Homepage Bebo newsroom

GLOBAL DESIGN COMPETITION TO CREATE NEW SYMBOL OF PEACE

Announcement posted by Bebo 22 Sep 2009

Bebo launches global initiative to picture peace – winner to unveil their design at Global Symposium of Peaceful Nations in Washington DC

To mark the International Day of Peace and further encourage young people to start thinking about peace, Bebo has partnered with Vision of Humanity to launch ‘Peace is Breaking Out’ – a global competition for the design community and those passionate about contributing to the peace process to create a picture of what peace means to them in the form of a new international peace symbol, or logo (www.bebo.com/peace). The winner will receive a trip to Washington, DC, where their design will be unveiled at the Global Symposium of Peaceful Nations being held in November, 2009.

Bebo is a community that is regularly harnessed by young people to engage in positive social action initiatives and is a natural platform for them to express their views about peace through the sharing of ideas and healthy debate.

Dr Rachel O’Connell, Chief Safety Officer, Bebo said: “There is a growing recognition amongst young people of their own personal responsibility to be the change they wish to see in the world. Symbols remain a powerful means of communication and are very often steeped in meaning. We believe that this   initiative could prove very powerful in terms of helping to mobilise young people to think more carefully about what they can do to bring about a more peaceful existence, either for themselves or for those around them.”

“We expect the activity on Bebo's Peace hub to reflect the appetite for positive social change amongst this group and are using the International Day of Peace to signal a call to action to our users to create a peace symbol, imbued with meaning, for a new generation of peace ambassadors.”

Steve Killelea, founder of Vision of Humanity, said: “The world has changed dramatically in recent decades and with it, so too, has our concept of peace. 

However, the commonly used symbols of peace have not changed with the times and this is something we wish to address through the ‘Peace is Breaking Out’ competition.”

“We are looking for a design that will resonate with a global audience and is a visual representation of a more harmonious world.”

Angelina Jolie Voted Favourite Peace Ambassador


According to a poll conducted by Bebo in the lead-up to the International Day of Peace – the annual day of ceasefire and non-violence across the globe – Angelina Jolie is the favoured celebrity peace ambassador amongst Bebo users.

The poll uncovered overwhelming support for Jolie, who captured 41 per cent of votes, outdoing global peace ambassadors Bono (18 per cent), Ewan McGregor (18 per cent) and Bob Geldof (6 per cent). Bebo users were also asked what peace meant to them personally. More than half of the respondents (52 per cent) chose ‘no war and social equality’, followed by ‘a world without violence’ (18 per cent)*.

“Over 1000 Bebo users responded to the poll, which would indicate that Jolie has earned a lot of recognition for her humanitarian work worldwide,” commented Sarah Gavin, VP Communications, AOL.

“The International Day of Peace, which was developed by non-profit organisation, Peace One Day and backed by the United Nations, has made incredible inroads by drawing attention to the need for more harmonious relationships between countries, communities and individuals. Role models for peace like Jolie do much to inspire young people to strive for a better world.”

Bebo users can login to Bebo’s peace hub (www.bebo.com/peace) for more information about Bebo’s peace initiatives and partnerships and to find out what schemes and events are taking place in their local area.

~ Ends ~

Notes to Editors:

About Bebo

Bebo is your life online. It is a social experience the helps you discover what's going on with your world and helps the world discover what’s going on with you. Bebo has more than 22 million** unique visitors worldwide and on the days that they use Bebo, they spend an average of 22* minutes on the site.

Bebo, Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of AOL LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Time Warner Inc. (NYSE:TWX).

Source for metrics data in this release:

* Internal data

** comScore Media Metrix July 2009

Twitter:

www.twitter.com/bebo_fodder

www.twitter.com/AOLBebo

Flickr:

www.flickr.com/photos/aolpeoplenetworks

About Vision of Humanity

Vision of Humanity groups together a number of interrelated initiatives focused on global peace.  It brings a strategic approach to raising the world’s attention and awareness around the importance of peacefulness to humanity’s survival in the 21st century.

It is impossible to accurately portray the devastating effects that global challenges such as climate change, lack of fresh water, ever decreasing bio-diversity and overpopulation, will have on all nations unless global unified action is taken.  These global challenges call for global solutions and these solutions will require co-operation on a global scale unparalleled in history.

Peace is the essential prerequisite because without peace we will be unable to achieve the levels of co-operation, inclusiveness and social equity necessary to solve these challenges, let alone empower the international institutions needed to regulate them.

Vision of Humanity is a strong proponent of the need to further study, advocate and act on peace. It is a collaborative enterprise bringing together a group of initiatives which enjoy the support of a wide range of philanthropists, business people, politicians, religious leaders and intellectuals.