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  • NOTHING IS MORE POWERFUL THAN AN IDEA

  • WHOSE TIME HAS COME

  • WHOSE TIME IS NOW

  • JASON: Right now there are more people on Facebook

  • than there were on the planet 200 years ago.

  • Humanity's greatest desire is to belong and connect.

  • And now we see each other.

  • We hear each other.

  • -WOMAN: Grandpa, I love you. -I love you.

  • Why -- Why won't it take a picture?

  • We share what we love,

  • and it reminds us what we all have in common.

  • WOMAN: Dug out alive and well after 7 1/2 days.

  • If you believe in yourself, you will know how to ride a bike!

  • Rock and roll!

  • So, now, technically, your device is on.

  • [ Laughs ]

  • Can you tell?

  • Oh, that's exciting.

  • JASON: And this connection is changing the way the world works.

  • Governments are trying to keep up.

  • Now we can taste the freedom.

  • [ Indistinct chanting ]

  • And older generations are concerned.

  • GIGOT: Many people are very concerned about tomorrow

  • they could get worse next year.

  • JASON: The game has new rules.

  • The next 27 minutes are an experiment.

  • But in order for it to work, you have to pay attention.

  • [ Monitor beeping ]

  • NURSE: Oh, he's cute. He's really cute.

  • -Wow! -DOCTOR: Congratulations!

  • I can hear him.

  • [ Crying ]

  • JASON: Every single person in the world started this way.

  • He didn't choose where or when he was born.

  • But because he's here, he matters.

  • JASON: Yeah.

  • We've been waiting for you.

  • You made it.

  • My name is Jason Russell, and this is my son, Gavin.

  • [ Slides clicking ]

  • He loves jumping on the trampoline,

  • being a ninja,

  • and dancing.

  • What are you doing?

  • Making a snow angel.

  • -How do you do that? -You do this.

  • Dee-dee-dee, dee-dee-dee, dee-dee-dee-dee-dee

  • And just like his dad, he likes being in movies...

  • Action.

  • Look out! Look out, people!

  • Run! It's a bomb!

  • JASON: ...and making movies.

  • Daddy, watch this.

  • I think we got the video.

  • But he was born into a pretty complicated world.

  • And as a dad, I want him to grow up in a better world than I did.

  • And because of the course of events in my life,

  • I see a way to get there.

  • It has become my job.

  • Who are you to end a war?

  • I'm here to tell you: who are you not to?

  • JASON: Hey, Gavin. What's up?

  • Years before Gavin was born,

  • the course of my life was changed entirely by another boy.

  • And who's this right here?

  • GAVIN: Jacob.

  • Who's Jacob?

  • Jacob is our friend in Africa.

  • It's been almost 10 years since Jacob and I became friends.

  • [ Laughter ]

  • It's okay. They're nice 'cause they're different than sharks.

  • But when my friends and I first met him

  • in Uganda in Central Africa,

  • it was in very different circumstances.

  • He was running for his life.

  • -MAN: You go to school here? -Yes.

  • Yes. That's how you know English so well.

  • -I know. -Yeah.

  • Hello.

  • How many nights have you stayed here?

  • You are making our work very difficult.

  • You stop that thing now.

  • The night I first met Jacob,

  • he told me what he and other children

  • in northern Uganda were living through.

  • We worry the rebels when they arrest us again,

  • then they will kill us.

  • My brother tried to escape.

  • Then they killed him using a panga.

  • They cut his neck.

  • Did you see it?

  • I saw.

  • We fear that if we sleep at our home,

  • we can be abducted by the rebels

  • because our home is far away from town.

  • They will catch us, then they will take us there in the bush.

  • We come here to save our life.

  • I cannot believe that.

  • This is absurd.

  • You cannot believe it?

  • This has been going on for years?

  • If that happened one night in America,

  • it would be on the cover of Newsweek.

  • What is it that you want to be when you grow up?

  • For me, I wanted to be a lawyer,

  • but... no money.

  • I don't have money to pay my school fees

  • so that I learn and then become a lawyer.

  • Hmm.

  • After spending a few weeks with Jacob,

  • he told me something I would never forget.

  • It is better when you kill us.

  • And, if possible, you can kill us, you kill us.

  • For us, we don't want now to stay.

  • You don't want to stay on earth?

  • We are only two. No one is taking care of us.

