Palestinian Students Unite to Form Dove of Peace

On 25 November, 2011 around one thousand students from United Nations schools across Palestine gathered to send a message of peace to the world by creating a human sculpture of Pablo Picasso’s Dove of Peace.

Directed by British aerial artist John Quigley, the children sat single file to create the outline of this symbol of peace at the foot of the Mount of Temptation, an area in the West Bank city of Jericho that has seen much conflict and international dispute in the past.

However, today it is a site of peace and unity as students of schools run by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East work together on an initiative by the Peace on Earth project.

From an aerial perspective, the outline of a dove complete with olive branch in its beak could clearly be seen, along with the words “love all”. This is the image of a dove that was popularised by artist Pablo Picasso in 1949.

Quigley is renowned for his environmentally and socially relevant aerial artworks and jumped at the chance to work on the Dove of Peace:

“Wherever there is conflict I feel there are things we can do to bring people together … I work with large crowd of people to create images on landscapes for social and environmental issues.

Of the chosen location:

“If anyplace needs more love, it is this place and these people … (The children) want a future and this is a way to involve them in speaking to the world.”

“These kids are planting seeds of peace into the heart of the Middle East conflict. They deserve the kind of positive future we wish for all children”.

A Christmas concert will follow this Peace on Earth project on Christmas Day in Bethlehem Square.