by Brett Brownell, Worldwide Moment.org

Can you imagine people from every country in the world participating in a simultaneous moment of peace?

Can you imagine the photographs this moment would produce?

Can you imagine the impact? … We can… Please join us.

Worldwide Moment is a non-profit arts organization which encourages people around the world to celebrate peace and international collaboration by taking simultaneous photographs and sharing their stories.

2010’s Worldwide Moment occurs on Sunday October 10, 2010 at 10:10AM in the GMT time zone, or [email protected]:10GMT.


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About Worldwide Moment

On October 10, 2006 my 59-year-old father Tom passed away, ending a long battle with everything. Blood clots, strokes, broken bones, regrets, unhappiness, and lots of anger.

I struggled in the months following his death. My inner peace, patience, and creativity floundered. I couldn’t sleep. I was yelling at people for the first time in my life. I lost all confidence in my abilities as an artist.

However, I became inspired to combat my dad’s lack of peace by creating and sharing my own. So in 2007 I founded Worldwide Moment – an international simultaneous photo shoot for peace.

In 2002, while volunteering for the Human Essence photography group in Los Angeles, I imagined a collection of photographs taken simultaneously around the world. The problem was, there were no outlets to organize such an effort. Blogs, online social networks, and technology had yet to link the world together, so I could only imagine.

In the years that followed, I had the good fortune to photograph, film, and work for an internationally touring independent-label rock band called Mae. I filmed and photographed their performances across the United States, Canada, Japan, and England.

During this time of meeting new friends and fellow artists around the world, I would occasionally sketch ideas for Worldwide Moment. I remember sitting on an airplane from Dallas to Los Angeles in 2004 drawing logo ideas and writing elevator pitches for Worldwide Moment.

In 2007, a few months after my father passed away, blogs and social networking sites were clearly beginning to link the world together. Finally, we had the tools needed to organize such an event as Worldwide Moment.

I sent an iChat instant message to my friend Dawn in Toronto. She was a fellow artist and my closest non-American friend. I asked her, “Would you want to participate in a Worldwide Moment of photography?”. She said, “Of course!”.


2007

In the Spring of 2007 we held the first Worldwide Moment at 12:34_5.6.7EDT (which meant 12:34pm on May 6th, 2007 Eastern Time). 69 people from 19 countries supported the idea by taking a photograph at that moment. It was a modest start, but coming from a suburban town in Texas, I was thrilled to reach people from all over the world.


2008

The following year our community of photographers voted to host Worldwide Moment on [email protected]:08 (which meant August 8, 2008 in the +08GMT Time Zone at 8:08am). We increased our online efforts, were featured in the Chicago Tribune, built our first website, and found 270 people from 21 countries to participate – a nearly 400% increase from 2007.


2009

Last year, thanks to the support of Yoko Ono and ImaginePeace.com we had a monumental year.

On [email protected]:09 (which meant September 9, 2009 in the +09GMT Time Zone at 9:09am) 1,300 photographers from 70 countries simultaneously took part in our third-annual simultaneous photo shoot for peace – a nearly 500% increase in participation from 2008.

It was the most peaceful and exciting moment of my life to join so many people across the world, including Yoko. I watched in shock and delight as hundreds of photographs poured in through our website. Among the photographers were a father serving in Afghanistan, his wife living in Germany, and their four-year-old son living with his grandparents back in Ohio. The father’s caption read, “No one wants peace more than a soldier.”

View the 2009 gallery here.


2010

This year our community decided to host Worldwide Moment 2010 on [email protected]:10GMT (which means October 10, 2010 at 10:10am in the Greenwhich Mean Time Zone). Coincidentally, the moment will occur on the fourth anniversary of my father’s death. I have not yet decided where I will be for this year’s Worldwide Moment, but I will certainly be thinking of him, and thinking about how honored I am to share our annual moment of peace with everyone around the world.

It is our hope to have 5,000 photographers participate this year, including kids who are discovering photography for the first time, government officials, villagers with no computer or internet access, and of course, everyone who reads this article. We will exhibit the photos online and at galleries around the world – a team in Australia is organizing a January exhibit right now!

