SEAN PENN Announced as Honouree at the Bovet 1822 Artists for Peace and Justice

USPA NEWS - Paul Haggis' Artists for Peace and Justice (APJ) announced on August 8, 2016, its eighth annual benefit, the Bovet 1822 Artists for Peace and Justice 2016 Festival Fair on September 11, 2016, during the Toronto film festival....

Paul Haggis' Artists for Peace and Justice (APJ) announced on August 8, 2016, its eighth annual benefit, the Bovet 1822 Artists for Peace and Justice 2016 Festival Fair on September 11, 2016, during the Toronto film festival. APJ, a non-profit organization that encourages peace and social justice and addresses issues of poverty around the world with an immediate focus on supporting the poorest communities in Haiti through programs in education, healthcare and dignity through the arts.

They will be honouring SEAN PENN with the second annual Peace and Justice Award, recognizing his extraordinary longstanding commitment and dedication to supporting communities in Haiti and promoting the ideals of peace and social justice around the world. Sean Penn's humanitarian work found him in New Orleans in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and later in earthquake-ravaged Haiti. In January 2010, Penn established the J/P Haitian Relief Organization (J/P HRO), which continues to support vulnerable communities to rebuild their lives in healthier and safer neighborhoods through access to quality education, health services, improved housing and infrastructure, and livelihoods.

For his efforts, Sean Penn has received numerous honors and awards including being named Ambassador at Large for Haiti in 2012. In addition, he was presented with the 2012 Peace Summit Award at the 12th World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates. At the COP21 Climate Conference in December 2015, Sean Penn partnered with a global coalition including Ségolène Royal, French Ministry for Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy, to launch an initiative called 'Haiti Takes Root' which is committed to reforest Haiti over the next 10 years.

While noted for his sustained work in Haiti, Sean Penn has been a long-time activist and promoter of civil rights. In 2002, he penned a prescient open letter, which he published in The Washington Post and New York Times, to President George W. Bush against the planned invasion of Iraq. Additionally, he traveled to Baghdad and Tehran in 2002 and 2003 to report for the San Francisco Chronicle.

Sean Penn published landmark interviews with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Cuba's President Raul Castro for The Nation; Sean Penn's interview with Castro was his first-ever with a foreign journalist. In 2013, Sean Penn played a vital role in getting wrongfully imprisoned American entrepreneur Jacob Ostreicher released from a Bolivian prison, for which he was honored from the Aleph Institute in 2015.

In over eight years, APJ's annual Toronto event has played an integral role in fundraising for the charity, contributing to over $20 million raised for the organization since it was founded in 2009. Funds raised have supported the development of Port-au-Prince's first free public high school, the Academy for Peace and Justice. Serving over 2,600 students, 2016 marks a milestone year for the Academy, celebrating its inaugural graduating class.

J/P Haitian Relief Organization is dedicated to saving lives and bringing sustainable programs to the Haitian people quickly and effectively. Following the tragic earthquake of 2010, J/P HRO began working immediately to make a meaningful and lasting impact in Haiti. The goal of J/P HRO is to support the residents of the camps they manage and surrounding areas transition from life left homeless by the earthquake to durable, sustainable, and prosperous communities. J/P HRO has implemented its mission through four integrated programs: Medical, Camp & Relocations Management, Engineering & Construction, and Community Development/Education.

Most recently, J/P HRO has expanded its focus to include a nation-wide reforestation effort called Haiti Takes Root, in coordination with many other governmental and non-governmental organizations. They work with the support of and in collaboration with local and national government leaders, community based organizations, other international NGOs, UN agencies, donors and (most importantly) the community members themselves.

Source : Artists for Peace and Justice (APJ)
Photo : Sean Penn Announced as Honouree at the Bovet 1822 and Artists for Peace and Justice 2016 Toronto Film Festival Gala Event in Support of Haiti.

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