The Peace through Art Exhibition in Erbil was the outcome of an initiative by Blumont/IRD’s Community Cohesion in Duhok (CCD) program. The program seeks to improve social cohesion between displaced people living in non-camp settings and host communities in Duhok governorate.
To ensure that the program leads to long-term capacity building, Blumont/IRD has adopted a skills-transfer/learning-by-doing approach. A unique element of the program is its efforts to go beyond traditional capacity building by designing and implementing a series of activities with local NGOs. These activities act as real life examples and practical applications of skills acquired through the program’s capacity development initiatives.
With supervision, guidance and support from Blumont/IRD, a local NGO conducted Peace through Art workshops for 180 university students. The workshop topics included peacebuilding, coexistence and peace through art. At the end of the activity, Blumont/IRD held a large art exhibition in Erbil governorate to present 90 paintings and hundreds of sketches and watercolor paintings to government officials, international NGOs, local NGOs and the public.
The event started with an opening ceremony attended by various governmental representatives including; the Governor of Erbil, a German diplomat, representatives of the British consulate in Erbil, and parliament members. Also in attendance were University of Kurdistan Erbil students, representatives from international and local NGOs, local artists and intellectuals. The event was broadcast live by Kurdistan satellite TV, Rudaw, K24 and local media. During the opening ceremony, several speeches were delivered by the Blumont/IRD country director, the Governor of Erbil, a German diplomat, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) program manager, the trainer and the trainees.
The Governor of Erbil giving a speech.
A total of approximately 120 people attended the exhibition. Of note, 96% of the interviewed attendees believed that such projects contribute to spreading peaceful ideas and improving community cohesion by expressing optimism in paintings; 92% suggested other ideas on spreading peace and community cohesion through art; 15% suggested holding similar projects in other cities and especially in rural areas; 62% recommended making documentary movies, public plays, poems, stories, music, dancing, marathons for peace, festivals or making sculptures; and all interviewed attendees emphasized the necessity of implementing similar projects across different areas of the country. Additionally, 8% of attendees suggested organizing sports activities to teach beneficiaries democratic principles and coexistence.
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