USA: Nobel Peace Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu celebrates his 75th birthday at star-studded Beverly Hills fundraiser.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu was honored in Beverly Hills Monday evening (September 18) with a birthday celebration hosted by Artists for a New South Africa (ANSA). The famed South African Clergyman, who turns 75 next month, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 for his work against Apartheid in his country. Several stars gathered at the fundraising event to salute the man who has become one of the world's foremost human rights and peace activists. "A man who has participated in the process of Apartheid, and has come out not unscathed, but joyous about the result, and optimistic about the future of his country, and with a determination to do something for his people -- tiny little man by the way -- is something that is so worth seeing," says Actress CCH Pounder, of "The Shield." ANSA, formerly known as Artists for a Free South Africa, is a non-profit organization founded in 1989 to support the struggle against Apartheid. Now, as Artists for a New South Africa, ANSA focuses mostly on HIV/AIDS prevention, caring for HIV/AIDS orphans, and safeguarding civil and voting rights in both the US and South Africa. In addition, the organization has raised more than 8 million dollars for South-African non-profits as well as public awareness of the funding plight facing the impoverished areas of the country. "The United States government needs to get real about it. You know, this administration has a good habit of talking out loud about things, and people don't really pay attention so they think things are underway and things are being done, but we need to be real about the funding, and the large scale funding that we can do," says actress Alfre Woodard of TV's "Desperate Housewives." Also among ANSA's goals is to promote a peaceful coexistence maintained through the proper education of youths in both the US and South Africa. "Well, Artists for a Free South Africa fought against Apartheid without using guns, and I think it's important that we not only teach non-violence, but what is non-violence? What does it look like? How does protest look in our society today? Maybe it's not the civil rights boycott of the sixties, maybe it's not a march on Washington, but how can we make a difference without killing each other in the process?" says "A Different World" actress, Jasmine Guy. Tutu is currently a professor at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, and also is the honorary chair of ANSA's Amandla AIDS Fund (AAF). For guests in attendance, the fundraiser was a chance to celebrate the life of the Archbishop, and to thank him for his tireless efforts in promoting worldwide peace that makes him an inspiration to many. "I love a party, and it's great to have a party celebrating a life like Bishop Tutu, and it's just an inspiration to be around him, and to hear his voice and to be in his presence, and to realize what he's done for the world, and that he's been on the front-line of so many things, that I just am honored to be here," says "Hotel Rwanda" actor Don Cheadle. The Archbishop publicly criticized the Bush Administration's foreign policy earlier this week at a Denver, Colorado Peace Conference. In his remarks he praised the United States for its aid in the fight against Apartheid, but asked "how about exporting some of your generosity instead of your bombs?" "This is a great country, and it has the potential for producing tremendous good, and it has done so in very many parts of the world, and Americans are wonderful people. I'm saying, we were inspired by Americans long before people ever thought or heard of us; the anti-Apartheid struggles we were supported by Americans, we were inspired by Martin Luther King, we were inspired by your constitution, and we're saying, 'why aren't you true to your ideals?'," says Archbishop Desmond Tutu. In addition to raising money for ANSA's work, a portion of the proceeds from the Archbishop's 75th birthday celebration fundraiser will go to two of his favorite South African charities. Individual tickets to the event ranged from 500 to 1000 U.S. dollars and guests participated in silent auctions of items such as Nelson Mandela's signed limited-edition autobiography and luxury vacations. "ANSA is just tremendous and they are going to be helping ensure that HIV/AIDS orphans are looked after, that they are going to be producing... I mean they send consignment of books, they send consignment of medicine, they are just superb, outstanding people," says Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Archbishop Desmond Tutu turns 75 on October 7th, 2006.

ITN Source | September 21, 2006

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