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Lara Dutta's
Message
"Poorly educated teenagers usually grow up to be poorly
educated adults."
Born and raised in India, Lara Dutta herself was educated at
Bombay University before winning the new millennium Miss Universe
title. Traveling the world to speak on HIV/AIDS awareness and
while representing the Miss Universe Organization and working
closely with the Harvard AIDS Institute, Ms. Dutta points to the culture of silence
surrounding sex as the obstacle between educators and potentially
informed adolescents. Although she has witnessed lives saved from
poverty by
education, she has seen too many lives forfeited because a lack of
education. In her roles as UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador and
Face to Face Campaign for Women Spokesperson, Ms. Dutta expands the focus of her
attention from the issue of HIV/AIDS to the overall empowerment of
women and girls. This holistic approach initiates change deep in
the core of each woman and subsequently her community, precipitating
further healthy
decisions at all kinds of crossroads. Although a taboo exists
preventing adolescents from talking to adults about sex and other
sensitive issues, Ms. Dutta knows that silence must be broken in
order to build a healthy bridge between childhood to adulthood.
In her WebCast, Ms. Dutta will provide a template for the kind of
open conversation that prompts adolescents to ask urgent
questions, to get vital answers and to be recognized.
The Face to
Face UNFPA Campaign for Women Mission
The Face to Face United Nations
Population Fund (UNFPA) Campaign for
Women, generates public and
political support for increased funding for services that empower
women and girls everywhere to exercise their basic human rights.
These rights include access to sexual and reproductive health
care, gender equality, equal education and employment
opportunities, and freedom from discrimination and violence.
International and national celebrities draw powerful media
attention to Face to Face UNFPA Campaign initiatives and issues;
Celebrity field visits, like Ms. Dutta’s to India, are vehicles that force of attention.
Miss Universe® 2000,
Lara Dutta
Goes Face to Face with the TEENS of Her Homeland
On January 25, reigning Miss Universe
2000 Lara Dutta will
host a Live WebCast of a "town-hall" meeting of
adolescents from Mumbai as part of her upcoming United Nations
sponsored field visit to her homeland, India. From January 22 to
24, Lara will visit several United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)
sponsored adolescent-assistance programs in and around Mumbai and
Calcutta in her capacity as a UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador and
official Face to Face UNFPA Campaign Spokesperson. The purpose of the visits is
to inform her impending establishment of innovative adolescent
reproductive health care services units in several of the country’s rural areas and to
raise public and political awareness of the unmet needs of India’s
adolescents – a group which constitutes 20% of India’s
billion-person population.
The WebCast concept was born of
Lara Dutta's desire to escape politics, sermons,
prescriptions.
A tradition of
silence in her homeland has prevented the kind of sexual,
reproductive open communication that provides a healthy
springboard for adolescents into adulthood that escorts a
child safely into her maturity. Assisted by UNFPA and the Face to Face International, Lara Dutta will
host an open forum on topics and issues with the grace and
intelligence that make her a beloved hero of youth and women in
her homeland.
Ms. Dutta, whose last trip back to India was a phenomenal
success, has surpassed traditional expectations assigned to her
gender (and ethnicity) -- making her a role model for many young
women. Visibility, stature and Ms. Dutta’s genuine concern for
youth give her the upper hand in spotlighting the needs of India’s
adolescents.
Additional
Contact Information
UNFPA
Alex Marshall, Chief Media Officer, New York
Tel: 212.297.5020; Fax: 212.557.6416;
Email:marshall@unfpa.org
Francois
Farah, UNFPA Representative,
New
Delhi
Tel: 91.11.462.7986; Email: farah@unfpa.org.in
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Face to Face International
Brooke Johnson, Development Manager, New York
Tel: 212.809.6539; Fax: 212.344.6510;
Email: Brooke@facetoface.org
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FPIA
(Family Planning International Assistance)
Mary Luke, FPAI Asia Regional, BANGKOK
Tel: (H) 662.653.0063, (W) 662.653.0063; Email: maryluke@hotmail.com
Gabriela Schwed, FPIA/PPFA,
New York
Tel: 212.261.4774; Email:gabriela.schwed@ppfa.org
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Miss Universe Organization
Susie Dicker, PR Manager, New York
Tel: 212.373.4861, Fax: 212.315.5370,
Email: sdicker@missuniverse.mi8.com
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Moxxe International
(Face to Face
International public relations firm)
Mona Shah, PR Account Manager, New York
Tel/Fax: 212.987.0717; Mobile: 917.913.6417
Email: mona@moxxeonline.com
Arden Canecchia, PR Account Manager, New York
Tel/Fax: 212.987.0717; Mobile: 917.450.5782
Email: arden@moxxeonline.com
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