Amnesty International’s new Ambassador of Conscience honoree, Peter Gabriel and former recipient U2’s The Edge, launched the organization’s Small Places Tour, today in London. The event held at the Hard Rock Cafe, outlined a preliminary list of 545 Small Places concerts (that could grow in excess of 1000 events) in 50 countries.

The Small Places Tour is Amnesty International’s most ambitious global music and human rights project since the Human Rights Now! Tour in 1988, and will feature hundreds of concerts and events around the globe between September 10th and December 10th (Human Rights Day). The Tour marks the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (‘UDHR’).

Inspired by Eleanor Roosevelt’s famous “small places” speech in 1958, musicians are being asked to raise their voices in song and action in support of Amnesty’s UDHR 60 Campaigns which focus on making the promise of universal, indivisible human rights a reality for all. The organizers took great pains to develop a project that would be both human rights conscious as well as environmentally friendly.

The Small Places Tour is unique in that artists worldwide can participate, to raise funds and awareness by performing benefit concerts, tabling, offering premium-seating packages, or auctioning off meet & greets and other unique fan experiences during their regularly scheduled touring cycle.

Art For Amnesty’s Bill Shipsey said, “when you think that we’ll be reaching more people than the Conspiracy of Hope, Human Rights Now and UDHR 50 concerts combined, without impacting the environment in a negative way, or adding a single plane or tour bus to what’s already out there, is really quite amazing.”

The launch came after Peter Gabriel was recognized as the 2008 Ambassador of Conscience for his tireless work for human rights. Accepting the Award, already held by Nelson Mandela, Vaclav Havel, Mary Robinson and U2, Peter said: “It was through the tours for Amnesty International that I first met many people around the world engaged in human rights work. It was these people and their extraordinary stories of suffering and courage that I found impossible to walk away from, so the Ambassador of Conscience Award means a great deal to me.”

“I hope that the Small Places Tour on the 60th anniversary of the UDHR will really help to reinforce and underpin this extraordinary document that has been crucial to the lives of so many citizens of the world, and to be a similar source of inspiration to all those who take part.”

For information about the ‘Small Places Tour’ go to www.myspace.com/smallplacestour

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