Americans Unite in 450 Theatres, Support Women in Fight against Global Poverty

"A Powerful Noise" Executive Producer Sheila C. Johnson addresses the audience. (© 2009 Allison Mayfield/CARE)

The evening featured a one-time showing of the acclaimed documentary "A Powerful Noise," followed by a town hall discussion simulcast live from New York City into 450 participating theatres. A POWERFUL NOISE Live was presented by philanthropist Sheila C. Johnson with the international poverty-fighting organization CARE and National CineMedia's (NCM) Fathom, in partnership with ONE and the U.N Commission on the Status of Women. The event was among the largest ever staged in America to honor International Women's Day. Its goal: expose how women and girls can turn the tide against global poverty.

Ms. Johnson, the film's executive producer, set the stage from New York's Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College, expressing her hope that, in the glow of big screens, the world would grow smaller. "It's so easy to set the problem of poverty aside," said Ms. Johnson, an

Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright listens during the town hall discussion at A POWERFUL NOISE Live. (© 2009 Allison Mayfield/CARE)

Moviegoers were then transported into the lives of a girls' education crusader from Mali, an HIV-positive widow from Vietnam and a peacemaking survivor of the war in Bosnia. After the credits rolled, big screens from Savannah to Seattle came to life with an inspiring discussion – moderated by Today show anchor Ann Curry – on how to unleash the potential in women all over the developing world. The panelists were former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright; author and CARE maternal health advocate Christy Turlington Burns; Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, author and New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof; actress and activist Natalie Portman; and CARE President and CEO Dr. Helene Gayle.

Dr. Gayle told audiences around the country that while we can't wipe out global poverty overnight, women and girls offer hope for long-term solutions. She urged those watching to join CARE and other humanitarian organizations working to empower women both economically and politically. "The countries that have the highest percentage of women in their legislatures," she said, "have the greatest social advancement."

Moderator Ann Curry, Helene Gayle, Natalie Portman, Nicholas Kristof and Christy Turlington Burns at the town hall discussion. (© 2009 Allison Mayfield/CARE)

Ms. Portman marveled at the success of microloan projects that allow women to start small business around the world. And she lauded innovative aid programs that don't give families fuel rations, for instance, unless they send their daughters to school. Dr. Gayle cited CARE's use of a similar strategy in Guatemala, where mothers who send their daughters to school qualify for loans.

Dr. Albright stressed the important role the U.S. government plays, calling America the world's "indispensible nation." And Ms. Turlington Burns urged Americans to write lawmakers or knock on their legislator's door during CARE's national conference May 5-6 in Washington, D.C. Do it for the world's poor, she said, who often face discrimination and oppression in their own countries. "They don't have the access we do."

An audience member unlocks $1 for CARE.
(© 2009 Allison Mayfield/
CARE)

That's why Ms. Johnson ended the night with a challenge. Don't let poverty just happen, she said. Engage in the movement to help women and girls strike at its roots. "Our leaders are only half the equation," she said. "We need you!"

GET INVOLVED

Go to www.apowerfulnoise.org or www.care.org.

The public also is invited to participate in CARE's cell phone challenge. Simply text the word "join" to 30644. For each text received, partner Saks Fifth Avenue will unlock a dollar to CARE's programs, up to $10,000.