Non-violent municipalities: Participate to the celebration of the national day of Non-violence on October 2 nd 2018 and conduct Peace awareness program Background: On the initiative of AUNOHR, a ministerial Decree 7/2016 on date of 13/10/2016 was issued and declaring the October 2 nd as the Lebanese National Day of Non-Violence. Previously, the United Nations stated October 2 nd as the International Day of Non-Violence in the United Nations General Assembly A/RES/61/271 resolution on date of June 15, 2007. A current parallel project is aiming at steering a national-international event on October 2, 2018, to celebrate AUNOHR university and the International Day of Non-Violence and to unveil in a first Arab capital, Beirut, an edition of the universal "sculpture of non-violence, in collaboration with the world Foundation the Non-Violence Project foundation (NVP). This edition is a bronze copy of the original one (Length 170 cm, Height: 117 cm, Width: 62 cm). The event will be followed by an education and awareness program. The purpose of these programs is to assist young people to identify the importance of a healthy self-esteem, use conflict management skills to solve problems and learn how to act in a peaceful and non-violent way. They are designed to suit school lectures and sports training sessions in sports clubs. The program helps young people to understand themselves, their friends, and the adults in their lives, and to come up with peaceful solutions to problems that are more likely to work for everyone. Main Objective Participate to the celebration of the national day of Non-violence on October 2 nd 2018 and conduct a peace education and awareness program Specific Objectives 1. Unveil in a first Arab capital, Beirut, an edition of the universal "sculpture of non-violence, 2. Unveil in the 5 other regions (Mouhafazat) than Beirut 5 Artistically Painted Fiberglass replicas (Length 100 cm) of the universal "sculpture of non-violence to be put in 5 selected municipalities. Each of the 5 sculptures will be designed differently (total 5), 3. Distribute a 19cm replica to 5 Mayors offices with the same design selected for that municipality (Total 5), 4. Keep 19cm replicas of the 5 designs at the Rotary club and AUNOHR (Total 10), 5. Several metal pins of the sculptures will be also distributed to the attending VIP of unveiling ceremonies. 6. Conduct peace education and awareness programs in schools and sports clubs in each of the selected municipalities
We will strive together to make the 2 nd of October a civilized event for Lebanon and the world, and a distinctive mark in the current particular circumstances; we are pleased to cooperate to make it a success. Having the "sculpture of non-violence in the heart of Beirut is a humane and national initiative from all of us. The idea is to convey the message: No to violence, yes to civil peace, yes to the culture of non-violence. Several local, regional and international personalities, members of AUNOHR international council, Nobel-Price laureates, defenders of human rights, non violent philosophers and advocate for peace and justice, will attend and support the event. All together, we will send from Beirut and the AUNOHR University a strong vibrant message and an animated wake-up call to the world. The ministerial Decree 7/2016 on date of 13/10/2016 that was issued to declare the October 2 nd as the Lebanese National Day of Non-Violence
THE NON-VIOLENCE SCULPTURE In 1980 Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd created an artwork, known as Non-violence or The knotted gun. After the artist learned that his friend, John Lennon, had been murdered, he became so upset and angry over this senseless death and the many other outbursts of unnecessary violence that he went to his studio and started working on the non-violence sculpture. The Swedish artist produced different variations of the piece, the most famous being the sculpture installed in 1985 in Malmö - Sweden. It consists of a large replica in bronze of a 45-calibre revolver, the barrel of which is tied into a knot. The gun is cocked, but the knot makes it clear that IT WILL NOT SHOOT. Replicas of the sculpture have been installed in many countries since then, one being in New York - USA at the Grounds of the United Nations. It was one of the first three versions of the sculpture, bought by the Luxembourg government and offered to the UN in 1988. 1 st statue, Malmö - Sweden 1 st International location, UN - New York UN - New UN - New
Musée Olympique de Lausanne The Knotted Gun at a park in Beijing, China, 2010. Stamp from Sweden Promoting Non-Violence
THE ARTIST CREATOR of the KNOTTED GUN SCULPTURE CARL FREDRIK REUTERSWÄRD 2006 1963 Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd (born 1934, died 2016), is a Swedish painter, sculptor and peace creator. 2012 He studied with Fernand Léger in Paris 1951 and was a professor of painting at The Academy of Fine Arts in Stockholm 1965-1969. In 1974 he was a guest professor at Minneapolis School of Art, Minnesota. Reuterswärd is known for his sculpture showing a revolver tied in a knot (1980), called The Non-violence Statue, on display outside the United Nations headquarters in New York since 1988. The first Non-Violence statue was in Malmö Sweden, the second at the UN in New York and then the same work has been implemented in Berlin, Stockholm, Gothenburg, Borås, Caen, Cape Town, Luxembourg, Mexico, Lausanne, UK, Greece, Brazil, China, Japan... The Reuterswärd sculpture, a bronze sculpture, called Take Care of the Earth, was donated by the sculptor in 2010 and inaugurated in Borås, Sweden, in November 2011.