Proceeds from Worldwide Moment will go towards providing cameras and photography education to children, adults, and schools around the world.

Worldwide Moment is open to everyone of all ages and skill levels. Wether you are taking your first picture, your millionth picture, using a Polaroid camera, cell phone, digital camera, film camera, pinhole camera, or anything else, you are invited to share in this year’s Worldwide Moment. It’s is an opportunity to generate an entirely new sense of peace and connection with citizens around the world.

So please join us on [email protected]:10GMT. All you have to do is take a photograph at that moment. For more information, to pledge to participate, or to donate visit www.worldwidemoment.org


Worldwide Moment 2010 Times

Afghanistan – Kabul Sun 14:40
Algeria – Algiers Sun 11:10
Argentina – Buenos Aires Sun 07:10
Australia – Australian Capital Territory – Canberra * Sun 21:10
Australia – New South Wales – Sydney * Sun 21:10
Australia – Northern Territory – Darwin Sun 19:40
Australia – Queensland – Brisbane Sun 20:10
Australia – South Australia – Adelaide * Sun 20:40
Australia – Victoria – Melbourne * Sun 21:10
Australia – Western Australia – Perth Sun 18:10
Austria – Vienna * Sun 12:10
Bahamas – Nassau * Sun 06:10
Bangladesh – Dhaka Sun 16:10
Belarus – Minsk * Sun 13:10
Belgium – Brussels * Sun 12:10
Bolivia – La Paz Sun 06:10
Brazil – Distrito Federal – Brasilia Sun 07:10
Brazil – Rio de Janeiro – Rio de Janeiro Sun 07:10
Brazil – São Paulo – Sao Paulo Sun 07:10
Bulgaria – Sofia * Sun 13:10
Canada – Alberta – Edmonton * Sun 04:10
Canada – British Columbia – Vancouver * Sun 03:10
Canada – Manitoba – Winnipeg * Sun 05:10
Canada – Newfoundland and Labrador – St. John’s * Sun 07:40
Canada – Nova Scotia – Halifax * Sun 07:10
Canada – Ontario – Ottawa * Sun 06:10
Canada – Ontario – Toronto * Sun 06:10
Canada – Quebec – Montreal * Sun 06:10
Chile – Santiago * Sun 07:10
China – Beijing Sun 18:10
China – Shanghai Sun 18:10
Colombia – Bogota Sun 05:10
Croatia – Zagreb * Sun 12:10
Cuba – Havana * Sun 06:10
Czech Republic – Prague * Sun 12:10
Denmark – Copenhagen * Sun 12:10
Dominican Republic – Santo Domingo Sun 06:10
Egypt – Cairo Sun 12:10
El Salvador – San Salvador Sun 04:10
Estonia – Tallinn * Sun 13:10
Ethiopia – Addis Ababa Sun 13:10
Fiji – Suva Sun 22:10
Finland – Helsinki * Sun 13:10
France – Paris * Sun 12:10
Germany – Berlin – Berlin * Sun 12:10
Germany – Hesse – Frankfurt * Sun 12:10
Greece – Athens * Sun 13:10
Guatemala – Guatemala Sun 04:10
Honduras – Tegucigalpa Sun 04:10
Hong Kong – Hong Kong Sun 18:10
Hungary – Budapest * Sun 12:10
Iceland – Reykjavik Sun 10:10
India – Delhi – New Delhi Sun 15:40
India – Maharashtra – Mumbai Sun 15:40
India – West Bengal – Kolkata Sun 15:40
Indonesia – Java – Jakarta Sun 17:10
Iran – Tehran Sun 13:40
Iraq – Baghdad Sun 13:10
Ireland – Dublin * Sun 11:10
Israel – Jerusalem Sun 12:10
Italy – Rome * Sun 12:10
Jamaica – Kingston Sun 05:10
Japan – Tokyo Sun 19:10
Jordan – Amman * Sun 13:10
Kazakstan – Almaty Sun 16:10
Kenya – Nairobi Sun 13:10
