Subject:
(no subject)
From:
RJSTSI@aol.com
Date:
Mon, 6 Feb 2006 15:18:36 EST
To:
dharris@darwinday.org

 
David; This copy includes Mary's comments and so it's ready to go!
 
 
     February 12 is Darwin Day 2006, the    Celebration of Science and Humanity!
 
Darwin Day has made very substantial gains this year according to founder and President, Dr. Robert (Bob) Stephens. At least 620 Celebratory events will take place across the world for Darwin's 197th Birthday, he said, and we expect this number to grow rapidly as we continue forward to a GRAND GLOBAL bicentennial birthday festival on February 12, 2009.
 
The general public is invited to many Celebrations at universities across the United States, from Stanford and UC Berkeley in the West, to the University of Wisconsin, Eastern Illinois University and Rice University in the heartland, and to Cornell, Rutgers, Salem College and the Univ. of Tennessee in the East. Museums, libraries, freethought groups, schools and churches have all responded in surprising numbers, Stephens said. There is also strong international participation such as that in England, which includes a month long Darwin Festival in the beautiful town of Shrewsbury, Darwin's birthplace. Italy is well represented with 34 events, 15 of which are at top universities, including the oldest university in the world, Padua University in the City of Padua. In addition, events will be held in Canada, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, Chili, Argentina, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Brazil, Pakistan, Guatemala, and even at the top of the world in Nepal.
 
One of the major goals for the Darwin Day staff during the remainder of 2006 will be to include many additional languages on our website, so that by the fall of 2006 we will be able to directly invite people from around the world to join in the Darwin Day festivities in their own languages. 
 
Everyone is invited to visit our educational website at www.darwinday.org, said Stephens, and to contemplate the potential role that modern science is playing to bring all humans together. Current research in the field of genetics, including that on the human genome, has conclusively shown that all humans are essentially identical and that we are genetically related to all other living things on this planet. Thus an enlightened view of genetics is one of unity and equality among all humans and also one that fosters a deeper sense of respect and appreciation for all life. Today the validity of Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection rests in our understanding of the molecular mechanisms of genetics. Therefore, we conclude that Charles Darwin is a worthy symbol on which to focus, in order to build a Global Celebration of Science and Humanity that is intended to promote a common bond between all people of the earth.
 
Happy Darwin Day!