Bono and DATA to Receive 2007 Liberty Medal at National Constitution Center

Bono and DATA to Receive 2007 Liberty Medal at National Constitution Center

PHILADELPHIA, May 24 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Constitution Center's 2007 Liberty Medal will be awarded jointly to Bono, U2 lead singer and activist, and DATA (Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa), the advocacy organization he co-founded to combat poverty and disease in Africa. The prestigious Medal, and its accompanying $100,000 prize, will recognize Bono and DATA's groundbreaking work in raising awareness about and spurring a global response to the crisis of AIDS and extreme poverty in Africa. The public ceremony will take place on Thursday, September 27, 2007 at the National Constitution Center on Philadelphia's Independence Mall. All of the prize money will be donated to DATA.

Joseph M. Torsella, National Constitution Center President and CEO, made the announcement today, saying this year's recipient is an inspirational example of the power of citizens to elevate important issues to the world stage.

"Working hand-in-hand with DATA, Bono has become the ultimate civic entrepreneur -- but on a global scale that the Founders could have only imagined," said Torsella. "Bono and DATA don't just raise awareness, important though that is. They challenge the world's richest nations to do better by Africa, and challenge African nations to do better by their own people."

"In honoring Bono and DATA with this year's Liberty Medal, we honor their global commitment. We honor the fact that an Irish-born rock star and a Washington-based non-profit can lead a movement to improve life and liberty on the African continent."

Bono, U2 lead singer and DATA co-founder, said, "This is a real honor for myself and my bosses at DATA -- I am very proud of their work. It's also a great excuse to go back to Philadelphia, where we launched the ONE Campaign which now has 2.4 million Americans signed up to fight for justice on behalf of the poorest of the poor. I don't suppose there are enough Liberty Medals to go around, but in truth those people should all be wearing one too."

Jamie Drummond, DATA's Executive Director said, "I'm profoundly proud of DATA's work: from peddling anti-poverty policy to the Administration and Congress, to our leadership role in launching the ONE Campaign and organizing the Live 8 concert here in Philly two years ago. I am deeply appreciative of this honor and of the additional doors I hope it will open for our work. Every day 8,000 people die in Africa from AIDS and malaria alone, two preventable, treatable diseases. It is an overwhelming tragedy, but the challenges Africans are facing are not insurmountable. Effective aid from the U.S. and the rest of the G8, combined with African entrepreneurship, are working together to save lives and put millions of kids in school. We are making amazing progress, but we have so much more to do."

President George H.W. Bush, Chairman of the National Constitution Center and last year's Liberty Medal recipient, said in a statement that he and the Center's Board of Trustees are proud to honor this year's recipient. "Bono and DATA exemplify the ideals of informed, civic engagement envisioned by the Founders. In keeping with the Medal's past recipients, they have gone beyond partisanship and ideology to focus on the plight of African nations in crisis, and to persuade all of us to honor our obligations to Africa. Their efforts have made a positive impact on the lives of millions of people." President Bush went on the say that this year's recipients were selected by the Constitution Center's Executive Committee.

A Philadelphia tradition rooted in the bicentennial of the Constitution in 1987, the Liberty Medal was administered by the National Constitution Center for the first time last year, when Bush was honored with President Bill Clinton for their bi-partisan humanitarian efforts on behalf of the victims of the tsunami in Southeast Asia and the hurricanes on the Gulf Coast. A global initiative of the Constitution Center, the Medal reflects the values of the U.S. Constitution -- a belief in justice, fairness, self-governance, and a balance between individual rights and communal responsibility; in the power of people to effectuate change; and in resolving issues through deliberation, compromise, and respect for diverse viewpoints.

Past Liberty Medal winners include Vaclav Havel, Nelson Mandela, Shimon Peres, Kofi Annan, and Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. The Medal has also been awarded to organizations, including Doctors Without Borders and CNN International. Six former recipients of the Medal have subsequently won the Nobel Peace Prize.

Established in 2002 by Bono, Bobby Shriver and Jamie Drummond, along with other activists from the Jubilee 2000 Drop the Debt Campaign, DATA's mission is to eradicate extreme poverty and HIV/AIDS in Africa. DATA works with the world's wealthiest nations -- the United States, U.K., Germany, France, Canada, Italy and Japan -- to adopt new aid and trade policies that will help Africans put themselves on the path to long-term prosperity and stability. DATA also works with African leaders to support strengthened democracy, accountability and transparency in government so that Africa's citizens can ensure this assistance is being effectively deployed.

