UN Joins ONE DAY ON EARTH Media Event 10/10

On October 10, 2010, people across the world participating in the "One Day on Earth" project will capture an unprecedented global video snapshot of a single 24-hour period. Participants, ranging from teenagers with cell phones to Academy-Award nominated documentarians using the latest HD cameras, will film the world from their own perspective. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has partnered with "One Day on Earth" to help the project reach participants in 100 countries with low bandwidth, making it a truly global initiative.

"One Day on Earth" currently has a growing number of thousands of filmmakers and inspired citizens representing over 190 countries.

The results of this unique collage documenting the countless stories of triumph, tragedy, hope and fear that take place each and every day, will be made into a feature-length documentary to be released next year. In addition, all the footage shot as part of the project will be publicly available via an innovative online searchable archive. The scope and range of this material will provide an invaluable resource: a database of films that deal with some of the most important issues facing our global community.

UNDP Field Offices will provide logistical support at local and regional levels, including the collecting of video data in areas of low bandwidth. With the distribution of 120 HD cameras provided by "One Day on Earth", UNDP fieldworkers in many different countries, including Afghanistan, Cuba, Haiti, Rwanda, Sudan and Uruguay, will have the opportunity to participate directly in the project. UNDP staff participants will film their work, their colleagues and their communities, providing a vibrant and immediate glimpse into the organization's vital development work and its impact on people's lives. As the countdown to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015 continues, their contribution through "One Day on Earth" will highlight the challenges and obstacles they face in working to achieve the Goals.

"The MDGs are not just aspirational goals. They are about improving people's lives by reducing poverty and hunger; empowering women; increasing access to the essential services of education, healthcare, clean water and sanitation," said Stéphane Dujarric, Director of Communications at UNDP. "The One Day on Earth project offers a key opportunity to personify these issues to the international community, as well as spark a dialogue to create a greater global consciousness."

"One Day On Earth" will also reach over 450,000 students in 64 countries through the distribution of free digital educational toolkits on media literacy. The United Nations Fund for Children (UNICEF), the UN Department for Public Information and the UN Academic Impact programme -which links over 320 universities in 70 countries- will contribute as well. Vimeo, a video sharing site that provides a platform for people to host and share their videos in high quality, is providing the necessary bandwidth to host the "One Day on Earth" archive, as well as promoting the project to its online community of over four million registered users.

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