The Media Education Centre Started TASTE OF PEACE INTERNATIONAL YOUTH MEDIA SUMMER WORKSHOP 2008 and “The GUERNICA International Children’s Peace Mural” 2010. Project was part of our activities in promotion of Children’s and Human Rights and this part of activities was inspired by the famous Spanish artist, Pablo Picasso who painted “Guernica” out of protest against the brutal bombing of the town of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War. The main purpose of the GUERNICA project is to promote peace consciousness among people in the world through paintings realized on huge canvases (of the same size as Picasso’s Guernica 3.5 x 7.8m). These paintings are created by children, youth and adults in different places around the Serbia. Through these paintings, children convey powerful messages of peace with their creativity and imagination.
One of the ELEMENTS leading to WAR is the lack of dialogue and mediation between different parties. Children need to develop, from an early age, notions of peace and dialogue. KIDS’ GUERNICA facilitates this by letting children, young people and adults enter a collaborative learning process by painting a peace mural on a canvas. Through these artistic activities, the project initiates bottom-up peace processes in areas of conflict and/or war to prevent the abuse of children and promote intercultural dialogue. The main target group is composed by children from Balkans-Western Balkans Region and Danube Region-SEE, but it also includes children with special needs, youth (particularly those not integrated well into the local community as Roma People) and adults (especially from different minorities).
The PRACTICAL approach of the project is: “on a piece of paper write some words and/or sentences about peace. Transform these ideas into pictures, give shapes and colors to them, and continue with some drawings, even sketches by using techniques like collages, prints, different materials, mix media, photos. Finally, prepare to work in a group by transferring all these individual pieces into a final composition”.
It is not easy for YOUNG ARTISTS to fill cipro price list such a big canvas but children and youngsters had shown great talents. They adapt very easily to the space provided. On such a huge canvas they can express all their feelings linked to conflicts and wars they have either experienced or heard about. Once the paintings are completed, Guernica will organize exhibitions around to exhibit the murals in public.
TASTE OF PEACE-GUERNICA is not an individual art work but a collaborative process. In each workshop, children and youngsters and all other participants work together and paint, take by camera or record video, collect different material for installation and peace images on a huge canvas. This process requires much time and patience. They learn the importance of collaboration by integrating the proposals and works of art of others into the painting. In this way the TASTE OF PEACE-GUERNICA is a symbol of collaboration: working together towards a more peaceful world. Workshop is excellent teambuilding training for all participants!
TASTE OF PEACE-GUERNICA is an international project involving children and youngsters living in Balkans, Danube Region and SEE areas. Through workshops, children work together and paint their images of peace on a huge canvas. This process requires much time and patience. Thanks to the project, the children can learn the importance of collaboration throughout the whole process of painting. In this way TASTE OF PEACE-GUERNICA is a bottom up democratic process involving children, youth, adults and the whole community… As a collaborative work process, it allows children to work together towards a more peaceful world. The participant
Children convey powerful messages of peace with their creativity and imagination.
General purpose of the practice: Free the imagination to develop empathy for others and learn to work together in order to advance a bottom up peace process
Target group: Children, youth and adults, migrants, marginalized groups, Roma people, handicapped people
Type of learning: Informal
Level of implementation: National, Balkans, Danube Region, SEE
Funding: Public, Sponsorship, Project’s application
Time frame: Ongoing
Leading organizations: Media Education Centre, Belgrade, office@mediaeducationcentre.eu, www.mediaeducationcentre.eu
