Breaking The Silence Programs For Congo Week, October 17-23

Mark your calendar now for the third annual Breaking The Silence: Congo Week, October 17 – 23, 2010. Congo Week continues to grow rapidly as people throughout the globe utilize the occasion to articulate the challenges and potential that exists in the heart of Africa. Since Friends of the Congo launched Congo Week in 2008, over 50 countries and 200 university campuses and communities have participated in the global call for justice in solidarity with the people of Congo. Some Highlights of Congo Week III in October 2010 include:

• Congo in Harlem Film, Performance and Lecture Series, NY
• Marathon Run by the International Criminal Court Staff, Amsterdam, Netherlands
• DC Green Festival, Washington, DC
• Caravan from Kenya to South Kivu for the International Women's March, Nairobi
• Commemoration Ceremony of the Lives Lost in the Congo War, Kisangani
• Salaam Kivu Film Festival, Goma
• Congolese National Ballet Performance, Kinshasa

Your participation in Breaking the Silence is making a difference by making more people aware and engaged. Your actions, no matter how small, strengthen the resolve of people inside the Congo who fight day and night for peaceful and lasting change. Knowing that they have support throughout the globe makes a tremendous difference.



Key Organizers in Japan, Australia, Netherlands, Kenya, South Africa, Angola, Sweden, Germany, United Kingdom, Canada, The United States and many other countries are joining with groups inside the Congo to call for justice. In the wake of a recently published United Nations Mapping Exercise Report about the mass atrocities committed in the Congo, your participation and support is even more critical. Over 200 Congolese organizations have issued the call for justice NOW! This is a growing global movement to bring an end to what is the greatest humanitarian crisis in the world and the deadliest conflict since World War II.

Kambale Musavuli, Student Coordinator for Friends of the Congo urged concerned groups and individuals to organize an event or activity for Congo Week on their campus, in their home, religious institution, community center or any other local venue. "This year we have a special initiative,' he says, "We are asking each organizing school or community to raise at least $100 to support the Friends of Congo global campaign. Organizers who raise the most funds will receive 10 autographed copies of Congolese superstar, Kanda Bongo Man's latest album "Non-Stop Feeling."

For more information, email: info@friendsofthecongo.org or phone: 202-584-6512

Dave Donelson, author of Heart of Diamonds a romantic thriller about blood diamonds in the Congo.