DATA has helped focus public attention on how to beat AIDS and extreme poverty in Africa by working closely with politicians, the media and celebrities. In 2005, DATA and campaigners around the world helped persuade the G8 to reach an unprecedented agreement that included $25 billion in additional development assistance for Africa by 2010, broad debt cancellation, universal access to education, and near universal access to AIDS and malaria treatment and prevention. DATA is monitoring the G8's progress on keeping these commitments and holding government leaders to public account. If kept, these promises will save millions of lives and mark a turning point in the West's relationship with Africa. Mayor Street said, "I cannot think of a more deserving recipient of the 2007 Philadelphia Liberty Medal than Bono and his great organization, DATA. And there is no city with a more distinguished humanitarian history to present it in! Like Bono, we Philadelphians understand that we all must care for people living with poverty and disease anyplace in this world."

At the core of DATA's beliefs is a view that these issues are not about charity, but about equality and justice. At the core of DATA's actions is a belief that catalyzing social movements, such as the ONE Campaign, are critical to lasting change.

The Mayor continued, "During our participation in the worldwide Live 8 concerts on July 2, 2005, we showed the world what we are capable of -- not only as a city but as a people. Philadelphia was selected as the only US city to host a Live 8 concert because of our city's rich humanitarian history -- and one million people came to celebrate this important event and to focus the eyes of the world on Africa's needs. The Liberty Medal is a tribute to that heritage."

Established in 1988 by We the People 2000 to commemorate the bicentennial of the U.S. Constitution, the Liberty Medal annually honors an individual or an organization from anywhere in the world that has "demonstrated leadership and vision in the pursuit of liberty of conscience or freedom from oppression, ignorance or deprivation." Since 2006, the National Constitution Center has administered the Liberty Medal, which includes the annual presentation of the award and a host of supplemental programs and activities designed to extend the Medal's reach throughout the year.

Details about the 2007 Liberty Medal ceremony at the National Constitution Center will be released at a later date and made available online at http://www.constitutioncenter.org/libertymedal. In keeping with tradition, a limited number of tickets to the ceremony will be made available to the public for free on a first come, first served basis.

The National Constitution Center, located at 525 Arch St. on Philadelphia's Independence Mall, is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing public understanding of the U.S. Constitution and the ideas and values it represents. Opened on July 4, 2003, the Constitution Center is a museum, an education center, and a forum for debate on constitutional issues. The museum dramatically tells the story of the Constitution from Revolutionary times to the present through more than 100 interactive, multimedia exhibits, film, photographs, text, sculpture and artifacts, and features a powerful, award-winning theatrical performance, "Freedom Rising". The Center also houses the Annenberg Center for Education and Outreach, which serves as the hub for national constitutional education and debates. Also, serving as a nonpartisan forum for constitutional discourse, the Center presents -- without endorsement -- programs that contain diverse viewpoints on a broad range of issues. For more information, call 215.409.6600 or visit http://www.constitutioncenter.org/.

EDITOR'S NOTE: A complete list of Liberty Medal Winners follows.

Past Recipients of the Liberty Medal

2006 -- George H.W. Bush and William J. Clinton, former U.S. Presidents (joint prize)

2005 -- Viktor Yushchenko, President of Ukraine

2004 -- Hamid Karzai, President of Afghanistan

2003 -- Sandra Day O'Connor, Associate Justice, U.S. Supreme Court

2002 -- Colin Powell, U.S. Secretary of State

2001 -- Kofi Annan, United Nations Secretary-General*

2000 -- Dr. James Watson / Dr. Francis Crick, co-discoverers of the structure of DNA (joint prize)

1999 -- Kim Dae Jung, President of South Korea*

1998 -- Senator George J. Mitchell, Irish Peace Negotiator

1997 -- CNN International

1996 -- King Hussein I of Jordan / Shimon Peres, former Prime Minister of Israel (joint prize)*

1995 -- Sadako Ogata, United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees

1994 -- Vaclav Havel, President of the Czech Republic

1993 -- F.W. de Klerk, President of South Africa / Nelson Mandela, President of the African National Congress (joint prize)*

1992 -- Thurgood Marshall, former Associate Justice, U.S. Supreme Court

1991 -- Oscar Arias, President of Costa Rica / Medecins sans Frontieres (Doctors without Borders) (joint prize)*

1990 -- Jimmy Carter, former U.S. President*

1989 -- Lech Walesa, founder of Solidarity, Poland

* Nobel Peace Prize winners

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Source: National Constitution Center

CONTACT: Denise Venuti Free, Senior Director of Public Relations of
National Constitution Center, +1-215-409-6636 (office), +1-215-200-5506
(cell), dvfree@constitutioncenter.org

Web site:

http://www.constitutioncenter.org/

-------
Profile: intent