UNESCO Art and Photo Exhibition “Pieces for Peace”

Mr. Almuzaini, [Director, UNESCO Liaison Office in Geneva]
Ms. Ben-Haim, [Executive and Creative Director of CITYarts]
Ladies and Gentlemen:

How many pieces does it take to achieve peace?

Peace is like a house that we build brick by brick. Taken together, those bricks form a warm and comfortable home, a home that all families in the world dream of – but only few families can realize this dream.

Our time is one where conflict is rife, making the smallest and poorest members of our societies suffer most. War has devastating effects, especially on children, as they lack safe places to live and sleep, to play and learn. They may not have enough to eat, nor access to clean water. Early on in their lives, children in war zones make the traumatic experience of losing parents, siblings or other family members as well as shelter. Some are abducted or recruited as child soldiers. The psychological long-term consequences of what they go through at such a young age are devastating.

“Pieces for Peace” is about building a comfortable home to live in peacefully in our global village of tomorrow. CITYarts has brought American youth and their peers from around the world together to design and create tile-sized drawings, paintings and poems on the topic of peace to tap into the creative power of young people. When Ms. Ben-Haim launched this project, she was driven by the idea that “when kids create they do not destroy”. Through their art, they are forming the bricks to build our joint home of peace for tomorrow. Through their art, they are becoming ambassadors for peace.

I am especially grateful to Mr. Almuzaini, Director of the UNESCO Liaison Office in Geneva, and to Ms. Ben-Haim, Executive and Creative Director of CITYarts, for bringing this powerful exhibition to this symbolic place, the Palais des Nations, where we are hosting negotiations on many issues to make our planet more peaceful and sustainable.

At a time, when we are concerned about the flaring up of armed conflicts and violent extremism, CITYarts is creating a strong artistic vision for a more peaceful world.

May this exhibition help us find the necessary inspiration and energy for what lays ahead of us in.

Thank you.