In order to celebrate the International Day of Freedom of the Press on the 3rd of May, the Cartooning for Peace Swiss Foundation and the City of Geneva present the 2014 Press Cartoonist Prize awarded by Cartooning for Peace Honorary President, Mr. Kofi Annan, to the Egyptian Doaa Eladl and the Palestinian Hani Abbas who lived in Syria.
The Cartooning for Peace Foundation was born in 2009 with support from the Swiss Department of Foreign Affairs and the United Nations Office at Geneva. Co-founded by the cartoonists Patrick Chappatte, Jean Plantu and former Kofi Annan spokeswoman, Marie Heuzé, the Foundation also gathers Frédéric Fritscher, Guy Mettan and Françoise Sampermans.
“Doaa, a cartoonist in Egypt, is a well-known artist in the Arab World. She has conquered a traditionally masculine bastion with her talent, choosing to fight against the touchiest issues in Egyptian society such as the condition of women and sexual harassment. […]
The glance of an artist can denounce the inexpressible. A cartoon can change a destiny. Hani Abbas, a cartoonist born in 1977 in the Palestinian camp of Yarmouk, in Syria, had this bitter experience. After having posted a cartoon on Facebook in 2012 immortalising a flower as a symbol of the Syrian rebellion, this young teacher was threatened by the Syrian secret services. Obliged to flee Syria with wife and child, Hani Abbas is now a refugee in Switzerland, where he continues to denounce the horror of a tragedy with his talent and a stripping sense of humour.” (Extracts from the press release.)
The event goes with the “Every State of War” exhibition. Cartoons about wars, civil wars and cyberwars will be displayed along the Quai Wilson until the 3rd of July. For more informations about the exhibition.
To read the press release
Discover the biographies of Doaa Eladland Hani Abbas
Download M. Kofi Annan and M. Guillaume Barazzone speeches
