Emmanuel Jal Artist
	Emmanuel Jal has won worldwide acclaim for his unique style of gospel rap with its message of peace and reconciliation born out of his experiences as a child soldier in Sudan. Emmanuel was taken from his family home in 1987 aged seven, and sent to fight with the rebel army in Sudan's bloody civil war. For nearly five years Emmanuel was put into battle carrying an AK47 taller than himself. He was sent to war in Ethiopia and southern Sudan; one among thousands of children taken from their homes to fight. He has featured in Time magazine, USA Today, The National Geographic magazine, The Times, The Guardian and The Observer as well as appearing on CNN, MTV, Sky and BBC television and radio. Last October Emmanuel toured America as part of the National Geographic All Roads Film Festival, in which he performed in New York, Washington DC, Los Angeles and New Orleans. As a spokesman for Amnesty International and Oxfam's Control Arms Campaign, Emmanuel held two press conferences at the United Nations in New York. He also addressed the Senate on Capitol Hill about the plight of the people of Darfur and the need for an international response to stop the killing. After hearing him speak Condoleeza Rice made several keynote speeches about Darfur and US policy in the region. Emmanuel has won an American Gospel award and a community service award in Kenya for his work promoting peace among young people. As part of the African Soul Rebel tour, Emmanuel performed in 10 cities around the UK last year, including Manchester, London, Liverpool, Bristol, Edinburgh and Newcastle, and was asked to headline at the Eden Project in Cornwall, for Live8 2005. He has also performed in Belfast, Dublin and Galway. His music has been used in the soundtrack to three ER episodes and the National Geographic documentary God Grew Tired of Us, and more recently the feature film Blood Diamond starring Leonardo di Caprio. 'Warchild' his forthcoming album is due for release later this year.