●Concept:
The exhibitions of the photos and pictures of Iraqi children have created a great sensation in Japan as well as in many countries of the world. But I wonder if the voices of the children outside Iraq who received the message from Iraqi children through those photos and pictures have reached the Iraqi children in return. We think that it is a crucial role for us adults to enable children to play catch across borders and establish heart to heart relationship among them. This is a new project to develop our photo & picture exhibition activities and pursue a further leap forward.
Most of the children outside Iraq cannot visit Iraqi children, and neither can most of the Iraqi children go out of Iraq. But there must be a way in which both of them can feel each other in the respective places where they are situated now, and participate in common actions for world peace. This project was conceived to find the way. And it is also hoped that the project will contribute to making a step toward restoring humanity of the children who are wounded both physically and psychologically.
● What is the Peace Monument?
What we mean by Peace Monument is a sense of solidarity based on heart to heart relationship among children beyond national boundaries and formalities. I will show you some examples here.
a. Children in Iraq, Japan, the Philippines, and elsewhere, will work simultaneously on some creative activities such as producing sculptures and wall paintings, utilizing materials available around them. They can feel linked to each other, even though they are working in distant countries, through feeling the joy of creating one common object and communicating with each other about how far their work has progressed. It will also be a great asset for children to know, through this project, different cultures of other countries in the world. Where they are short of materials, they can make use of anything as materials for the work such as soil or sand; even out of discarded things some materials for the work could be found. Colors and pencils are not the only tools for expression. Let’s throw away a fixed idea, and we can enjoy a genuine joy of creation. They can collect materials indigenous to the region, and create with an original theme. (Ex. A Picture Scroll, which is a Japanese traditional picture with narrative words written on it among the illustrations. They can start producing it from making Japanese paper. A mosaic using pieces of broken glass and stones, etc.) We may target the Children’s Zenko Concert in November so that the completed work of children will be displayed in the lobby of the concert hall. .
b. Exchange of video letters
Video letters will be a good way in which children can feel that they are in a face to face relationship with each other. The point is that we have to continue exchanging them.
c. International Exhibitions of Pictures
We propose that we hold international exhibitions of pictures drawn by the children in Iraq, Japan, the Philippines, US, and elsewhere. After we choose a theme and give a briefing about it, we will ask children to draw pictures according to the set theme. As a starting point we want to request that the Child Protection Center in Iraq hold an exhibition of the pictures drawn by Japanese children, which will be presented to the Iraqi delegation in the ZENKO Conference 2006. We hope that they will send us videos and photos of Iraqi children who have seen the exhibition to let us know how they feel and what impressions they have got from the pictures of Japanese children.
d. Children’s Chat Summit on the web site
This is an attempt to offer a place for children to express and share their own thoughts and feelings. In this project, they will feel with each other the influence that their words may have on others and think of what others say with sympathetic and logical thinking, and express their own opinions. They may disagree at times and may consolidate their friendship at other times. It may go anywhere, which may make adults anxious, but adults not interfere too much, but just keep an eye on them.
e. Producing Programs of IFC Satellite TV
We will buy a program time of IFC satellite TV to make a program which appeals to the people to support , endorse, and join IFC.