@rtimos - Newsroom

@RTIMOS is recognized as the “sixth man”

Sun, 27 Sep 2009 18:44:42 +0700

An Excerpt from PPI Blog :

PeacePlayers International would like to thank @RTIMOS, a production company founded by students at Brigham Young University Hawaii. @RTIMOS first learned of PeacePlayers International when several Brigham Young University Hawaii students visited the organization’s Middle East site in 2008, the start of what has been a great partnership between BYUH and PPI. In May 2009, @RTIMOS staged a concert titled “Peace Internationally,” recruiting local artists and speakers to help celebrate mutual respect and understanding through music. In addition to raising $2,000 for PeacePlayers International, the group is currently putting together a multimedia highlight package that will help spread the word about PeacePlayers International to @RTIMOS’s supporters worldwide.
PeacePlayers International would like to extend a special thank you to Art Saowichit, Sariah Howard, and Ema Billings. @RTIMOS is currently planning their next concert, “Pace Per Pezzo.”
[http://ppisixthman.com/2009/05/21/rtimos/]

Local Artists Share the Spirit of Aloha with Children in the Middle East

Sat, 9 May 2009 09:57:29 +0700

On May 21st, artists and performers from Oahu and beyond will come together to share their talents and messages of peace at home and with Israeli-Jewish, Israeli-Arab and Palestinian children, who are playing basketball for peace. Letting the “Spirit of Aloha” guide them, Colin Fong, the Mozo Band, Aunty Thelma Kamae (a well known and loved local Kapuna, musician and vocalist), and several other artists will express the “Aloha way of being”, showing deep respect and love for others, through their performances. Various traditional and multi-cultural acts include Kahiko Hawaiian dancers, Native American Hoop Dancers, and Chinese Lion Dancers among others.

The concert will celebrate the theme of “Peace Internationally,” and include the work of Fawwaz Jubran, a Palestinian-born musician who’s lived in Hawaii for almost 30 years, and Elad Vazana, a celebrated Israeli peacebuilder and speaker. Proceeds will benefit the children of PeacePlayers International – Middle East, a nonprofit organization that seeks to unite and educate children in Israel and the West Bank through basketball. The concert will be simultaneously broadcast over the Internet so that the children themselves, and peacebuilders all over the world, can share in the musicians’ performances and message.

Colin Fong, Vice President for the Hawaii Stunt Association stated, “This concert raises awareness of the peace efforts being made in the Middle East by our own people involved here from the islands. PeacePlayers International has a wonderfully successful program focusing on the next generation of youth, Palestinian and Israeli, through the game of basketball. What I see is those that play together stay together. It’s incredible to think that from here, in Oahu, we can have an effect on making a better world.”

@rtimos Secures Celebrated Peacebuilder to Speak at “Peace Internationally"

Sat, 2 May 2009 18:30:12 +0700

Elad Vazana Speaks at Local Benefit Concert in Oahu

Elad Vazana, a celebrated peacebuilder, was raised in Israel after his parents emigrated from Morocco in the 1950’s. Like most Jewish Israelis, he served in the Israel Defense Force, which proved to be one of the most trying times of his life. This ordeal led him devote most of the last 15 years of his life to humanizing the ‘other side’ and also diligently working toward peacebuilding in all aspects of his life and the world that surrounds him. He has taught and managed projects for: Youth Leading Change, Sulha Peace Project (uniting thousands of Arabs and Jews), Gevim North (a Mediation Center), and Makom Balev (a shelter for at-risk youth). Most recently, Elad gathered youth from Palestine and Israel for one-week desert journeys to build relationships while learning to identify with all humankind and the Earth. He was a powerful force in the 2007 Palestinian-Jewish Family Peacemakers Camp, and in the 2009 Citizen Initiative to send needed supplies across the Gaza border to citizens following the war. He has been called, “one of the most effective, yet humble peacebuilding practitioners in Israel.”

Sariah Howard, @rtimos co-founder and Director of the upcoming benefit concert, stated, “We are extremely fortunate to have Elad. It’s really a bit of a miracle that he is visiting Oahu at this time and that his schedule makes it possible for him to speak at our event.” The benefit concert, “Peace Internationally”, will raise funds for PeacePlayers International’s Middle East Program, which focuses upon uniting Palestinian and Jewish children through the sport of basketball. According to Ema Billings, @rtimos’ fundraising director and a performance coordinator, “Elad is the kind of speaker where people are willing to pay to listen to him talk about his experiences. I was thrilled when he agreed to do this for us. He is one of the many concert performers who share @rtimos’ vision of bridging cultural divides, developing leaders, and changing perceptions between conflicting cultures.”

The concert takes place on May 21st, at 6 p.m. at the Central Union Church Parish Hall in Honolulu, Hawaii. Tickets are available immediately at a suggested price of $20.00 for the general public, 15.00 for students with valid ID, and $10.00 for children ages 3-15 years old. 80% of all sales are expected to go to PeacePlayers International. @rtimos’ previous concert in March sold out, and tickets are expected to go quickly. Interested parties should contact Sariah at sariah@artimos.org regarding tickets and donations.

About PeacePlayers International: PeacePlayers International is a non-profit organization that uses the game of basketball to unite and educate young athletes and their communities. Since its inception in 2001, PPI has reached more than 45,000 children in Northern Ireland; Israel and the West Bank; South Africa; Cyprus; and New Orleans, Louisiana. For more information, please visit www.peaceplayersintl.org.

About @rtimos: Founded in 2008, on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, @rtimos is an arts and multimedia production company promoting opportunity for change by uniting individuals, families, and communities in peacebuilding activities at home and abroad. The company works with local artists and volunteers to produce events dedicated to raising diversity awareness, bridging cultural divides, and weaving humanity together via the web using cutting-edge technology.

Laie Elementary Children ~ Learn About Conflict Resolution and Building Community

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 14:06:49 +0700

Third-grade children, working the land, side-by-side at the Edible Garden, are not only building community but they are learning that there is "something deeper and more important than their behavior." One little rambunctious boy, during a conflict-resolution lesson tells me and the class, "you can pretend to be nice but if your heart is angry your behavior won't matter." In amazement, I burst out you're right - you got it- there is a difference between behavior and an individual's "way of being." He seems pleased and so do the rest of the kids.

These children are learning to see people with "a loving heart that says I care about you." A heart that helps them to think twice about being unkind to a classmate or a playmate. One little girl catches the vision: "Miss Ema, I like the conflict lessons because now when I get mad I ask myself if I have a caring heart or a heart that says I don't care about you. I used to whack the other kids on the head - when I got mad at them she says - but now I don't want to hit them anymore - I don't want to have an uncaring heart." I look at her and smile- we embrace with a great big hug and a high five. As I walk away I am reminded that we are never too young or too old to change our hearts.

Sariah named @RTIMOS Co-founder

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 12:08:04 +0700

Since the first @RTMOS concert, Sariah has been a big part and helped create the reason for the existence of @RTIMOS. Without her contributions and initiations in various projects, @RTIMOS would have not been where it is now. Her dedication and love for peace, multimedia, and music have become @RTIMOS identities. As a founder of @RTIMOS, I recognize Sariah to be another person who helped create @RTIMOS Productions, an advocate for peace and harmony through music and multimedia, and announce her as the co-founder.

Art Saowichit
Producer/Founder
@RTIMOS Productions