Rogers Media’s Citytv is carrying the Canadian rights for Pangea Day, a global initiative and four-hour live broadcast event that will celebrate short films and speakers from around the world. The broadcast is expected to reach an international audience of millions through television, web and mobile phones — good news for Nokia, the presenting sponsor.

Approximately 24 short films have been selected from an international competition that generated more than 2,500 submissions from over 100 countries, based on their ability to inspire and allow viewers to see the world through another person’s eyes. Inspired by documentary filmmaker Jehane Noujaim, Pangea Day aims to be the world’s first ‘global campfire,’ bringing together people from all over the world in a unique shared experience promoting empathy, compassion and understanding.

In addition to a webcast, City will air the event on Saturday, May 10 in all of its markets.

As a part of Pangea Day’s mission to foster a new generation of storytellers, organizers worked with Nokia to give each student at B.C.’s largest aboriginal college, the Native Education Centre, free video-enabled mobile phones so students could tell their stories.

‘Participating in the live broadcast of Pangea Day seemed like a natural fit for Citytv,’ says City GM and EVP television operations Jamie Haggarty. ‘Citytv provides the perfect platform for this grassroots initiative, which promotes the type of diversity that we value and reflect in our programming.’

The event’s advisors include some pretty big names, including: Goldie Hawn, J.J. Abrams, Dave Stewart, Bob Geldof, Paul Simon, Meg Ryan, Forest Whitaker, Mira Nair, Cameron Diaz, Jeff Skoll and Lawrence Bender. Canadian director Zacharias Kunuk (The Fast Runner) serves as a member of the jury.

The event will also feature talks by CNN’s Christiane Amanpour and Queen Noor of Jordan and musical performances by Stewart, Geldof and Iranian rock band Hypernova.

From Media in Canada