Save Darfur Coalition
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Save Darfur Coalition

The Save Darfur Coalition was an advocacy group that attempted to raise public awareness and mobilize a massive response to the atrocities in Sudan's western region of Darfur. In Washington, D.C., a coalition of more than 190 religious, political, and human rights organizations came together. campaigned for reform for the atrocities of the War in Darfur, which had resulted in a humanitarian crisis. 300,000 civilians died and 2.7 million people were displaced between the years of 2003 and 2008.

The Save Darfur Coalition was founded at the "Darfur Emergency Summit in New York City" on July 14, 2004. The Coalition began when the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and American Jewish World Service organized this event at the CUNY Graduate Center in Manhattan, featuring Holocaust survivor and Nobel Peace Prize-winner Elie Wiesel.

The coalition grew into an alliance of more than 190 religious, political, and human rights organizations committed to ending the alleged genocide in Darfur. Save Darfur was headquartered in Washington, D.C., with a staff of 30 professional organizers, policy advisors, and communications specialists.

The coalition's members initially signed on to the following unity statement:

The Olympic Dream for Darfur campaign, initiated in the lead-up to the 2008 Summer Olympics, aimed to draw attention to the conflict in Darfur and press China to reconsider its support for Sudan's regime. The campaign organized a symbolic relay, with genocide survivors and activists, including Mia Farrow, visiting various countries like Rwanda, Armenia, Germany, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Cambodia.

In September 2007, a U.S.-based relay was launched, led by Jill Savitt and Mia Farrow, and supported by organizations like GI-Net, the Save Darfur Coalition, and the Enough Project. The primary goal was to make foreign policy information more accessible to citizens and engage them in the cause.

The Dream for Darfur team urged major Olympic Games sponsors, such as McDonald's, Anheuser-Busch, Microsoft, and Volkswagen, to privately engage with Chinese officials regarding their concerns about the situation in Darfur. The campaign's efforts also led to Steven Spielberg's decision to resign as the creative consultant for the opening ceremonies.

In 2011, in order to create a more effective and collective voice dedicated to preventing and eliminating genocidal violence, the Genocide Intervention Network and the Save Darfur Coalition merged to establish United to End Genocide. The merger created the largest anti-genocide campaign that encompasses a membership base of over 800,000 global activists, a mass student movement, and a network of institutional investors with over $700 billion in assets.

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