Examples of already existing Artistically Painted Fiberglass replicas 4 Yoko Ono in her studio in New York with her sculpture design The Knotted Gun sculpture designed by the Ex Beatle Ringo Starr
Sculpture by Muhammad Ali who was announced by the Non Violence Project Foundation (NVP) as Honorary Peace and Non Violence Ambassador in December 2012. Anahi, Mexico, music
Michael Ballack, Germany, football Gianluigi Buffon, Italy, football
Jose Gomez, Mexico, schoolchildren Ivald Granato, Brazil, artist
Dustin Johnson, USA, golf Nat Thamrongpittayanan, Thailand, artist
Apelgårdskolan, Sweden, schoolchildren Robin Söderling / Ernst Billgren, Sweden, tennis / artist
Magda Sayeg, (Lebanese USA), urban knitting or graffiti (yarn bombing)
Vazquez Sounds, Mexico, music Carolina Gynning, Sweden, artist
Nakakooza Martha, Uganda, school pupils Paul McCartney, UK, music
Wu Mingzhong, Kenya, artist Jonas Åkerlund, Sweden, producer Nico Rosberg, Formula One
THE NON-VIOLENCE PROJECT FOUNDATION, NVP The Non-Violence Project Foundation, (NVP) is a non-profit international organization based on ideas of the power of knowledge and the culture of non-violence, with the mission to inspire, engage and motivate young people and educators to understand how to solve conflicts without resorting to violence. The objective is to reach out to as many schools and sport clubs around the world as possible; (registered in Switzerland in 1993) M O R E T H A N 2 0 Y E A R S O F E D U C A T I O N A L O U T R E A CH NVP has a strong track record having educated and trained 8 million children, youth, teachers and sport coaches around the world. The educational programs cover topics such as conflict management, violence prevention, self-esteem, multi-cultural differences, bullying, leadership, creativity and youth entrepreneurship. The beginning of the new millennium saw changes and new developments of these educational programs for schools and the sports community. The focus on sports proved successful and later projects such as the Knot Violence Campaign aimed at young football players around the world, and Futbol for Peace during FIFA World Cup in South Africa 2010, were introduced to further the outreach of NVP concept. The present campaign Imagine One Billion Faces for Peace which emerged in 2010 as the largest call for peace ever manifested in honor of the legacy of John Lennon, 30 years after his tragic death. C I T I E S F O R P E A C E NVP vision is to connect the people of the world with one of the most recognized symbols of peace and non-violence the gun with the knotted barrel. The Non-Violence sculpture in front of the UN in New York is one of the most photographed items in the city. Today it is placed at 30 prestigious locations around the world symbolizing the cities for peace. D I S T I N G U I S H E D A W A R D S F O R B E S T P R A C T I C E NVP education programs and its outreach initiatives have won many awards for best practice. The awards include the Best Non-Profit Award by Facebook for the bold ambition to collect One Billion Faces for Peace, the President Obama's Call to Service Award, Presidential Daily Light Award received by President Bill Clinton, the Paul Harris Fellow Award given by Rotary International, the American National Safety Council Award for best practice T H E S T O R Y In the fall of 1993, somewhere in the mountains of Switzerland, the artist Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd, senior creative director and marketing professional Rolf Skjöldebrand and Jan Hellman a top ranked IKEA director at the time working with Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd s art collection, sat down for a dinner. They discussed how the sculpture Non-Violence known as one of the strongest peace symbols on the planet could be elevated into becoming a symbol for tangible non-violence initiatives. The concept was piloted in Sweden and over the next few years it grew successfully, establishing offices in Sweden, U.S., Brazil, Germany, Denmark, UK, Japan, Mexico, Greece, South Africa... Paul McCartney, Yoko Ono, Lionel Messi are, among others, ambassadors of the NVP foundation.