Charity/Philanthropy
Clinton Global Initiative 2009
Pitt was presented with a plaque from the U.S. Green Building Council which said the actor and his foundation “Make It Right” had created the “largest and greenest single-family community in the world.”
“‘Make It Right’ has exceeded my expectations,” said Pitt who set up the foundation in 2007.
“Our criteria from the beginning were at odds, to say the least. We demanded that these homes be sustainable, that they have aesthetic qualities … that they be storm resilient and take safety in mind of the families who live there and that they would be affordable.”
“Make It Right” has created 13 homes in the New Orleans area the 9th Ward, which was devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
• x05 Clinton Global Initiative – New York City, NY (09/24/09).
Clinton Global Initiative 2009
Brad will be attending the Clinton Global Initiative in NYC on Thursday, September 24th from 5:00 PM – 6:15 PM (eastern time). It’s a special session entitled: Infrastructure: Building a Better Future – A Progress Report on Making it Right in New Orleans. The session is supposed to The participants will be Brad, Tom Darden, Executive Director of MIR, and former president Bill Clinton.
This special session offers a progress report on this CGI commitment, demonstrating concretely how government, non-profits, and the private sector can work together to build safer, stronger, and more resilient communities while expanding economic opportunity. From one of the greatest disasters in American history, “Make it Right” is laying the groundwork for new prosperity and new beginnings on a foundation of affordable green housing. The discussion will include specific stories of the recovery in New Orleans, and launch a dialogue with CGI members on the future of green infrastructure and sustainable cities.
Read more/discuss. Thanks Elodie. Brad will probably appear live on the CGI webcast.
Jolie-Pitt Foundation help fund Zahara Children’s Center in Ethiopia
Partners from the architectural firm Graft from Berlin, Germany — which has partners with Brad Pitt in ‘Make it Right’ in New Orleans, building affordable and environmentally intelligent houses for those affected by Hurricane Katrina — traveled to Ethiopia recently to meet with Global Health Committee workers to discuss plans for a new children’s center in Addis Ababa. The center will be run by the GHC and offer an array of support services to children who are infected or affected by HIV/AIDS. The project follows the model of the CHC’s Maddox Chivan Children’s Center in Phnom Penh, which opened in 2006. Both centers have been made possible by generous support from the Jolie-Pitt Foundation actor-activists Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt (see CHC/GHC press release). The new center will be named after the Jolie-Pitt’s Ethiopian daughter, Zahara.
Source/discuss. Thanks Gabriella.
Brad supports Human Rights Watch against blood diamonds
Human Rights Watch said Friday that Zimbabwe’s armed forces have taken over diamond fields in the east and killed more than 200 people, forcing children to search for the precious gems and beating villagers who get in the way.
The New York-based organization said its call for a ban on diamonds from the region had received an endorsement from Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. A statement from the couple’s foundation was expected later Friday.
“Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have issued a call for a ban on any sale or purchase of Marange diamonds … until … the mining is not based on the violent abuse of residents in that region,” said Kenneth Roth, Human Rights Watch’s executive director.
Zimbabwe’s deputy mining minister, Murisi Zwizwai, has denied the allegations and said the presence of the military is to secure the area.
More than 100 witnesses, miners, police officers, soldiers and children were interviewed for the report entitled “Diamonds in the Rough,” which details allegations of human rights abuses by Zimbabwean armed forces in an attempt to control access to the precious gems.
The human rights group said esearchers had gathered evidence of mass graves and accounts of an incident last year when military helicopters fired at miners, while armed soldiers on the ground chased villagers from the area. Read more.
