Hilary Clinton announces support for 2012 Hours Against Hate Campaign

US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has announced her support for UK NGOs, including ISD, who have come together to launch the '2012 Hours Against Hate' campaign aimed at bringing communities together. “More and more, I see communities and people turning their backs on old boundaries and barriers and finding new ways to bridge divides. That’s the idea behind the 2012 Hours Against Hate campaign,” said Clinton.

Initiated by the Department of State’s Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism Hannah Rosenthal, Special Representative to Muslim Communities Farah Pandith, and UK NGOs, 2012 Hours Against Hate is a campaign to stop bigotry and promote pluralism and respect across lines of culture, religion, tradition, class, disability, and gender. Using social media, the initiative asks young people to pledge an hour or more of their time to help someone who does not look, live, or pray like them. ISD and the Phoenix Network's 'Nothing Holy About Hatred' project is part of the campaign. The campaign was adopted in the UK by the London Olympic Committee (LOCOG) as one of its “Inspired Programme” tolerance campaigns for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and was also given special recognition by the International Olympic Truce Committee and has been adopted by Glasgow City Council in its run up to the Commonwealth Games in 2014.

Inspired by the saying ‘Don’t judge someone until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes,’ the 2012 Hours Against Hate –Walk A Mile app activates a global audience to affect change by using technology as a tool for community engagement. Powered by SoFit Mobile’s interactive smartphone application, Walk A Mile allows people to support global tolerance, be a part of the Olympic spirit, and take action in their communities. Participants virtually partner with people in different cities and countries and pledge to walk miles together to stop hate.

Additionally, Transcendental Music and Rock-It Media have teamed up with the 2012 Hours Against Hate –Walk A Mile campaign to engage musicians, celebrities, artists, and leaders. Musician Dave Stewart will release the campaign’s theme song Man To Man, Woman To Woman, a duet with Jihae, on July 24 at a concert at London’s Hospital Club. KT Tunstall, MOBY, Mike Scott & The Waterboys, and additional surprise guests will also perform. The concert will include the Tottenham schoolchildren from Gladesmore who have released their 'Everybody Dreams' single to coincide with the first anniversary of the Tottenham riots. The concert will be available via live stream to all who download the Walk A Mile app. The next day the artists have pledged to spend time in Tottenham with sports groups and stars to mark both the torch relay event in the area and to support community projects rebuilding the area after the riots.

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