  • We are not going to school, so --

  • You would rather die than stay on earth?

  • Yes.

  • Now, even now?

  • Even now.

  • How are we going to stay in our future?

  • He told me more about his brother

  • and what he would say to him if he were still alive.

  • I love you, but now I miss you.

  • So it is better when we meet ---

  • We are not going to meet, but we may meet in heaven. You see?

  • So it is better -- I will not talk much.

  • It will start something

  • because if I saw my brother once again, I don't...

  • JASON: Hmm?

  • [ Sobbing ]

  • It's okay.

  • Jacob, it's okay.

  • Everything in my heart told me to do something.

  • And so I made him a promise.

  • We are also going to do everything that we can to stop them.

  • Yes.

  • -Do you hear my words? -Yes.

  • -You know what I mean? -Yes.

  • Hmm?

  • Yes.

  • We are. We're going to stop them.

  • We're going to stop them.

  • I made that promise to Jacob not knowing what it would mean.

  • But now I do.

  • Over the past nine years, I have fought to fulfill it,

  • and the fight has led me here, to this movie you're watching,

  • because that promise is not just about Jacob or me.

  • It's also about you.

  • And this year, 2012, is the year that we can finally fulfill it.

  • And if we succeed, we change the course of human history.

  • But time is running out.

  • To level with you, this movie expires on December 31, 2012,

  • and its only purpose is to stop the rebel group the LRA

  • and their leader, Joseph Kony.

  • And I'm about to tell you exactly how we're going to do it.

  • [ Up-tempo music plays ]

  • So, the thing is, my son, Gavin, has never --

  • I've never really explained to him what I do.

  • He knows I work in Africa,

  • but he doesn't know what the war's about or who Joseph Kony is,

  • so I'm gonna explain it to him for the first time today.

  • That's what we're doing.

  • -JASON: So, Gav. -Yeah.

  • -Are you ready? -Yeah.

  • -I'm gonna ask you some questions. -Okay.

  • And you can just look at me and answer the questions to me.

  • I'm kind of nervous.

  • What do I do for a job?

  • You stop the bad guys from being mean.

  • Who are the bad guys?

  • Um...

  • -Do you know where they --? -"Star Wars" people.

  • -"Star Wars" people? -Yeah.

  • -Those are the bad guys? -Yeah.

  • -Can I tell you the bad guy's name? -Yeah.

  • JASON: This is the -- This is the guy, Joseph Kony.

  • He's the bad guy?

  • Yeah.

  • -Who's this? -Jacob.

  • Joseph Kony -- He has an army, okay?

  • And what he does is he takes children from their parents

  • and he gives them a gun to shoot

  • and he makes them shoot and kill other people.

  • But they're not gonna do what he says

  • because they're nice guys, right?

  • Yeah, they don't want to do what he says,

  • but he forces them to do bad things.

  • What do you think about that?

  • -It's sad. -Mm.

  • JASON: I couldn't explain to Gavin

  • the details of what Joseph Kony really does.

  • Because the truth is, Kony abducts kids just like Gavin.

  • For 26 years, Kony has been kidnapping children

  • into his rebel group, the LRA...

  • ...turning the girls into sex slaves...

  • ...and the boys into child soldiers.

  • He makes them mutilate people's faces.

  • And he forces them to kill their own parents.

  • And this is not just a few children.

  • It's been over 30,000 of them.

  • And Jacob was one of those children.

  • As if Kony's crimes aren't bad enough,

  • he is not fighting for any cause, but only to maintain his power.

  • He is not supported by anyone,

  • and he has repeatedly used peace talks

  • to rearm and murder again and again.

  • Kony different times proposed peace,

  • and then just regained strength and attacked.

  • This is the Head Prosecutor

  • for the International Criminal Court.

  • In 2002, when the court was started,

  • their job was to find and demand the arrest

  • of the world's worst criminals.

  • Although there are a lot of warlords, murderers,

  • and dictators in the world,

  • the perversity of Kony's crimes made him first on the Court's list.

  • Kony is the first guy indicted by the ICC.

  • The crimes basically are crimes against humanity

  • and war crimes committed against the civilian population

  • including murder, sexual slavery, rapes, abductions.

  • We need to plan how to arrest Kony.

  • Start to plan,

  • and it has to be serious.

  • In fact, the only way to stop Kony is to show him,

  • "Hey, we're going to arrest you."

