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The International Debate Education Association (IDEA), as part of its ongoing participation in The People Speak and in partnership with the UN Foundation and the Stanley Foundation, is pleased to announce a program of grant awards to encourage the screening of the documentary The Peacekeepers! Produced by the National Film Board of Canada, The Peacekeepers chronicles a recent UN Peacekeeping mission to the Democratic Republic of the Congo mounted to prevent all-out civil war. Directed by Paul Cowan and narrated by Karen Feiertag, The Peacekeepers debuted at several international film festivals this past summer, and plans are underway for its theatrical release later this year. However, as part of this year’s The People Speak: Defining the US-UN Relationship for the 21st Century initiative, groups can receive pre-release copies of the film along with an on-campus publicity kit and $50 for screening it!
The Peacekeepers is not only an educational film, but compelling cinema. Portraying all the steps of responding to an escalating crisis in the Congo, The Peacekeepers offers a fascinating and balanced glimpse into the difficult realities of post-9/11 diplomacy and the real-world dramas of peacekeeping. Featuring both frank interviews with key UN figures and candid footage of intense meetings inside UN Headquarters, The Peacekeepers firmly tackles the difficult questions faced by a UN struggling to redefine itself, and the difficulties legacies of the genocide in Rwanda and its efforts in Iraq. The NBC writes: “The film cuts back and forth between the United Nations headquarters in New York and events on the ground in the DRC. We are with the peacekeepers in the 'Crisis Room' as they balance the risk of loss of life on the ground with the enormous sums of money required from uncertain donor countries. We are with UN troops as the northeast Congo erupts and the future of the DRC, if not all of central Africa, hangs in the balance.” True to life, in The Peacekeepers, the stakes are high, and whatever an audience’s views on the UN or World Affairs, the film makes for a gripping hour and a half.
Organizations from High Schools to Foreign Policy discussion groups to book clubs to church groups can receive money for screening The Peacekeepers. By logging on to http://oas.idebate.org/idea, organizations can apply to receive a DVD copy of the film, and, after showing it to an audience of fifty or more, will receive $50. The process is quick an easy, and can help teachers, community organizers, and others to approach the difficult questions of US-UN relations and the position of the UN in the 21st Century. IDEA is thrilled to distribute film, and encourages you to apply!
Further information on The People Speak is available at http://www.idebate.org/thepeoplespeak/. To qualify for this opportunity, you must plan to show The Peacekeepers soon!
To apply for a grant to show the Peacekeepers, please go to:
http://oas.idebate.org/idea/
NOTE: The username and password for our Online Application System is separate from the one you use on this site. If you wish to apply for a TPS grant or a grant to show the PeaceKeepers, you need to click on "New User?" and create and then on "Create an Organization Account." You much have an organization account to receive a grant. The accounts are free of charge. |
