CNN Press Release: CNN launches a multi-month network initiative to mark the most iconic moments and news events of the past 30 years.



CNN is asking viewers from around the world to submit their photos, memories, videos via iReport, the network’s user-generated news community, online or directly via the CNN international iPhone app.

"We're delighted that this landmark anniversary for CNN allows us to engage with our global audiences to produce a definitive take on the most significant events of the last three decades. The idea that attics and cellars may be hiding never-before-seen footage from iconic newsgathering moments is hugely exciting. 'CNN30: Were You There?' will take us beyond history's borders to reveal new insights on the events which have shaped our world," said Katherine Green, senior vice president of programming for CNN International.

"With this project, CNN is asking our audience to reflect on our shared history, and help us layer personal memories against iconic images from the biggest news events over the last 30 years,” said Lila King, participation director, CNN.com. "Our hope is that this ambitious project of marrying personal snapshots and original news footage will shine a new light on the moments that changed our lives as well as our world."

Viewers are together invited to help build an interactive timeline on CNN.com at www.cnn.com/30 of the past three decades, sharing their recollections and any archival footage, pictures and more. The best of these submissions will be featured in a half-hour special program premiering on CNN International on October 23 at 8:30pm (HKT). Users can also comment and like individual iReports on Facebook and Twitter.

Submissions are encouraged beyond the 30 events that CNN have listed which include:

• The assassination of Indira Gandhi in 1984
• The 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union
• The 1981 wedding of Charles and Diana
• The 1997 Hong Kong handover
• The 2008 Mumbai terror attacks
• Chernobyl in 1986
• The 2001 September 11 terror attacks
• The 1989 Fall of the Berlin Wall
• The 1990 release of Nelson Mandela
• The 2004 Asia tsunami
• The 1994 Rwandan genocide
• Hurricane Katrina in 2005
  
• The Haiti Earthquake in 2010.
  

The full list is at www.cnn.com/30 and deadline for submissions is October 15.