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Cinema for Peace New York to Honor Sting and Trudie Styler for Environmental Work, 9/25

On the occasion of the UN General Assembly, composer, singer, author, actor, and activist Sting and Trudie Styler, actress, film producer, director, human rights activist, environmentalist and UNICEF Ambassador, will be honored for their worldwide environmental work on Tuesday, September 25 at The Harvard Club in New York City by the Cinema for Peace Foundation and the BMZ, Germany's Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Last year, Cinema for Peace New York introduced the Universal Human Rights Logo, and this year, an evening on Climate Change and Development. During the program Germany's Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development will present support for the Rainforest Fund and the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation.

In 1989, Sting and his wife Trudie Styler started the Rainforest Fund, an organization devoted to protecting rainforests and their indigenous peoples in South America, Africa and Asia. To date they have raised more than $30 million for the cause and have expanded to a network of interconnected organizations working in more than 20 countries.

"The mission of the Rainforest Fund is to protect the rainforest and the rights of indigenous peoples. Through its work the Fund has played a decisive role in improving the concrete living conditions of many people – and it has made these topics part of the mainstream in industrialised societies. That is the tremendous achievement of the Fund's founders Sting and Trudie Styler," says State Secretary Hans-Jürgen Beerfeltz, of Germany's Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. "Moving forward, the BMZ is going to be supporting and cooperating with the Rainforest Fund too, because we share the same goals."

Previous Cinema for Peace Award recipients include Angelina Jolie, George Clooney and Sean Penn.

The host for Cinema for Peace New York will be Amy Goodman, Host & Executive Producer of the award winning news show Democracy Now.

"Last year Cinema for Peace introduced on this occasion the Universal Human Rights Logo with the help of such wonderful supporters as Aung San Suu Kyi and Robert De Niro," says Jaka Bizilj, Founder of Cinema for Peace. "This year the focus is on climate change, sustainable development, and how artists may inspire others to create a climate of change."

"The fight against Climate Change become one of the world's greatest challenges," adds Bizilj. "The United Nations has called for an 100-billion- annual fund for Climate protection and the seat will be selected this year."

In 2009, Cinema for Peace introduced the Green Oscar together with President Mikhail Gorbachev and Leonardo DiCaprio to honor inspiring achievement of a film artist in the domains of environment and climate protection.

Composer, singer, author, actor, activist - Sting was born in Newcastle, England before moving to London in 1977 to form The Police with Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers. The band released five albums, earned six Grammy awards, and in 2003 was inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Since 1985, Sting has released 13 solo albums; most recently, 25 Years, the definitive box set collection commemorating the 25th anniversary of his solo career. He has sold nearly 100 million albums from his combined work with the Police and as a solo artist and has earned an additional 10 Grammy awards, a Golden Globe, an Emmy, and three Oscar nominations. He has appeared in more than 15 films and as an accomplished author, his memoir, Broken Music, spent 13 weeks on the New York Times Best Sellers list. Sting's support for human rights organizations, such as Amnesty International and the Rainforest Fund, mirrors his art in universal outreach. Along with his wife Trudie Styler, he founded the Rainforest Fund in 1989 to protect both the world's rainforests and the indigenous people living there. Since its inception, the fund has diversified and expanded to a network of interconnected organizations working in more than 20 countries.

Trudie Styler is an actress, film producer, director, human rights activist, environmentalist and UNICEF Ambassador. In 1989, Trudie and her husband Sting founded the Rainforest Fund, and over the last 23 years they've raised over $30 million to protect and support rainforest communities in 20 countries over 3 continents. In May 2011, Trudie and partner Celine Rattray founded Maven Pictures, a New York-based film development, production and financing company. She also has a successful series of fitness DVDs released by Gaiam.

Hans-Jürgen Beerfeltz learned the fundamentals of development policy when working for the Friedrich Naumann Foundation, his first job after graduating from Hamburg University. He conducted visiting and training programs in Central and South America as part of international civic education within the remit of the Federal Ministry of the Interior. As Vice-President of the Federal Agency for Civic Education, Mr. Beerfeltz was responsible for, amongst other things, reconciliation with the Jewish people and, in particular, programs for journalists visiting Israel. During his time as federal party manager of the Free Democratic Party (FDP), he accepted additional assignments as a development consultant in the fields of local government, NGO professionalization and promotion of democracy. In addition, Mr. Beerfeltz undertook more than 100 international assignments for a wide variety of agencies, with the main focus on Central and South America and Southeast Asia. In October 2009 he was assigned State Secretary of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.

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