(RED) Footage from Ghana

This just in: video footage from (RED)’s Ghana trip with Elle Macpherson and Rocky Dawuni!



Also, below are some notes from Rocky, received after I posted our Postcards from Ghana blog.

--bn

From Rocky Dawuni:

Reflecting on the trip to Ghana with Elle Macpherson and the (RED) team brought back wonderful memories. One of the important things that dawned on me was the spirit of joy and happiness that permeated all our interactions. The highlight was when the members of the Wisdom Association broke into their praise song about (RED): "RED osee! yeee!" I then explained Elle’s mission in Ghanaian Twi language, which was met with singing and chants of "Elle! Elle!" It was a joy borne out of a mutual understanding that there was a genuine will to confront and persevere against this great challenge of our generation.

On our part, it was also the knowledge that bold new initiatives like (RED) are ushering in a new era of conscious commerce. An era when actions like making a purchase could have a transformative effect on others’ lives by providing lifesaving medication. As (RED) money flows through the Global Fund to all these places, I believe that our experiences will be an inspiration to others to use their voice to inspire their friends to make the (RED) choice and more companies to sign up for the cause until we create an unstoppable wave of joy in all the places in need.

Bi-Coastal (RED) Sightings

In LA and NYC this week, I spotted (RED) a few times while walking around, so I wanted to share a few photos...

Here's the Converse (PRODUCT) RED display at the Beverly Center's Footlocker store:






















This is the "Love" store at Gap in Manhattan at 5th Ave. and 54th St. The Love store is an entire little shop dedicated to selling Gap (PRODUCT) RED! It even has a separate entrance, even though it's connected to the main Gap store.























And last but not least, here's a picture of a Converse (PRODUCT) RED ad on a building in Manhattan on Rivington St. I can't remember the cross street because I was busy jaywalking and trying not to get run over while taking the photo -- so look for it in the Lower East Side :)
























Where have you seen (RED) stuff lately?

Have a great weekend!

--bn

Postcards from Ghana, Part 2

We just received another batch of photos of (RED)’s trip to Ghana last month, which included friends of (RED) Elle Macpherson and Rocky Dawuni. Here’s a slideshow, or you can view the whole set on Flickr here (where you can leave comments).


Our favorites: the photos of the pineapple farm, like this one below, run by Wisdom Association, which Adele from the Global Fund blogged about in her trip recap “Grace, Restored.”

The association provides psycho-social and economic support to people living with and affected by disease, including income-generating activities such as the pineapple farm pictured here. (RED) money will flow to Wisdom and other associations like this one, throughout Ghana, later this year.

Photos by Gary Moyes

(RED) VISION at the Vail Film Festival

For those of you looking for a fun summer project, you’re in luck.

Pick up your camera and start shooting – the (RED) VISION short film category for the 2008 Vail Film Festival is now open for submissions! Find out how to enter at JOINRED.COM/VAIL!

We’re looking for short films that represents one of these two (RED) themes: “We are the people we’ve been waiting for” and “Be a good-looking Samaritan.” With your creativity and artistry, we can raise more awareness about (RED) and the fight against AIDS in Africa.

The accepted (RED) Vision film will debut at the 2008 Vail Film Festival held in Vail, Colorado, which promotes independent filmmaking during a week of screenings, workshops, seminars, panel discussions, parties and live music.

For submission guidelines, go to JOINRED.COM/VAIL. Find out more about the Vail Film Festival at vailfilmfestival.org.

We look forward to seeing you in Vail next year!

INSPI(RED) Independence

Friend of (RED) and Ghanaian musician Rocky Dawuni emailed to let us know that he’s featured in a Vanity Fair video wearing an INSPI(RED) shirt!

Click here to see the video Ghana: Fireworks for Freedom, which celebrates Ghana’s 50th anniversary of independence with some flashbacks and current clips. Rocky appears about two-thirds of the way into the video, sharing his thoughts about his beloved homeland and performing at his annual Independence Splash concert, which he blogged about for (BLOG) RED when we first met him.

Take a look at the video now! It gives great insights into this (RED) country.

http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/video/2007/ghana_video200707

Happy Monday,
bn