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This April the Sweet Mother Tour (SMT), a global youth movement with a mission to use the tools of popular culture to present empowering images of Africa & the African Diaspora, will host its first annual Conference & Benefit Concert at Harvard University entitled "Youth and the New Pan-African Renaissance: Rebuilding Africa for the 21st Century."

The 3-day conference, taking place April 7-9, 2006 on Harvard University¹s campus, will highlight five themes of importance in Pan-African development African Image and Identity, Technology, Economic Empowerment and Public Health, Education, and Arts and Culture. Panelists & Speakers include writer/producer Dara Cook of MTV, Walter Carrington, former US Ambassador to Nigeria; former Clinton Advisor John Prendergast, representatives from Vibe Magazine, the Village Voice, and artists and technologists from Africa & the Caribbean.

Selected panels will feature live video-conferencing with youth in Africa & Europe courtesy of technology sponsor Heart in Action, Inc. Please contact Kelley N. Johnson at kelley@sweetmother.org or 617-492-3673 if you are interested in doing a story on the SMT or covering the conference this April. To learn more about the international impact of the SMT visit
www.sweetmother.org .