  • What do you think we should do about him?

  • We should stop him.

  • The criminal here is Kony.

  • Stop him and then solve other problems.

  • We should stop who?

  • Him.

  • JASON: It's obvious that Kony should be stopped.

  • The problem is, 99% of the planet doesn't know who he is.

  • If they knew, Kony would have been stopped long ago.

  • Let the world, let the international community

  • take justice to him there, follow him wherever he is.

  • First, to rescue our children, and secondly, to deliver the justice.

  • We are determined to cooperate with any friend of Uganda

  • to ensure that this mindless killing and slaughter is ended.

  • When my friends and I came home from Uganda,

  • we thought that if the government knew,

  • they would do something to stop him.

  • But everyone in Washington we talked to

  • said there is no way the United States

  • will ever get involved in a conflict where our national security

  • or financial interests aren't at stake.

  • No administration -- Republican, Democrat,

  • Obama, Bush, Clinton, doesn't matter --

  • would do enough

  • because it's simply not an important-enough issue

  • on the radar screen of American foreign policy.

  • JASON: Since the government said it was impossible,

  • we didn't know what else to do

  • but tell everyone we could

  • about Jacob and the invisible children.

  • Let's show this movie to as many people as possible

  • in such a way that we can't be ignored.

  • And when we did, people were shocked,

  • and their awareness turned into action.

  • We started something -- a community.

  • I have friends that have been living in this conflict their entire life.

  • Fight for that, because that is what is gonna change this world,

  • and that is what defines us.

  • JASON: We got creative, and we got loud.

  • ALL: It's not over! It's not over! It's not over!

  • JASON: And as the LRA began to move into other countries,

  • Jacob and other Ugandans came to the U.S.

  • to speak on behalf of all people suffering because of Kony.

  • Even though Uganda was relatively safe,

  • they felt compelled to tell the world that Kony was still out there

  • and had to be stopped.

  • I'm here so proud advocating for the people who are back at home,

  • and this change we are going to make is going to last forever.

  • We built a community around the idea

  • that where you live shouldn't determine whether you live.

  • We were committed to stop Kony and rebuild what he had destroyed.

  • And because we couldn't wait for institutions

  • or governments to step in,

  • we did it ourselves

  • with our time, talent, and money.

  • So we rebuilt schools.

  • The best you can offer a child is by letting them be independent,

  • and that was providing education.

  • We created jobs.

  • I have seen the lives of those who have been hopeless,

  • now they have hope.

  • And we built an early warning radio network

  • on the front line of the war

  • to protect villages from rebel attacks.

  • To update real time what's happening on a war zone

  • 8,000 miles away.

  • JASON: All of this was funded by an army of young people

  • who put their money toward their belief

  • in the value of all human life.

  • They gave a few dollars a month of what little they had

  • to a program called TRI

  • and proved that a bunch of littles could make a big difference.

  • And as a result, the unseen became visible.

  • We've seen these kids.

  • We've heard their cries.

  • This war must end.

  • We will not stop.

  • We will not fear.

  • We will fight war.

  • DELIVER YOUR VOICE

  • I've talked to people from Mexico, from Canada,

  • from every other state that I can think of.

  • We're all doing this for the exact same reason,

  • and we're all coming from completely different places.

  • This is what the world should be like.

  • JASON: So, with hundreds of thousands of people with us,

  • we went back to Washington, D.C.,

  • and we met with congressmen and senators one by one

  • on both sides -- Republicans, Democrats --

  • and they all agreed with us.

  • Joseph Kony's crimes had to be stopped.

  • With all the problems that are out there,

  • none is more severe than one that -- that mutilates

  • and takes the lives of little kids.

  • These young members of the Invisible Children Organization

  • know that no child should live in fear of being abducted or killed.

  • MCGOVERN: So they were determined to become their voice.

  • They realized that these African children and families

  • were invisible to Washington policymakers.

  • So they decided to make them visible.

  • JASON: And what I was told would never happen

  • suddenly became possible.

  • "In furtherance of the Congress's stated policy,

  • I have authorized a small number of U.S. forces

  • to deploy to Central Africa

  • to provide assistance to regional forces

  • that are working toward the removal of Joseph Kony from the battlefield.

  • Sincerely, Barack Obama."

  • [ Cheers and applause ]

  • The surprise announcement came in a letter from the White House.

