Note to Correspondents

CARTOON ART GOES ON SHOW AT UNITED NATIONS HEADQUARTERS, 13 MARCH

An exhibition of cartoon art from around the world, entitled “Cartoon Art for World Peace”, is on display in the Main Gallery of the Visitors’ Lobby and will be formally launched on Thursday, 13 March 2008 at 6 p.m.

The exhibition features a selection of prize-winning cartoons from the annual international competition held by the Aydın Doğan Foundation of Istanbul, Turkey, for 25 years.  Each year, more than 3,000 cartoons are entered into the competition, 300 of which are presented to an international jury.  Some of the members of the jury have included well-known cartoonists and illustrators from around the world, such as Adolf Born ( Czech Republic), Steve Brodner ( United States), Roberto Fontanarrossa ( Argentina), Anita Kunz ( Canada), Ralph Steadman ( United Kingdom) and Roland Topor ( France), among others.  To date, more than 7,200 artists of diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds representing more than 128 countries have submitted entries for this competition.

Welcoming remarks at the exhibit opening will be made by Kiyo Akasaka, Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information.  Baki İlkin, Permanent Representative of Turkey to the United Nations, will formally open the exhibit, and statements will be made by Candan Fetvacı, Chief Executive Officer of the Aydın Doğan Foundation, and Volkan Vural, Adviser to the President of the Executive Board of the Dogan Group.

The exhibition is sponsored by the Permanent Mission of Turkey to the United Nations and the Aydın Doğan Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of education, supporting media studies and promoting cultural and social advancement in Turkey.  The Foundation believes in the importance of creating awareness among nations and that the common language of the cartoon gives the opportunity to go beyond borders and bond through freedom of expression.

For more information on United Nations exhibitions, please contact Jan Arnesen at tel.: +1 212 963 8531, e-mail: arnesen@un.org; or Liza Wichmann at tel.: +1 212 963-0089, e-mail: wichmann@un.org.

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For information media • not an official record