DENVER, Feb. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Nobel Peace Laureate Rigoberta Menchu Tum, the world famous advocate for peace and human rights, will visit the Grand Prize winning team of the Global Call to Action Challenge, co-sponsored by PeaceJam and The Pearson Foundation. The Global Call to Action encourages young people to commit themselves to 1 billion projects to serve their communities in the next 10 years.

Open to youth volunteers in North America who are working on service projects, the Global Call to Action Challenge encourages young people to document their projects in digital film and in video, writing, or PowerPoint. Rigoberta Menchu Tum will visit the Grand Prize winners in their community or at their school on Nov. 17, 2009, and accompany them the next day to Denver to attend PeaceJam’s Annual Awards Luncheon.

Submissions to the Challenge are due June 30, 2009. For more information and entry details, visit www.GCAChallenge.org, www.globalcalltoaction.org, and www.peacejam.org.

In 1992, Rigoberta Menchu Tum was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of her work for the rights of the Maya of Guatemala and native people everywhere. She was the first Native American ever to receive the award and one of only a handful of women. In 1996, all of Rigoberta Menchu Tum's nonviolent work, along with the struggles of so many other activists, helped lead to a peace accord in Guatemala. This agreement ended Guatemala's 36-year civil war and gave many rights back to the Mayan people.

"PeaceJam has seen first-hand the power and drive of young people to act in the interest of the world we all share. With the right encouragement, guidance, and support, we know that there's nothing that young people cannot do," said Dawn Engle, PeaceJam co-founder. "The Global Call to Action Challenge is a natural extension of PeaceJam's commitment to action, and bringing young people together with Nobel Laureates like Rigoberta Menchu Tum can be a transformative experience."

Mark Nieker, President of the Pearson Foundation, added, "PeaceJam is about what you can do as a young person to address problems you witness in the world, and the Global Call to Action Challenge provides a great forum for ideas and solutions."

The Global Call to Action Challenge is an extension of the Penguin Young Readers book, PEACEJAM: A Billion Simple Acts of Peace by Dawn Gifford Engle and Ivan Suvanjieff (Puffin, September 2008, $16.99, Paperback, Non-fiction, ISBN: 9780142412343, 197 pages, ages 12 and up).

About PeaceJam
PeaceJam is a nonprofit organization with its international headquarters located in Arvada, Colorado. Since its inception in 1996, over 600,000 youth have participated in the PeaceJam program, engaging in one million service projects in their communities. PeaceJam has ten U.S. affiliate offices and international affiliate offices in South Africa, Costa Rica, India, Guatemala, Argentina, and the United Kingdom, with plans to expand to Canada and East Timor.

About the Pearson Foundation
The Pearson Foundation extends Pearson's commitment to education by partnering with leading nonprofit, civic, and business organizations to provide financial, organizational, and publishing assistance across the globe. The foundation aims to make a difference by sponsoring innovative educational programs and extending its educational expertise to help in classrooms and in local communities. More information on the Pearson Foundation can be found at www.pearsonfoundation.org.

Pearson Foundation

Pearson Foundation

Pearson (NYSE: PSO) is the global leader in educational publishing, assessment, information and services, helping people of all ages to learn at their own pace, in their own way. For students preK-12, Pearson provides effective and innovative curriculum products in all available media, educational assessment and measurement for students and teachers, student information systems, and teacher professional development and certification programs. Our respected brands include Scott Foresman, Prentice Hall, SuccessMaker, Waterford, AGS, PowerSchool, Chancery SMS, SASI, Pearson Inform, Teachervision.com and many others. Our comprehensive offerings help inform targeted instruction and intervention so that success is within reach of every student. Pearson's other primary businesses include the Financial Times Group and the Penguin Group.

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