  • The U.S. President's decision commits U.S. troops to help.

  • Through advice and assistance --

  • not putting Americans into combat --

  • to help the countries of the region end this threat once and for all.

  • And that was a worthwhile investment.

  • [ Cheers and applause ]

  • We used to think we could not do it, and now when I see we can do it,

  • I am overwhelmed.

  • [ Ululating ]

  • JASON: After eight years of work, the government finally heard us.

  • And in October of 2011,

  • a hundred American advisers were sent into Central Africa

  • to assist the Ugandan army in arresting Kony

  • and stopping the LRA.

  • It was the first time in history

  • that the United States took that kind of action

  • because the people demanded it.

  • Not for self-defense, but because it was right.

  • HIGH FREQUENCY REPORT FROM CENTRAL AFRICA

  • DATE: 2 DECEMBER, 2011

  • A 14-year-old boy who just escaped

  • reports that "Joseph Kony now knows

  • of the United States' plan to stop the LRA,

  • and he is going to change his tactics to avoid capture

  • now that the great power is after him."

  • We've come so far. But Kony is still out there.

  • He's recently changed his tactics,

  • making it even more difficult to capture him.

  • And international support could be removed at any time.

  • If we take the pressure off, if we're not successful,

  • he is going to be growing his numbers.

  • People forget, and you've got to remind them,

  • and it takes numbers to remind them.

  • And if interest wanes, then it'll just -- it'll go away,

  • and I'd end up standing out there alone

  • trying to do something to support completing the mission.

  • It's got to be 2012.

  • It's not bad for the youth, it's bad for the world if we fail.

  • It's not important just for Ugandan people,

  • it's important for everyone.

  • It's hard to look back on some parts of human history.

  • Because when we heard about injustice,

  • we cared, but we didn't know what to do.

  • Too often we did nothing.

  • But if we're going to change that, we have to start somewhere,

  • so we're starting here, with Joseph Kony

  • because now we know what to do.

  • Here it is. Ready?

  • In order for Kony to be arrested this year,

  • the Ugandan military has to find him.

  • In order to find him,

  • they need the technology and training to track him in the vast jungle.

  • That's where the American advisers come in.

  • But in order for the American advisers to be there,

  • the U.S. government has to deploy them.

  • They've done that, but if the government doesn't believe

  • that people care about arresting Kony,

  • the mission will be canceled.

  • In order for the people to care, they have to know.

  • And they will only know if Kony's name is everywhere.

  • KONY CAPTURED

  • This is the dream.

  • Kony arrested for all the world to see,

  • and the abducted children returned home.

  • -JASON: Here's the biggest problem. -Yeah.

  • -Do you want to know what it is? -Yeah.

  • Nobody knows who he is.

  • Nobody knows, but -- but I know who he is

  • because I see him on this picture right now.

  • He's not famous.

  • He's invisible. Joseph Kony's invisible.

  • JASON: Here is how we're going to make him visible.

  • MAKE HIM FAMOUS

  • We are going to make Joseph Kony a household name

  • not to celebrate him, but to bring his crimes to the light.

  • And we are starting this year, 2012.

  • We are targeting 20 culture makers

  • and 12 policymakers

  • to use their power for good.

  • Let's start with the 20 culture makers.

  • Celebrities, athletes, and billionaires have a loud voice,

  • and what they talk about spreads instantly.

  • I want...

  • I'd like indicted war criminals

  • to enjoy the same level of celebrity as me.

  • That seems fair.

  • That's our objective, is to just shine a light on it.

  • If our goal is to get Kony's name known,

  • the known should join us.

  • We are targeting 20 of the most diverse

  • and influential culture makers

  • to speak out about Kony and make him famous.

  • -Oprah. -Mark Zuckerberg.

  • -Ryan Seacrest. -WOMAN: Bono.

  • JASON: Then we're going after policymakers --

  • the ones that have the authority to see Kony captured.

  • They decide if the advisers stay or leave.

  • So we need to remind them that in this election year

  • of fighting and name-calling,

  • no matter what side you're on,

  • this is something we can all agree on.

  • If a senator or congressman notices 25 phone calls

  • on any issue on any given day, it is noted.

  • When citizens by the hundreds of thousands

  • start demanding that our government do something,

  • suddenly it becomes in the national interest

  • of the United States government to respond to this problem.

