Be The Change: Live From The Inaugural

MTV AND SERVICENATION’S
“BE THE CHANGE: LIVE FROM THE INAUGURAL”

TO CELEBRATE YOUNG PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD TAKING ACTION IN THEIR COMMUNITIES

AIRING IN NEW ZEALAND ON MTV SKY CHANNEL 60
THURSDAY JANUARY 22 @ 3.00PM & 8.00PM

NEWLY INAUGURATED PRESIDENT OBAMA TO APPEAR LIVE AND MAKE REMARKS INSPIRING YOUTH SERVICE

ANCHORED FROM PRESIDENT OBAMA’S OFFICIAL YOUTH INAUGURAL BALL, FEATURING PERFORMANCES BY KANYE WEST, KID ROCK AND
FALL OUT BOY'

SHOW WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE TO MTV CHANNELS GLOBALLY

Auckland, Tuesday, January 20, 2009. MTV and ServiceNation present “Be The Change: Live From The Inaugural,”celebrating the massive youth voter turnout in the 2008 Presidential Election. The show will feature live remarks from newly inaugurated President Obama as he addresses young people across the globe from the “Youth Inaugural Ball,” and calls on them to be the change and continue to engage in national and community service. His remarks will be made available to MTV’s around the world, reaching a potential global youth audience of one billion people in 162 countries and 33 languages. MTV will air Kanye West, Kid Rock and Fall Out Boy's performances globally as they headline the official Youth Inaugural Ball. Tobey Maguire, actor and chair of the ServiceNation ambassador council, will also be among the thousands of young people celebrating the inauguration and youth service from the “Youth Inaugural Ball” which will take place in Washington DC. The show will air in New Zealand on MTV at 3.00pm & 8.00pm on Thursday January 22nd.

“New Zealanders – and especially our viewers - have embraced President Obama’s message that we can change our world for the better” said Chris Keely, General Manager, MTV New Zealand. “MTV New Zealand is extremely proud to bring President Obama’s inauguration ceremony to the homes and minds of kiwis nationwide”.

Service Projects to be Featured:

Washington D.C.
MTV and ServiceNation, in collaboration with CityYear, Heart of America and D.C. Cares, will lead a group of 200 young volunteers in a makeover project at Simon Elementary School in Washington D.C. The school, which serves approximately 322 children, is located in Ward 8, the Southern-most ward in Washington D.C. 76 percent of students at Simon Elementary come from low-income households, and the High School drop-out rate for this community is over 50 percent. In real-time during “Be The Change: Live from the Inaugural,” young volunteers will complete the school beautification project, including a new library, and unveil their work. Target has partnered with ServiceNation and MTV to support the volunteer activities at Simon Elementary School.

New Orleans
Three years after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita rendered uninhabitable all 27,000 homes in St. Bernard Parish, less than 50% of the population has returned. Out of those homeowners who have returned, more than 1000 families are still living in trailers. Youth volunteers with the St. Bernard Project, a community based nonprofit in St. Bernard Parish that has rebuilt 166 homes to date, will work around the clock to rebuild the home of the Albers family, who lost everything to Hurricane Katrina. For the first time in three years, live during “Be The Change: Live From The Inaugural,” Robin Albers and her teenage daughter will walk into their completed home with the encouragement of nearly 200 supporters.

Lihanda, Kenya
For the inauguration special, MTV will work with Millennium Promise in Lihanda, Kenya – roughly 20km from the western village of Nyangoma-Kogelo, where Obama’s father grew up and where his grandmother still lives. The region is one of the poorest parts of Kenya, where chronic hunger and diseases like malaria are commonplace. The show will follow a Columbia University student who volunteers with the Millennium Villages Project as he helps build a computer lab at Omindo Primary School which will give young Kenyans some of the tools they need to expand their education.

The official “Youth Inaugural Ball,” is intended for young Americans aged 18-35 and will celebrate the inauguration of the new president and the role young Americans can play to serve their communities.

About MTV
MTV is the dynamic, vibrant experiment at the intersection of music, creativity and youth culture. For over 26 years, MTV has evolved, challenged the norm, and detonated boundaries—giving each new generation a creative outlet and voice that entertains, informs and unites on every platform and screen. On-air, MTV has been the number one rated 24 hour ad-supported cable network P12-24 for 16 straight years. Online, MTV.com scored double-digit growth in 2007 and MTV launched 15 dynamic online communities and eight new virtual worlds. On the go, MTV Mobile is the #1 music brand in the wireless space – delivering 90% more streams than in 2006. And MTV’s successful sibling networks MTV2, mtvU and MTV Tr3s each deliver unprecedented customized content, super-serving music fans, college students and young American Latinos like no one else. MTV is part of MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), one of the world’s leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. Wanna know more? Come on in… http://www.mtvpress.com.

About ServiceNation
The goal of ServiceNation (www.servicenation.org), which currently includes 120 organizations who collectively reach some 100 million Americans, is to mobilize a grassroots movement that will inspire America's leaders to expand voluntary community and national service opportunities for all Americans; use proven service strategies to create targeted service corps that will tackle some of America's most chronic social challenges; and call on all Americans to make citizen service a bedrock ideal in our democracy. The ServiceNation coalition is co-led by Be the Change, Inc., City Year, Civic Enterprises and The Points of Light Institute.

ENDS

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