UNICEF USA Celebrates International Day of Peace with a Virtual Mural

In honor of International Day of Peace 2020, UNICEF UNITE Houston collaborated with Art and Resistance through Education (ARTE) to put on a workshop as part of the #CreateForUNICEF. We saw many familiar faces from our Houston community but also had participants from all over the country!

Each participant was assigned a letter upon joining the meeting. After introductions to UNICEF USA and ARTE, participants were invited to begin decorating their letters as individual contributions to our digital word mural. As participants were creating, they also listened to presentations about artivism, International Day of Peace, and youth activism. Participants were invited to learn more about current youth activists, including Greta Thunberg and Malala Yousafzai, and share what they learned with the rest of the group. Participants also listened to “Dona Nobis Pacem” as performed by the International Voices of Houston, a diverse choir comprised of a group of over 130 singers, hailing from 35 countries and speaking some 40 languages. 

Upon completion of their letters, participants submitted their creations to UNICEF USA staff who combined all of the submissions into a digital word art mural. The final digital word mural was produced with the help of ARTE and is attached below.

This event brought peace, joy, and positivity to all those who attended. We hope that this participation in #CreateForUNICEF will inspire others to participate to the creation of positive messages for children around the world.

These creative expression workshops empower young people to create 'ARTivisms' and make a difference in the world. The UNICEF UNITE program offers many such grassroot civic engagement opportunities to young activists across the United States. Specifically, UNICEF UNITE aims to strengthen advocacy skills and empower UNITERs to build communities to rally for vulnerable children all over the world.