Bezos Scholars Program Sponsors Global Nomads Event
at Aspen Ideas Festival
AGAINST ALL ODDS: PROFILES IN RESILIENCY
ANNA DEAVERE SMITH TO MODERATE

Aspen, CO, June 18, 2008 — Lovetta Conto, faced with the dangers of war in Liberia, left her mother and her country at the age of four and fled to Ghana, where she lived with various families in a refugee camp. There she worked with a team of American volunteers to build a school for unaccompanied minors and distinguished herself by advocating for special education for sight-impaired children. She also made necklaces from spent metal bullet casings left behind from the Liberian Civil War to remind the world that “even after something as terrible as war, good can come and new life can begin.” Lovetta today, at age 16, is a Strongheart Fellow in Los Angeles, California.

Audiences in Aspen will have an opportunity to meet Lovetta Conto of Liberia, and three other young survivors of genocide, war and gang violence from Burma, Rwanda and the U.S., when the Bezos Scholars Program @ the Aspen Institute sponsors “Against All Odds: Profiles in Resiliency.”

The program, through video clips, a panel discussion and questions from the audience, will explore the nature of resiliency, the process by which these young survivors have transformed heartbreaking tragedy into inspiration and action.

Anna Deavere Smith acclaimed actor, playwright, teacher and author, will moderate the evening.

These young survivors have been brought together through the work of the Global Nomads Group, which uses interactive technologies to bring young people from across the world, together, face-to-face, to share their lives: concerns, hopes, differences and similarities.

“Ingrid, Lovetta, Ying, and Josh are an inspiration to us all by the way they have responded to adversity with activism,” explains Terry Culver, Executive Director of the Global Nomads Group. “For the last 10 years, we have brought young people together to share their stories and to discuss the global issues most relevant to their lives. Global Nomads Group is pleased to partner with the Bezos Scholars Program to share these remarkable stories from different parts of the world with the audience of the Aspen Institute.”

OTHER FEATURED PANELISTS INCLUDE

“This event is a natural sponsorship for the Bezos Scholars Program, which strives to cultivate learning as a lifelong process, while nurturing the leaders of tomorrow,” says Jackie Bezos, who together with her husband Mike, founded the Bezos Family Foundation. “The Bezos Scholars Program is honored to share with Aspen the important work of the Global Nomads Group and introduce these young, resilient survivors, all of whom have risen above the very worst of circumstances.”

The Bezos Scholars Program Sponsors a Global Nomads Group Event
AGAINST ALL ODDS: PROFILES IN RESILIENCY
Moderated by Anna Deavere Smith

Four young survivors of genocide, war and gang violence will share their histories in Burma, Liberia, Rwanda and the United States. Join us for an evening with resilient survivors who have transformed heartbreaking tragedy into inspiration and action.

THURSDAY, JULY 3
8:30 pm
St. Regis Hotel
Tickets $15
available in advance
at the Wheeler Opera House
at Door, as available

BACKGROUND

	BEZOS SCHOLARS PROGRAM @ THE ASPEN INSTITUTE The Bezos Scholars Program @ the Aspen Institute, an inspired collaboration between the Bezos Family Foundation and the Aspen Institute, was founded in 2005. The program brings together 12 of the country’s top high school juniors and 12 educators, to meet one another and engage in seminars and informal meetings with international leaders, acclaimed thinkers and creative artists who participate in the annual Aspen Ideas Festival. Following the Festival—a time of discovery and intellectual stimulation—the scholars return home and create local Ideas Festivals for their own schools and communities.
	THE GLOBAL NOMADS GROUP Founded in 1998, the Global Nomads Group (GNG) is a non-profit organization dedicated to heightening children’s understanding and appreciation for the world and its people. Using interactive technologies such as videoconferencing, GNG brings young people together face-to-face to meet across cultural and national boundaries to discuss their differences & similarities, and the world issues that affect them.
	THE BEZOS FAMILY FOUNDATION The Bezos Family Foundation is a private, independent foundation established by Jackie and Mike Bezos, who along with their children and spouses, serve as directors. The foundation works to strengthen educational opportunities for everyone, regardless of economic circumstances; cultivate learning as a life-long process that begins in early childhood; and maximize the education of children by advancing the education and support of those involved with children, including families and schools.
	THE ASPEN INSTITUTE For more than 50 years, the Aspen Institute has been a foundation for global thought. This international nonprofit organization is dedicated to fostering enlightened leadership and open-minded dialogue. Through seminars, policy programs, conferences and leadership development initiatives, the Institute and its international partners seek to promote nonpartisan inquiry and an appreciation for timeless values. The Institute is headquartered in Washington, DC, and has campuses in Aspen, Colorado, and on the Wye River on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Its international network includes partner Aspen Institutes in Berlin, Rome, Lyon, Tokyo, New Delhi and Bucharest, and leadership programs in Africa, Central America and India.
	THE ASPEN IDEAS FESTIVAL In a ground-breaking outgrowth of its mandate to create opportunities for deep dialogue, the Aspen Institute created the Aspen Ideas Festival to engage a broader audience in a discussion of some of the significant ideas and issues that touch all parts of our society. Alongside its partner, The Atlantic, the Festival offers a stimulating and invigorating celebration of some of the liveliest minds on today’s world stage.