MTV & ServiceNation Team Up to Host 'Be The Change Inaugural Ball'

MTV & ServiceNation Team Up to Host 'Be The Change Inaugural Ball'

America's Youth to Come Together to Celebrate a New President, a New Generation of Leadership, and a New Era of Community

MTV Programming Will Highlight Young People Across America Taking Action to Aid Their Communities

NEW YORK, Nov. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- MTV and ServiceNation today announced they will host the "Be The Change Inaugural Ball" in Washington D.C. on January 20, 2009 to celebrate the massive youth voter turnout in the 2008 Presidential Election and an active commitment from America's youth to impart positive social change through volunteer service.

Held at The Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington D.C., the event will feature leading artists, celebrities and government officials, alongside hundreds of young people chosen to attend based off their demonstrated volunteerism, for live performances and dedications highlighting the power of America's youth to take action in their communities. The special event will be televised live and premiere across all MTV platforms including MTV, MTV2, MTV Tr3s, mtvU, MTV Hits, MTV Jams and MTV.com on the evening of January 20, 2009 (time to be announced) and will include live broadcasts from locations worldwide where young people are completing major service projects in real-time during the inaugural event. Additionally, MTV will showcase stories of young people providing service within their communities on a daily basis beginning the first day of the New Year, culminating on Inauguration Day.

"Over the last year and culminating in this election, we have seen a groundswell of engagement and a refreshed spirit of activism from young people," said Stephen Friedman, General Manager of MTV. "ServiceNation is the perfect partner for this inaugural event given they encompass a broad coalition of youth service organizations. We want to celebrate young people across the nation who are answering the call and working to make changes in their communities and beyond."

"ServiceNation looks forward to partnering with MTV on a historic inaugural event that will call on all Americans to act on their idealism and answer President-elect Obama's call to serve," said Michelle Nunn, CEO, Points of Light Institute. "By uniting Americans on the common ground of service, we can roll up our sleeves and help solve the nation's great challenges and inspire every American to be the change they wish to see in the world."

A record 24 million 18 - 29 year-olds voted in the 2008 Presidential election. Out of the 133.3 million total voters, the youth vote accounted for 18 percent of the electorate. This turnout marks the third major election in a row with increased youth voter numbers, and for the first time in twenty years, the number of young voters aged 18 - 29 surpassed that of voters over the age of 65.

About MTV

MTV is the dynamic, vibrant experiment at the intersection of music, creativity and youth culture. For over 26 years, MTV has evolved, challenged the norm, and detonated boundaries -- giving each new generation a creative outlet and voice that entertains, informs and unites on every platform and screen. On-air, MTV has been the number one rated 24 hour ad-supported cable network P12-24 for 16 straight years. Online, MTV.com scored double-digit growth in 2007 and MTV launched 15 dynamic online communities and eight new virtual worlds. On the go, MTV Mobile is the #1 music brand in the wireless space -- delivering 90% more streams than in 2006. And MTV's successful sibling networks MTV2, mtvU and MTV Tr3s each deliver unprecedented customized content, super-serving music fans, college students and young American Latinos like no one else. MTV is part of MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom (NYSE:VIA)(NYSE: VIA.B), one of the world's leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. Wanna know more? Come on in... http://www.mtvpress.com/.

About ServiceNation

The goal of ServiceNation (www.servicenation.org), which currently includes 120 organizations who collectively reach some 100 million Americans, is to mobilize a grassroots movement that will inspire America's leaders to expand voluntary community and national service opportunities for all Americans; use proven service strategies to create targeted service corps that will tackle some of America's most chronic social challenges; and call on all Americans to make citizen service a bedrock ideal in our democracy. The ServiceNation coalition is co-led by Be the Change, Inc., City Year, Civic Enterprises and The Points of Light Institute.

Source: MTV

CONTACT: Janice Gatti, +1-212-846-8852, +1-201-424-0482 (cell),
Janice.gatti@mtvstaff.com, or Jeannie Kedas, +1-212-846-4629,
Jeannie.kedas@mtvstaff.com, both of MTV Communications; Tim Zimmerman,
ServiceNation, +1-703-850-0735 (cell), tzimmermann@bethechangeinc.org

Web Site: http://www.mtv.com/
http://www.mtvpress.com/
http://www.servicenation.org/

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