Oberried, Germany. A social and artistic initiative of the World Child Forum.
What if all the children in the world were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize? This question was posed by Bernhard Hanel, artist, entrepreneur, and initiator of the World Child Forum, on a summer’s day in Stockholm. His argument is that children are natural peacemakers. If you examine decisions by asking whether they are in the best interests of children, the answer will always point towards peace.
The important thing to note is that all children, all two billion of them, would receive the Nobel Prize. Not only those who grow up in privileged circumstances, but also those who go hungry, work, and are forced to remain silent. Even those who do not go to school and those who are injured and killed in wars. According to Hanel, children’s peacemaking is reason enough to nominate them for the prize and thus show recognition and respect. The possibility of awarding children the Nobel Peace Prize raises the question: What kind of world do we want to create for children? Hanel speaks of a world in which every child can develop their potential. Stability and security are essential conditions for this. Only under these conditions can childlike qualities such as curiosity, playfulness, and imagination flourish. It is not just a matter of children being the future of humanity, the next generation. Children are also the present. And this present is exhausted, according to Hanel. To ensure that tomorrow does not become a tired continuation of today, we need a world in which children can retain their liveliness and imagination.
The initiative is supported by the World Child Forum, a complementary movement to the World Economic Forum in Davos. While the World Economic Forum discusses numbers, the World Child Forum explores imagination and play. It is not about competition, but about cooperation. One forum measures success. The other measures possibilities. By December 10, the day the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded, the initiative aims to establish a global network and then submit the proposal to nominate all children for next year to the committee. Ultimately, it is not about whether the committee will follow up on the proposal. What is important above all is to send a public signal calling for a return to the simplest yardstick in the world amid the complicated complexities of politics and economics: the welfare of children.
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Translation Charles Cross
Photo Jon Tyson