  • JASON: We've identified the 12 policymakers

  • that could change the game regarding Kony,

  • so we're targeting them.

  • On our website, we've made it easy to write them directly,

  • call them, meet with them, and get their attention.

  • If my son were kidnapped and forced to kill,

  • it would be all over the news.

  • So we are making Kony world news

  • by redefining the propaganda we see all day, every day

  • that dictates who and what we pay attention to.

  • A lot of people feel powerless to communicate their ideas.

  • They think that, "Okay, you know, I'm not a corporation.

  • I don't own my own magazine or news station.

  • I just don't have any say."

  • But seeing what I've done,

  • I think it's empowered a lot of people to realize

  • that one individual can make an impact.

  • And I actually want to demystify and say,

  • "Here are these really simple tools. Go out and rock it."

  • JASON: And that's just what we intend to do.

  • ♪ I can't stop

  • JASON: Our goal is to change the conversation of our culture

  • and get people to ask, "Who is Joseph Kony?"

  • We have printed hundreds of thousands of posters,

  • stickers, yard signs, and fliers

  • that are right now, today,

  • being put up in major cities all over the world.

  • We have thousands of "Kony 2012" bracelets

  • that we want everyone to wear this year only.

  • Each bracelet has a unique I.D. number.

  • Input that number and you enter the mission to make Kony famous.

  • You can geotag your posters and track your impact in real time.

  • Everything you need is in a box called the Action Kit.

  • It has two bracelets -- one for you and one to give away.

  • And if you want to help fund our lifesaving programs,

  • donate a few dollars a month through TRI

  • and you can have the Action Kit for free.

  • Start making Kony famous today,

  • but all of these efforts will culminate on one day --

  • April 20th -- when we cover the night.

  • This is the day when we will meet at sundown

  • and blanket every street in every city till the sun comes up.

  • We will be smart, and we will be thorough.

  • The rest of the world will go to bed Friday night

  • and wake up to hundreds of thousands of posters

  • demanding justice on every corner.

  • ♪ I can't stop

  • ♪ I can't stop

  • ♪ I can't stop

  • JASON: It's always been that the decisions made by the few

  • with the money and the power

  • dictated the priorities of their government

  • and the stories in the media.

  • They determine the lives and the opportunities of their citizens.

  • But now there is something bigger than that.

  • The people of the world see each other

  • and can protect each other.

  • It's turning the system upside down, and it changes everything.

  • We are living in a new world, Facebook World,

  • in which 750 million people share ideas,

  • not thinking in borders.

  • It's a global community, bigger than the U.S.

  • Joseph Kony was committing crimes for twenty years, and no one cared.

  • We care.

  • We have reached a crucial time in history

  • where what we do or don't do right now

  • will affect every generation to come.

  • Arresting Joseph Kony will prove

  • that the world we live in has new rules,

  • that the technology that has brought our planet together

  • is allowing us to respond to the problems of our friends.

  • When it ends, finally, by bringing Kony to justice,

  • it should be celebrated worldwide.

  • We are not just studying human history.

  • We are shaping it.

  • At the end of my life,

  • I want to say that the world we've left behind

  • is one that Gavin can be proud of,

  • a place that doesn't allow Joseph Konys and child soldiers,

  • a place where children, no matter where they live,

  • have a childhood free from fear.

  • -I'm gonna be like you, Dad. -JASON: When you grow up?

  • -Yeah. -Are you sure?

  • I'm gonna come with you to Africa.

  • JASON: The better world we want is coming.

  • It's just waiting for us to stop at nothing.

  • -- Captions by VITAC -- www.vitac.com

  • NOTHING IS MORE POWERFUL THAN AN IDEA

  • WHOSE TIME HAS COME

  • WHOSE TIME IS NOW

  • NOW

  • THERE ARE THREE THINGS YOU CAN DO RIGHT NOW

  • 1. SIGN THE PLEDGE TO SHOW YOUR SUPPORT

  • 2. GET THE BRACELET AND THE ACTION KIT

  • 3. SIGN UP FOR TRI TO DONATE A FEW DOLLARS A MONTH

  • AND JOIN OUR ARMY FOR PEACE

  • ABOVE ALL, SHARE THIS MOVIE ONLINE

  • IT'S FREE

  • FIND IT ALL AT KONY2012.COM

NOTHING IS MORE POWERFUL THAN AN IDEA

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