Cinema For Peace para Nicole Kidman

Berlin, July 1st 2013 – The Cinema for Peace Foundation will honor UN Women, the United Nations organization tasked to advance women's empowerment and gender equality and its Goodwill Ambassador, Academy-Award winning actress Nicole Kidman on July 12 in Berlin. Nicole Kidman will receive a special honorary award for her long-term social engagement for women’s rights together with Lakshmi Puri, UN Assistant Secretary-General and Acting Head of UN Women.  Among others, the high-profile advocacy evening will be supported by the leading German actresses Veronica Ferres, Martina Gedeck and Katja Riemann, human rights advocates such as the ambassador of the European Council Bianca Jagger and the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Fatou Bensouda. Nicole Kidman was appointed as UN Women Goodwill Ambassador to promote and protect women’s rights worldwide, a cause she has since tirelessly supported. A special focus of her efforts has been on ending violence against women. Nicole Kidman has travelled to meet with survivors of sexual violence and raise attention for this pervasive human rights violation. She has also served as the international spokesperson for the UN Women’s “Say NO – UNiTE to End Violence against Women” initiative. Say NO has been supported by Cinema for Peace in 2008, too, with Catherine Deneuve and others, while raising 100.000 USD. Nicole Kidman said on the occasion of Cinema for Peace in 2008:  “Tonight, I am asking each of you to add your name and go on record to say ‘no’ to violence against women. One in three women may suffer from abuse and violence in her lifetime. It is a pandemic. Let survivors of violence around the world know that they can count on us. I lend my voice to salute those who champion human rights, peace and international understanding. This must be the legacy we pass on to all of our children." “Nicole Kidman has helped to give a voice to countless women, who are survivors of gender-based violence”, the Board of the Cinema for Peace Foundation emphasized in its decision to honor Kidman’s engagement for UN Women. “Alongside such efforts, Nicole has also helped raise funds for various programs and significantly contributed to fight violence against women in many parts of the world. She is a role model for others.” UN Women was established in 2010 to serve as a global champion to advance women’s empowerment and gender equality, dedicated to upholding the rights of women and girls worldwide. The organization is acting on the fundamental premise that every woman has the right to live a life free from violence, poverty, and discrimination, and that gender equality is central to achieving development. Empowering women fuels thriving societies, spurring productivity and growth. Yet gender inequalities remain deeply entrenched in every society: Women lack access to land, credit and decent work and are paid less for equal work. They are too often denied education and health care. In political and economic decision-making women are disproportionately underrepresented. UN Women stands behind women’s equal participation in all aspects of life, but pursues a handful of elements proven to unlock rapid transformation, such as eliminating violence against women; supporting women’s participation and leadership, including in peace and security processes; and enhancing women’s economic empowerment. The organization works with UN Member States to set global standards for achieving gender equality, and then helps individual countries design laws, polices and services they need to implement these standards. UN Women also lends expertise to other UN agencies in advancing gender equality through their programs. The evening at Soho House Berlin will be supported by BMW Berlin and Hans-Reiner Schröder, Salus Alpha and Oliver Prock, Point Rouge and the Regent Hotel.  About the Cinema for Peace Initiative The global Cinema for Peace initiative was established following the events of September 11th 2001. Along with leading representatives of film, politics, media, business and philanthropy, the Cinema for Peace Initiative combats humanitarian abuses, inequality and human rights violations through the medium of film. Cinema for Peace is a global platform that brings together international celebrities from the fields of film, politics and society through the universal power of the moving image in order to bring awareness to humanitarian issues. Further information at www.cinemaforpeace.com. About the Cinema for Peace Foundation From the Cinema for Peace initiative three organizations have emerged. There is the Cinema for Peace Foundation in Berlin, as well as the Cinema for Peace Foundation USA since September 11th 2012. The main focus of the other foundation in Bosnia-Herzegovina is on the Genocide Film Library Project, which contributes to the documentation of the Srebrenica massacre. The Cinema for Peace Foundation in Berlin was founded in 2008 in order to further the work of the Cinema for Peace initiative. The Foundation has set for itself the goal to bring relief to social inequality and injustice through the medium of film and peace advocacy. The Cinema for Peace Foundation works with movies that deal with humanitarian issues, disease prevention, terrorism, pollution, war, poverty or human rights violations. Further information at www.cinemaforpeace-foundation.com.