This year, Amnesty International faces a major challenge: how best to promote and protect human rights at the start of the 2ist century and in light of current world events.  As the world’s largest grassroots human rights organization, Amnesty International endeavors to lead the way by offering a message of hope and humanity for all, through one of the largest human rights education and media campaigns in its 40-year history.

To this end, Amnesty International has been granted rights to the John Lennon song “Imagine” by Yoko Ono Lennon to use as the centerpiece of its global campaign. Over the years, music has played a vital role in uniting people from diverse backgrounds and helping convey Amnesty’s mission – but no song has the power to more eloquently capture the spirit of our message of human rights and dignity for all than “Imagine.”

The campaign will kick off on December 10^th, 2002, when  International Human Rights Day will be observed as “Imagine Day” with various events being planned in New York and Los Angeles.  An extensive human rights education campaign will begin in more than 1,600 schools.  In addition, the “Imagine” message will be conveyed across various media – from TV to PC – with a full-length music video, CD single, TV and radio PSAs, outdoor and street posters, an extensive online campaign, and curriculum-based educational materials.  All will be made available for use globally; Amnesty International has presence in over 160 countries worldwide.

Production has begun on re-recording and filming of John Lennon’s classic anthem, featuring the voices of children from around the globe, backed by a group of world-class musicians.  In December,

a film crew will travel to five continents capturing the voices and images of children that will become part of the video and final mix.  The video and CD single will be released in early February 2003.

A recent Rolling Stone magazine article called the song “a simple, elegant prescription for peace on earth.” Through this extensive campaign, Amnesty International hopes to make “Imagine” a global anthem for the 21^st Century. Our aim is to honor the spirit of  “Imagine” and its original intention – to raise awareness and move people to consider what is required right now to make the world a safer, more peaceful place.  

We are grateful to the growing list of participants in this campaign: first and foremost artist/activist Yoko Ono Lennon; actor Gabriel Byrne; music producers Hans Zimmer and Stewart Levine; CAA Foundation; Collaborate; Dektor Films, MediaVentures, Magnum Photos;  the Los Angeles Unified School District; and YouthNoise.

We ask for your support and participation.

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About Amnesty International

Amnesty International is a worldwide grassroots movement with 1.7 million members in 160 countries, dedicated to protecting the basic human rights of every man, woman, and child. Following the U.N.’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the organization works to stop the persecution, imprisonment, torture, and execution of all persons based simply on their race, religion, gender, ethnic background, or peaceful expression of their beliefs.