YOUNG PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD REACT TO WAR 600,000 say "ITS OUR FUTURE"
As the bombing begins in Afghanistan, a whole generation, new to wars like the one the US is currently waging, are taking a stand. Over 600,000 young people, from high schools and youth organizations across the US and around the world, have come together to ask world leaders to consider the long term consequences of their actions and to act to create international and democratic structures to address the root causes of terrorism. "It's our future," they say.
On Friday, hundreds of young people will gather at MTV studios to declare that they stand committed to solving the problem of terrorism in the long term. "This will be the mission of our generation -- to create a world in which the events of September 11 can never happen again, by eradicating poverty, ignorance, and social injustice wherever they are found," says organizer Eli Pariser. "This is not a war that can be won with the military -- we must seek to cure the disease, not just the symptoms."
At the event, a coalition of youth organizations worldwide will send off the International Youth Declaration, an open letter to world leaders signed on to by over 300 youth organizations from Somalia to Pakistan to Argentina to Norway. The Declaration is intended to bring public attention to the work youth worldwide are doing in the name of peace, and to demonstrate the resolve of millions of young people to respond to the attacks on September 11 by creating the conditions for long-term stability.
WHERE: MTV Studios in Times Sq. (1515 Broadway)
WHEN: 4pm, Friday, October 12
CONTACT: Eli Pariser at youth at 9-11peace.org or (617)489-9681.
_________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp