Press Release
Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2008
Steven Spielberg and USC Shoah Foundation Institute Honor Legendary Actor and Humanitarian Kirk Douglas
Institute to Announce New Global Initiatives
LOS ANGELES – Steven Spielberg, Founder of the Shoah Foundation, will present the USC Shoah Foundation Institute’s Ambassadors for Humanity Award to legendary actor and humanitarian Kirk Douglas. Kirk Douglas will be honored for his commitment and support of the organization at an extraordinary evening hosted by Billy Crystal on October 22, 2008. The Ambassadors for Humanity event will feature a special performance by Bette Midler.
The USC Shoah Foundation Institute collected and maintains an archive of nearly 52,000 video testimonies of Holocaust survivors and other witnesses in 32 languages and from 56 countries. The “Ambassadors for Humanity” Award honors individuals who embody the USC Shoah Foundation Institute’s goal of using the archive as a tool to promote tolerance, cultural understanding, and mutual respect.
The event will also provide the occasion to announce the Institute’s new global initiatives. These initiatives include scholarship and research; the development of online educational tools to provide easier access to the testimonies; a focused international outreach to educators; and the launch of a preservation project to maintain the testimonies in perpetuity. In addition, the Institute will expand its archive to include new content and has formed an historic alliance with the Rwandan organization IBUKA to record the testimonies of survivors of the 1994 Rwandan Tutsi genocide.
“Kirk Douglas has been a lifelong leader in promoting the well being of others. He has fought prejudice and stereotypes, and raised public awareness of social problems. He has never been afraid to stand up for those causes even if he was one of the few — sometimes the only one — who recognized the need and could do something about it,” said Steven Spielberg, Shoah Foundation Founder and Honorary Chair of the USC Shoah Foundation Institute. “His determination to change the world makes him an ally of the USC Shoah Foundation Institute as it enters a new stage of activity. The Ambassadors for Humanity event will be an opportunity for friends of the Institute to join us in looking towards the future and honoring a man who exemplifies everything the Institute stands for.”
“The Shoah Foundation Institute is dedicated to confronting the intolerance that exists in this world where education and understanding are so desperately needed,” said Steven B. Sample, President of USC. “Kirk Douglas shares USC’s commitment to justice and tolerance; he is a generous philanthropist and champion for human rights whose legacy truly makes him an ambassador for people around the world.”
“The new global initiatives will focus the Institute’s energies in ways that will best serve its mission,” said Kim Simon, Interim Executive Director for the Institute. “We are grateful for the opportunity to honor Kirk Douglas for his long-standing support of the Institute and his lifetime achievements and contributions.”
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For the fourth year, Turner Network Television (TNT) will serve as Presenting Sponsor of the Ambassadors for Humanity Gala Dinner. “The valuable work of the Shoah Foundation Institute touches people around the world,” said Steve Koonin, president of Turner Entertainment Networks. “We’re proud to help support this great organization in its ongoing efforts to promote tolerance and overcome prejudice.”
Bvlgari has been an annual partner for the event since its inception in 2000. Bvlgari designed the unique award for the event, symbolic of their commitment to the USC Shoah Foundation Institute and all those who strive to make the world a more tolerant place.
About the USC Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education
Established in 1994 to collect and preserve the testimonies of survivors and other witnesses of the Holocaust, the USC Shoah Foundation Institute maintains one of the largest video digital libraries in the world: nearly 52,000 video testimonies in 32 languages and from 56 countries. The Institute is part of the College of Letters, Arts & Sciences at the University of Southern California; its mission is to overcome prejudice, intolerance, and bigotry — and the suffering they cause — through the educational use of the Institute’s visual history testimonies.
The Institute works within the University and with partners around the world to advance scholarship and research, to provide resources and online tools for educators, and to disseminate the testimonies in its archive for educational purposes. In addition to preserving the testimonies, the Institute helps document the stories of survivors and other witnesses of other genocides.
Individuals interested in supporting the USC Shoah Foundation Institute are encouraged to visit the website at www.usc.edu/vhi.