Talking Points for the Media: The book started out as an idea on an Internet web page. Photographers around the world liked the idea and came together to make the idea a reality. The idea was simple – to create a photographic documentary on the arrival of the year 2000, and to do it in a way that had never been attempted before. The site launched in April 1999 and in the first month, 200 photographers signed up to participate. By the second month, the number had increased to 1,200. By summer, volunteers all over the world had worked to translate the site into 8 different languages and to spread the word among the photography enthusiast community. It was a grass roots effort only made possible by the power of the Internet. A founding principle of the project was that it be open to anyone, the idea being that many amateur photographers are equally as capable as professionals when it comes to taking great pictures. In the end, more than 2/3rds of the photgraphers who took part were non professionals. The grass roots effort continued to grow as one photographer told another. By the end of the summer, 5,000 photographers had registered on the MPP web site to take photographs. In the end, 3,500 photographers from 117 countries actually took part. Most of the photographers had never before had their work published. It is estimated that more than a quarter of a million photographs were taken for the project. The photos were all taken over the same 24 hour period, between Noon on December 31st and Noon on January 1st. The photographs were judged in Toronto in February of 2000. From the judging, came the selection of photographs for the book. The book, Dawn of the 21st Century, features more than 500 amazing photographs. The photos capture all aspects of life and how different cultures spent this very special day. From the streets of Moscow to the mountains of South America. From the desert in Africa to the celebrations in Times Square. There are even pictures taken in Antarctica and underwater in Hawaii! The book costs $40 US and there are just 15,000 copies available. The easiest way to get the book is through the project website. The web address is www.smashing.com. A few select bookstores may also have it and you can find out those details on the website. Dawn of the 21st Century is the only book that documents this historic event and it’s also the first time that photographers around the world have joined together to create something of this kind. (If asked) The Millennium Photo Project originated in Toronto with Alx Klive, a 29-year old internet entrepreneur. You may also want to prepare an answer as to what interested you about the project, how you found out about it and why you decided to participate. (If asked about the finances) The book is a community enterprise (or co-operative) meaning everyone who participated shares in the success (or failure) of the book. It is like the open source software movement, only taken to the next logical level. Photographers donated their time and talent and in return get to share in the proceeds.