Media Personality Tavis Smiley Awarded Prize by International Advocacy Organization

Media Personality Tavis Smiley Awarded Prize by International Advocacy Organization

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Tavis Smiley, described as an "intrepid interviewer and ardent humanitarian," has been selected as the recipient of the 2009 Interdependence Day Prize in Istanbul, Turkey.

The prize was presented Sept. 12 at the Seventh Annual Interdependence Day Forum and Celebration organized by CivWorld, an international project of Demos, a non-partisan public policy research and advocacy organization based in New York.

About 100 international delegates attended the forum, held Sept. 9-13, to discuss global solutions to problems including climate change, economics and technology in developing nations and the role of women.

In announcing the award, Benjamin R. Barber, president of CivWorld, described Smiley as a "fearless television broadcaster, intrepid interviewer and ardent humanitarian, who has become a voice for all humankind by putting honesty before interest, civil discourse before polemics, and integrity before advantage. . ."

Smiley attended the forum along with representatives from the Tavis Smiley Foundation that included Vonda Paige, executive director, and LaTisha Campbell, a member of the foundation's National Youth Advisory Council.

Past Interdependence Day Prize recipients include Harry Belafonte, Lord Bhikhu Parekh, professor of political philosophy at the University of Westminster, UK, and Polish solidarity founder Adam Michnik, who helped bring down the Berlin Wall.

Previous Interdependence Day Celebrations have been held in Philadelphia, Rome, Paris Morocco, Mexico City, and Brussels. Planning is underway for the Eighth Annual Interdependence Day, scheduled for Sept. 10-12, 2010 in Berlin.

About Tavis Smiley

With his late-night PBS television talk show and his radio show, Tavis Smiley is the first American ever to simultaneously host signature talk shows on both public television and public radio. He has authored 14 books including The New York Times best-sellers, What I Know For Sure and Covenant with Black America. TIME magazine honored him as one of the "The World's 100 Most Influential People," in 2009. NEWSWEEK dubbed him one of the nation's "captains of the airwaves." He is also the creator of AMERICA I AM: The African American Imprint museum exhibition. Smiley has received numerous honorary doctorate degrees, including one from his alma mater, Indiana University.

About Demos

Demos is a non-partisan public policy research and advocacy organization founded in 2000. Headquartered in New York City, Demos works with advocates and policymakers around the country in pursuit of four overarching goals: a more equitable economy with widely shared prosperity and opportunity; a vibrant and inclusive democracy with high levels of voting and civic engagement; an empowered public sector that works for the common good; and responsible U.S. engagement in an interdependent world.

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Source: The Smiley Group, Inc.

CONTACT: Leshelle Sargent of The Smiley Group, Inc., +1-323-290-4690,
lsargent@tavistalks.com

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Profile: International Entertainment