The 23rd Annual International Compassionate Living Festival
Gives a Voice to Animals
“Speaking their Truth” Convenes October 3, 2008

RALEIGH, NC (09/30/08) -- On October 3, 2008, animal advocates will gather together for dialogue, presentations and performances, as they have done annually since Tom and Nancy Regan of the Culture and Animals Foundation organized the first International Compassionate Living Festival in 1985.

According to Tom Regan, the goal of the festival remains the same as it did over two decades ago: “To replace ignorance with knowledge, and indifference with compassion.”

Each year, event organizers select a theme that allows exploration of wide-ranging issues from the global animal advocacy movement. The name for this year’s festival, “Speaking their Truth,” was inspired by an 1896 poem by early American animal rights supporter, Ella Wheeler Wilcox. An excerpt embodies the intent of the festival organizers:

I am the voice of the voiceless:
Through me, the dumb shall speak;
Till the deaf world's ear be made to hear
The cry of the wordless weak.
From street, from cage, and from kennel,
From jungle and stall, the wail
Of my tortured kin proclaims the sin
Of the mighty against the frail.

In the spirit of that poem, this year's gathering will address a variety of topics that aim to speak for animals who cannot defend themselves against human cruelty and exploitation, including how to bring animal rights to the forefront of politics, the rehabilitation of dogs trained to kill, the depth and nature of animal minds, and the potential economic impact of conscience-driven shopping.

The 23rd Annual International Compassionate Living Festival will be held from October 3 to October 5 in Raleigh, North Carolina, and is co-produced by Culture and Animals Foundation and the Animals and Society Institute.

About Culture and Animals Foundation
Culture and Animals Foundation (CAF) is the only organization exclusively dedicated to intellectual and artistic expression to raise awareness of animal rights. With a unique approach best described as cultural activism, CAF funds academic and artistic projects that raise public awareness about concern for animals, and co-produces the International Compassionate Living Festival, a three-day forum that engages animal advocates in dialogue about today’s most critical animal rights issues. CAF was founded in 1985 by Tom and Nancy Regan, who continue as the driving forces of the organization.

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