The UN recently invited artists from all over the world to design a poster advocating for a world without nuclear weapons. The posters had to incorporate the whale-shaped symbol of a nuclear bomb and a dove, the universal symbol of peace.
More than 4,100 entries from 123 countries poured in, representing a vast range of cultures, histories and perspectives.
The winning design came from 38-year old Ivan Ciro Palomino Huamani from Lima, Peru. He drew a bunch of kids unraveling a massive nuclear bomb as if it were made of string and using that string to fly kites and balloons and jump rope. Meanwhile, a dove is being fashioned from leftover string and is gaining the ability to fly.
It’s a big-hearted scene, with lush, warm colors and an expansive sky. The children are tiny, but their collective desire for play is enough to dismantle the hulking weapon.
The second place poster, by Michelle Li, shows a pair of arms making a hand shadow of a soaring dove. The arms are colored like the Earth, deep blue with chunks of green, to evoke the sense that we are all of the Earth, all fostered by the Earth. Below, a broken nuclear weapon lies, suggesting that if people recognized their universal connection to Earth and each other, there would be no nuclear weapons.
The threat of nuclear warfare used to be prominent in the global imagination, but this fear receded when nuclear-strapped nations stopped clashing at the end of the Cold War.
While it’s good to not live in constant fear, the sense of complacency that surfaced belies the state of nuclear weapons and their abundance around the world.
Humanity can never truly be safe if these weapons of unimaginable destruction still slumber in guarded chambers.
There are more than 15,800 nukes around the world.
The US has by far the biggest stockpile, but other countries with arsenals include Russia, China, Britain, France, India and Pakistan. Israel is also widely believed to have an arsenal and North Korea is thought to have some weapons, but may lack delivery capability. And then of course there is the ongoing negotiations around Iran’s nuclear research.
For global peace to be achieved, all these weapons have to be retired and taken apart.
The only way that will happen is if ordinary people everywhere pressure leaders to take action.
The UN’s poster challenge is a great way to inspire people to get involved.
Check out the rest of the winners below:
Anjali Chandrashekar - US - Third place
Nadia Anthouli - Greece - Honorable mention
Sylwia Kuran - United Kingdom - Honorable mention
Jorge Malo - Spain - Honorable mention
Lijang Sun - China - Honorable mention
Jixin Wang - China - Honorable mention
Kazem Bokaei - Iran - Honorable mention
Anjali Chandrashekar - US - Honorable mention
Roberto Losada Maestre - Spain - Honorable mention
Kumi Nakazato - Japan - Honorable mention
