“Cartooning for Peace” is the brainchild of Plantu, the French daily newspaper Le Monde’s editorial cartoonist. The idea for the project was born in 1991 at an exhibition in Tunisia, when Plantu met former Palestinian leader Yassar Arafat, who drew the Star of David for one of Plantu’s drawings and signed it. “At that time, Yasser Arafat could not say, ‘I recognize the State of Israel,’ and yet, with a blue felt tip pen he drew the Star of David on the Israeli flag,” said Plantu. The following year, Plantu traveled to Israel and convinced then Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Shimon Peres to sign the same drawing. It was the first time that signatures from both the Israeli government and the Palestine Liberation Organization had been affixed to the same document prior to the 1993 Oslo Accords. “Since that time, I have thought a great deal about the role of newspaper cartoonists,” Plantu said.

Plantu once again realized the power cartoons hold when, in 2006, the world erupted in anger and divisive debate over the publication of caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad. “This sudden interest in political cartooning made me think that this polemic presented quite possibly an opportunity to cartoonists-above all, an opportunity to start an intellectual debate,” Plantu remembered.

As a forum for such debate, “Cartooning for Peace” launched that same year with a seminar featuring opening remarks by then United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Kofi Annan and an exhibition of cartoons, co-sponsored by The Claus M. Halle Institute for Global Learning, at the UN Headquarters in New York. “Cartooning for Peace” at Emory will include selections from the original traveling exhibition unveiled at the UN, as well as an expanded version that will feature over 100 new cartoons and drawings by the visiting cartoonists on display at the Schatten Gallery from Oct. 27 through Dec. 15, 2007. The collection represents a wide range of issues such as peace, conflict, leadership, and the environment. The exhibition also includes cartoons related to important global health issues as a result of the enormous concentration of expertise at Emory University and Atlanta in this field.

While here, the cartoonists will participate in public panels and lectures on the topics of controversy, gender, conflict, global health, and political leadership, and will each visit a classroom hosted by Emory professors. View schedule of events

In addition to Plantu, other visiting cartoonists include Baha Boukhari (Palestine), Jeff Danziger (U.S.), Liza Donnelly (U.S.), Godfrey Mwampembwa (Kenya), Michel Kichka (Israel), Mike Lukovich (U.S), Piyale Madra (Turkey), Ann Telnaes (U.S.), and No-rio Yamanoi (Japan).

For more information about "Cartooning for Peace," including a full schedule and cartoonist bios, visit www.halleinstitute.emory.edu.

Schedule of Events:

Nov. 12, 11:30-1:30 pm
Women in Cartooning: A Different Perspective
Winship Ballroom, Dobbs University Center
Registration is required for this event. Click here to register.

Nov. 12, 5:00-6:30 pm
Picturing Conflict, Envisioning Peace in the Middle East
Winship Ballroom, Dobbs University Center

Nov. 13, 4:00-5:30 pm
Cartoons with a Conscience: Perspectives on Global Health
Rita Anne Rollins Room (860), Rollins School of Public Health

Nov. 14, 4:00-5:30 pm
The Art of Controversy: Where to Draw the Line?
Jones Room, Robert W. Woodruff Library

Nov. 15, 4:00-5:30 pm
Manga and Japanese Cartooning
Jones Room, Robert W. Woodruff Library

Nov. 15, 6:00-8:00 pm
Portraits of Power: Illustrating Political Leadership
White Hall 208

"Cartooning for Peace" is sponsored by The Claus M. Halle Institute for Global Learning. We are grateful to Dr. Raymond Schinazi for co-sponsoring the cartoons on global health issues. The Halle Institute also thanks the Hightower Fund and the following departments, programs, and diplomatic co-sponsors:

Middle Eastern and South Asian Studies, Institute of African Studies, Russian and East Asian Languages and Cultures, East Asian Studies, the Rabbi Donald A. Tam Institute for Jewish Studies, English, Art History, Political Science, and Women's Studies Departments, Candler School of Theology, Rollins School of Public Health, Alliance Française of Atlanta, Consulate General of France, Consulate General of Israel, Consulate General of Japan, Consulate General of Turkey, and Le Salon International du Dessin de Presse et D’Humour