“In our busy lives as educators we sometimes need to stand back and let the children experience something totally different.”
Inspiration from Coventry Young Ambassadors’ Pilot Projects
The Arts & Culture for Peace initiative grew out of the highly successful Japan-UK work undertaken initially by Coventry Young Ambassadors working with the UK-Japan team working on the Between the Stones Project.
Over three years, five Coventry primary schools with links to ASPnet studied three Japanese iconic art forms and created inter-culturally diverse artworks to raise awareness for peace and sustainability. The Coventry schools’ work included the opening, in July 2021, of the Coventry Young Ambassadors’ Japanese Peace Garden by Japan’s Ambassador to the UK and the Lord Mayor of Coventry.
Julie Saito, International Coordinator for ASPnet also sent a message to the Coventry Young Ambassadors congratulating them on their work and indicating that she hoped their work would sow future seeds for peace and sustainability. The new Arts & Culture for Peace Initiative is part of that ‘seed planting’.
Coventry International City of Peace
Key Strengths of the Pilot Projects
The significant ‘peace’ content of the projects
Projects built on the children’s growing understanding of the history of their city and its tradition of promoting peace and reconciliation
Sharing peace initiatives and benefits with, and for, the local community at specific peace-related events:
The 100th anniversary of Armistice Day and the end of World War 1
Hiroshima Day
Opening of their Japanese Peace Garden, which is sustainable, free and open 365 days of the year for all the people of Coventry and its visitors to enjoy.
Inter-cultural learning and heritage - working with international artists and contributing to the Between the Stones project