JOURNALISTS WHO WISH TO ATTEND THIS EVENT MUST REGISTER AT WWW.USIP.ORG/CREDENTIALS.

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On Thursday, June 5, the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) will hold a groundbreaking ceremony for its permanent headquarters and Public Education Center (PEC) located at the Northwest corner of the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

President George W. Bush, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will deliver remarks at the event. The 90-minute ceremony will take place at the headquarters building site beginning at 10:00 AM.^*

USIP’s headquarters facility will be located at the corner of 23rd Street and Constitution Avenue, NW—just north of the Lincoln Memorial and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, one of the country’s most symbolic locations. It will be a center for the study and practice of international conflict management, as well as a prominent symbol of America’s commitment to building a more peaceful world.

USIP President Richard H. Solomon said, "We are honored that the President, Speaker and Majority Leader will join us for the groundbreaking. Such high-level, bipartisan representation underscores the increasing importance the United States ascribes to international conflict management and peacebuilding."

USIP Board Chairman J. Robinson West said, "The Institute has worked for more than a decade to obtain the site, design the building, and raise the necessary funding to begin construction. This project will not only be a great architectural statement, but also one of the country’s most important buildings in terms of its mission. It will enable us to better fulfill our Congressional mandate to educate the public about the importance of international peacebuilding and conflict resolution."

The headquarters facility will consist of a training center for professional conflict managers, conference space for public and private meetings, office space for USIP staff, and the 20,000 square foot Public Education Center. The PEC will use state-of-the art multimedia exhibits and hands-on exercises to highlight the challenges of contemporary international conflict and techniques for their management by peaceful means. More than 500,000 visitors are expected to visit the PEC each year.

Construction is slated for completion at the end of 2010. The project is being funded through a public-private partnership: the U.S. Congress provided the initial $100 million, and the remaining $85 million is now being raised from private sources. Congress funds 100 percent of USIP’s programmatic work on an annual basis.

World-renowned architect Moshe Safdie and his firm Moshe Safdie & Associates designed the building, which has received approvals from the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts and the National Capital Planning Commission. Award-winning exhibit design firm Christopher Chadbourne & Associates helped with the PEC conceptual design. The headquarters will meet sound environmental standards and earn the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED©, certification.

The U.S. Institute of Peace was created by the U.S. Congress in 1984. It engages in a broad range of activities to promote peaceful management of international conflicts. It conducts research, develops practical peacebuilding tools, shares these resources through a variety of education and training programs, and operates on the ground in some of the world’s most troubled conflict zones (including Iraq, Nigeria, Afghanistan, Sudan, and the Korean Peninsula).

The Institute has also played an instrumental role in seeding the field of international conflict management, producing more than 400 publications to date, including a seminal set of books on international mediation, guidelines on civilian-military interactions in hostile environments, a handbook series on cross-cultural negotiating behavior, and field-defining textbooks on conflict management. Each year some 1,500 practitioners participate in the Institute’s training programs, with an increasing number taking comparable courses online. More than half a million American students and educators have learned about the challenges and opportunities of peacebuilding through USIP’s programs.

For more information on the Institute’s work, please visit www.usip.org. For more information on USIP’s permanent headquarters project, please visit www.usip.org/building/.

WHO: PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH, SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE NANCY PELOSI, SENATE MAJORITY LEADER HARRY REID

WHAT: U.S. INSTITUTE OF PEACE GROUNDBREAKING CEREMONY

WHERE: CORNER OF 23RD STREET N.W. AND CONSTITUTION AVENUE, NW

WHEN: THURSDAY, JUNE 5, 2008 – 10:00 -11:30 AM

JOURNALISTS WHO WISH TO ATTEND THIS EVENT MUST REGISTER AT WWW.USIP.ORG/CREDENTIALS.

*ALL JOURNALISTS MUST BE ON SITE BY 9:30 AM. VIDEO EQUIPMENT MUST BE IN PLACE PRIOR TO 6:30 AM SECRET SERVICE SECURITY SWEEP.