2007_01_01_archive

Serious Games Event At The Infinite Mind Virtual Broadcast Center

Serious Games bridging virtual and real worlds

Via: The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum's Committee on Conscience

Actress and activist Mia Farrow will discuss and answer questions

about the worsening situation in Darfur and neighboring Chad at a

live, virtual 3-D event in the on-line community Second Life. The

landmark program will be open to the press and the public without

charge, on Tuesday, January 9, 2007, from 2 PM to 3 PM (Eastern Time)/

9 AM to 10 AM (Second Life Time).

The event will take place at a virtual replica of "Our Walls Bear

Witness - Darfur: Who Will Survive Today?" the powerful, outdoor

photography exhibition highlighting images of the Darfur crisis by

leading photojournalists that were projected onto the exterior of the

U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC during Thanksgiving

Week 2006.

Ron Haviv, the award-winning photojournalist, whose images of Darfur

are part of the virtual event

Photographs of crisis from U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum mixed-media

event to be featured as part of virtual reality program

Ronan Farrow, who has served as a UNICEF Spokesperson for Youth in

Sudan, as a representative of the Genocide Intervetion Network, and

his written extensively about the situation in Darfur

The virtual event in Second Life will allow visitors from around the

world to experience the traveling photography exhibit with its moving,

thought-provoking photos, as well as to view video of the real life

outdoor installation at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

Mia Farrow just returned from Chad, following three earlier trips to

Darfur. "We're seeing atrocities of an indescribable kind ... [with

people] clustered under trees, dazed and terrified," she told the

Associated Press. "The situation continues to deteriorate, and ending

this human catastrophe will require the engagement of citizens from

all walks of life.

Mia Farrow's avatar in SL and in real life

I am proud to be working with the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in

calling attention to genocide unfolding on our watch," said Ms.

Farrow, who will be returning to the region in February 2007.

The event in Second Life is being held at The Infinite Mind virtual

broadcast center, and will be simultaneously broadcast in two other

locations in Second Life: Camp Darfur, and Global Kids, on the Second

Life teen grid.

The virtual "Our Walls Bear Witness - Darfur: Who Will Survive Today?"

photography exhibit will be open in Second Life until January 31,

2007.

About The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

The United States Holocaust MemorialMuseum honors the memory of the

victims by teaching their story to each new generation; andstimulating

citizens and leaders to confront hatred and anti-Semitism; prevent

genocide; promotehuman dignity; and strengthen democracy. Nearly 24

million people -- including over 8 millionschoolchildren -- have

visited the Museum since it opened in 1993, and through its Web

site,podcasts, traveling exhibitions, and educational programs the

Museum reaches millions more fromaround the world. For more

information, visit www.ushmm.org The U.S. Holocaust MemorialMuseum's

Committee on Conscience works to raise public awareness and alert the

nationalconscience to contemporary genocide and related crimes against

humanity. For more information onthe Committee on Conscience, visit

www.ushmm.org/conscience

About "Our Walls Bear Witness - Darfur: Who Will Survive Today?" The

exhibition includesimages from Darfur/Darfur, an exhibit conceived and

curated by Leslie Thomas, a Chicago mother andarchitect who was

motivated in July 2006, with the help of her friends, to create

national awareness of theongoing humanitarian crisis. The exhibit is

presented in association with Global Grassroots, a 501(c)(3)non-profit

organization that invests in social entrepreneurship to advanced

women's well being in poorcountries. The show will be held in 24

cities over 24 months. "Once you see photos of a murdered

threeyear-old little boy whose face has been smashed or the body of a

one year-old girl who has been shot youcannot look honestly look at

your own children without doing something to stop this killing,"

saysThomas. For more information visit Darfurdarfur.org To see the

photos and read more about the exhibitat The United States Holocaust