On 6 June, Brazilian IANSA member Instituto Sou da Paz launched a Children´s Disarmament Campaign in São Paulo. The campaign is being organized jointly by several Brazilian organisations that work with children and education and are worried about the gun culture in Brazil. These organisations (Instituto Sou da Paz, Movimento Mundial Aliança pela Infância, Abrine – Associação Brasileira de Brinquedos Educativos, ABBri – Associação Brasileira de Brinquedotecas, Associação Monte Azul) make up the Working Group on Child Disarmament – part of the São Paulo Committee for Disarmament. “We recognise that we need to stop teaching Brazilians to value guns from childhood in order to build a culture of peace in Brazil,” commented Ute Creamer of the Associação Monte Azul. “The best way to talk with children about the danger of guns is through art, stories and play,” says Ute. And the Children that participated in the day’s events did just that.

Participating children created over 150 control arms self-portraits and talked to volunteers about the danger of guns. Additionally they painted squares for a huge Disarmament and Peace Quilt. The Peace and Disarmament Quilt is made of cloth squares decorated by organizations, companies, schools, and individuals that are committed to disarming Brazil. Instituto Sou da Paz will continue to collect new squares from all over Brazil until the day before the Brazilian popular referendum on prohibiting gun sales to civilians when the quilt will be displayed before the National Congress in Brasilia.

The day’s events also included the exchange of toy guns for a book produced by the Minister of Culture that tells a story about the danger of guns. The Kids walked through the “tunnel of life” where they entered by turning in a toy gun and left the tunnel with a book.

Throughout the event Instituto Sou da Paz distributed information about the national gun buy back campaign that began in June of 2003 and the Control Arms campaign. Around 100 control arms pictures were taken during the day. Beatriz Cruz, coordinator of the Insituto Sou da Paz Network for Disarmament, commented “The Children’s Disarmament Campaign is also a very effective way of raising awareness of parents about the danger of owning a gun. The parents always accompany their children and we always talk to the parents as well."

During the next few months before the referendum the organizations involved in the campaign will be organising similar events throughout Sâo Paulo to raise awareness of children and their parents about the danger of guns and move towards a culture of peace.

Contact: Heather Sutton