Kiribati – Christmas Island – Kiritimati Mon 00:10
Kuwait – Kuwait City Sun 13:10
Lebanon – Beirut * Sun 13:10
Madagascar – Antananarivo Sun 13:10
Malaysia – Kuala Lumpur Sun 18:10
Mexico – Federal District – Mexico City * Sun 05:10
Morocco – Casablanca Sun 10:10
Myanmar – Yangon Sun 16:40
Nepal – Kathmandu Sun 15:55
Netherlands – Amsterdam * Sun 12:10
New Zealand – Auckland * Sun 23:10
New Zealand – Chatham Islands * Sun 23:55
Nicaragua – Managua Sun 04:10
Nigeria – Lagos Sun 11:10
Norway – Oslo * Sun 12:10
Pakistan – Islamabad Sun 15:10
Pakistan – Karachi Sun 15:10
Pakistan – Lahore Sun 15:10
Paraguay – Asuncion * Sun 07:10
Peru – Lima – Lima Sun 05:10
Philippines – Manila Sun 18:10
Poland – Warsaw * Sun 12:10
Portugal – Lisbon * Sun 11:10
Puerto Rico – San Juan Sun 06:10
Romania – Bucharest * Sun 13:10
Russia – Anadyr * Sun 22:10
Russia – Kamchatka * Sun 22:10
Russia – Moscow * Sun 14:10
Russia – Vladivostok * Sun 21:10
Saudi Arabia – Riyadh Sun 13:10
Serbia – Belgrade * Sun 12:10
Singapore – Singapore Sun 18:10
South Africa – Cape Town Sun 12:10
South Africa – Johannesburg Sun 12:10
South Korea – Seoul Sun 19:10
Spain – Barcelona – Barcelona * Sun 12:10
Spain – Madrid * Sun 12:10
Sudan – Khartoum Sun 13:10
Sweden – Stockholm * Sun 12:10
Switzerland – Geneva * Sun 12:10
Switzerland – Zürich * Sun 12:10
Taiwan – Taipei Sun 18:10
Thailand – Bangkok Sun 17:10
Turkey – Ankara * Sun 13:10
Turkey – Istanbul * Sun 13:10
U.K. – England – London * Sun 11:10
U.S.A. – Alabama – Montgomery * Sun 05:10
U.S.A. – Alaska – Anchorage * Sun 02:10
U.S.A. – Arizona – Phoenix Sun 03:10
U.S.A. – California – Los Angeles * Sun 03:10
U.S.A. – California – San Francisco * Sun 03:10
U.S.A. – Colorado – Denver * Sun 04:10
U.S.A. – District of Columbia – Washington DC * Sun 06:10
U.S.A. – Florida – Miami * Sun 06:10
U.S.A. – Georgia – Atlanta * Sun 06:10
U.S.A. – Hawaii – Honolulu Sun 00:10
U.S.A. – Illinois – Chicago * Sun 05:10
U.S.A. – Indiana – Indianapolis * Sun 06:10
U.S.A. – Louisiana – New Orleans * Sun 05:10
U.S.A. – Massachusetts – Boston * Sun 06:10
U.S.A. – Michigan – Detroit * Sun 06:10
U.S.A. – Minnesota – Minneapolis * Sun 05:10
U.S.A. – Minnesota – St. Paul * Sun 05:10
U.S.A. – New York – New York * Sun 06:10
U.S.A. – Pennsylvania – Philadelphia * Sun 06:10
U.S.A. – Texas – Houston * Sun 05:10
U.S.A. – Washington – Seattle * Sun 03:10
Ukraine – Kyiv * Sun 13:10
United Arab Emirates – Dubai – Dubai Sun 14:10
Uruguay – Montevideo * Sun 08:10
Uzbekistan – Tashkent Sun 15:10
Venezuela – Caracas Sun 05:40
Vietnam – Hanoi Sun 17:10
Yemen – Aden Sun 13:10
Zimbabwe – Harare Sun 12:10



About Brett Brownell

Brett Brownell is a filmmaker, photographer, and the founder of Worldwide Moment. He is a graduate of the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts and has produced documentaries, web content, and DVDs for clients such as Warner Brothers Records, Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign, AOL, Habitat for Humanity, and Capitol Records. He currently lives in Virginia and wants to remind everyone that Worldwide Moment is a completely NON-partisan project.