the world together through film. In a world where people are often divided by borders, difference and conflict, it’s easy to lose sight of what we all have in common. Pangea Day seeks to overcome that — to help people see themselves in others — through the power of film.

The Pangea Day Event starts at 18:00 GMT on May 10, 2008. Locations in Cairo, Kigali, London, Los Angeles, Mumbai and Rio de Janeiro will be linked for a live programme of powerful films, live music and visionary speakers. The entire programme will be broadcast — in seven languages — to millions of people worldwide through the internet, television and mobile phones.

The 24 short films to be featured have been selected from an international competition that generated more than 2,500 submissions from over one hundred countries. The films were chosen based on their ability to inspire, transform and allow us see the world through another person’s eyes. The winning films will be announced in late April.

The programme will also include a number of exceptional speakers and musical performers. Queen Noor of Jordan, CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, musician/activist Bob Geldof and Iranian rock phenomenon Hypernova, are among those taking part.

What Will Happen After Pangea Day? People inspired by Pangea Day will have the opportunity to participate in community-building activities around the world. Through the live programme, the Pangea Day website and self-organised local events, everyday people will be connected with extraordinary activists and organisations.

Many of the films and performances seen on Pangea Day will be made available on the Web and via mobile phone, alongside open forums for discussion and ideas for how to take social action.

A Pangea Day documentary will be created to catalyze future activities, and dozens of talented filmmakers will make strides in their careers.
History

In 2006, filmmaker Jehane Noujaim won the TED Prize, an annual award granted at the TED Conference. She was granted $100,000, and more important, a wish to change the world. Her wish was to create a day in which the world came together through film. Pangea Day grew out of that wish. Watch Jehane Noujaim’s 2006 acceptance speech now.

Brahma Kumaris (BKs) at the United Nations

We align ourselves in particular with the tenet contained in the Preamble to the Charter of the United Nations: “…to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person…”

The Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University in Mt. Abu, India, is an international non-governmental organization (NGO) in general consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations and in consultative status with UNICEF. It is also affiliated to the UN Department of Public Information.

The Brahma Kumaris support the UN Millennium Development Goals through a wide range of programs promoting education; gender equality and empowerment of women; mental, physical, and spiritual health and well-being; and environmental sustainability.

Their special competence in the area of human and social values allows them to bring a particularly ethical and spiritual approach to world concerns. In this capacity the BKs regularly work with NGO committees and caucuses, specialized agencies, and government missions; and they actively participate through oral and written statements at UN conferences and meetings.

The BKs strive always to promote awareness and highlight the great aspirations of the purpose and principles of the UN. In doing so, they initiate international projects to provide people from around the world with an opportunity to participate in activities of social and humanitarian concerns.

Through its international network of centers, the BKs organize special activities, seminars, workshops, dialogues, conferences, and exhibitions to provide people with spaces to voice their opinions on critical matters that impact their daily lives and to ensure that their messages make their way back to the UN.

The web site is www​.bkun​.org
Image by Steve Rhodes