CRNI (Cartoonists Rights International) and IFEX (International Freedom of Expression Exchange) have written a letter to Indian authorities calling for charges to be dropped against two Internet users over a cartoon circulated via e-mail.

Over 30 human rights groups have signed the letter, along with a number of cartoonist organizations. Cartoon Movement is one of the co-signers, and we hope this letter will influence government officials in India to take action.

El Triangle, May 2012

Carlos Villafranca (artist name Tres) is a young cartoonist from Barcelona. He draws for Catalan magazines 'El Triangle' and 'Directa' (where he also coordinates the illustration area) and participate in the collective satirical site 'El Web Negre'. You can see more of his work on his blog.

Today is the International Day of Peace, and today is also the day we launch our new project 'Reinventing Peace'. The aim of the project is to create a series of cartoons about peace in the 21st century, inspired by the visuals used by the international peace movement in the early 20th century. Keep an eye on our newsroom to see the first submissions coming in.

It is time for a new vision of peace to match the realities of today’s conflicts.

Cartoon Movement is partnering with the World Peace Foundation (part of Fletcher School of International Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University) to create a series of cartoons about peace in the 21st century, inspired by the visuals used by the international peace movement in the early 20th century:

One hundred years ago, the international peace movement believed that war between states could be definitively ended. Guided by this animating vision, advocates argued that the world needed to renounce war, to educate youth about the benefits of peace, to disarm, and to create new institutions for resolving disputes.

The outbreak of World War I in 1914 shattered such idealism. Post-war efforts to regain ground faltered in the crescendo of violence that was World War II. Nonetheless, in the postwar era, many of the instruments advocated by the peace movement were created, even if the vision for peace was dismissed as hopelessly naïve.

Today, we reap the benefits of the peace movement. Across the globe, not only are the instances of armed conflict fewer in our day than at any other point in history, but the conflicts also tend to be less lethal.

Yet, we do not live in a world at peace. War remains a reality for too many and too serious a threat to be dismissed. Further, the dominant patterns of conflict have changed: violence is more determined by non-state actors, globalized communications, commercial interests (licit or illicit), and sub-national disputes, proving remarkably intractable to the tools of conflict resolution.

To respond to today’s conflicts, we not only need new instruments and tools―we need a new vision of peace.

Our challenge is to reinvent peace for the next hundred years.

    Cartoons from the International Disarmament Notes, 1931.

On September 21st, the International Day of Peace, we will launch a newsroom asking our cartoonists translate the visuals that were used 100 years ago to the reality of the 21st century. The cartoons will be used in an exhibition at the World Peace Foundation.

All illustrations courtesy of the World Peace Foundation.

The student movement that exploded in Quebec this spring and summer was one of the most significant – but hardly reported – examples of the popular protests sweeping the globe over the last few years. Today Cartoon Movement publishes "Quebec's Not-So-Quiet Revolution", a ten page piece of comics journalism by political cartoonist and writer Ted Rall analyzing this highly organized popular movement that mainstream outlets have been eager to ignore.

Rall recently visited Montreal, where he met with organizers of the movement, which continues to expand beyond its initial concern over tuition hikes, as it prepared for a major demonstration. After the passage of the draconian Bill 78, emergency legislation that essentially outlaws large protests, hundreds of thousands took to the streets on a daily basis, and continue to hold regular large protests months later.

"A stone's throw from the U.S. is one of the biggest unreported stories around, a militant protest movement that has allied college students, the unemployed, labor, anarchists, advocates of Quebecois independence and others disenchanted with the provincial government in particular and capitalism in general," said Rall. "I appreciate the chance that Cartoon Movement gives me and other cartoonists to raise awareness of news that most outlets refuse to touch."

The student movement that exploded in Quebec this summer was yet another example of the popular protests we've seen taking place across the globe over the last few years. Political cartoonist Ted Rall recently visited Montreal, where he met with organizers of the movement, which continues to expand beyond its intial concern over tuition hikes. We'll have a full ten pages from him on Monday, September 17.

Today we run the final installment of Army Of God, the graphic novel from David Axe and Tim Hamilton on the hunt for the Lord's Resistance Army in Congo, along with an epilogue. Each chapter of the book has focused on a different group involved in the conflict; locals, missionaries, children, soldiers, diplomats. Now Axe and Hamilton focus on the efforts of UN peacekeepers working with Congolese soldiers to protect villages from LRA raids. Read Army Of God in its entirety on our project page.

 

 

 

On Monday, September 10, we will publish the final installment of Army Of God, the story of the LRA in Congo and efforts to combat them, by David Axe and Tim Hamilton that we've published over the course of the year. As with every chapter, a different aspect of the conflict will be focused on. This time, the peacekeepers from the UN who work with Congolese soldiers to protect villages and ultimately capture Kony.

Catch up on previous chapters on our AOG project page.

 

Andrea Pecchia is an Italian cartoonist, graphic designer and professional illustrator. He received technical training as a scene painter at the Teatro dell'Opera in Rome, and studied Illustration at Academy of Fine arts. To see more of his work, visit his website.