This is Going to be the Most Powerful Monument for World Peace!

Article by Elisa A.M.Varetti 100 Miles 4 Peace, by Paul-Felix Montez; a global project in 100 locations around the world. Have you ever stopped to think how many memorial monuments there are? Every country has its own, related to some global or local tragic event that must be remembered or commemorated as our writer Nick Shannon shows us in his article Poppy Plaza: the landscape of memory and Kaila Johnson in hers article How Gordan Lederer Memorial Makes a Tragedy Beautiful. Memorial monuments remind people what happened and encourage them to hope that similar tragedies never happen again, like Alexandra Antipa shows us in her article How A Symbol of Tragedy Can Encourage People to Look into the Future.   “But what if people were taught how many men and women stood up for global peace in the past?“   Unfortunately, we all know human history is going to repeat itself, we have learned that at school since we were children. But what if people were taught how many men and women stood up for global peace in the past? Couldn’t global peace knowledge and culture be the most powerful elements to really fight tragic events? And what would you say if I told you that artist Paul-Felix Montez is close to making it happen with his 100 Miles 4 Peace project?

Global Peace Needs a Global Monument This peace monument is a simple project, aiming to involve people with the peace process thanks to an art installation located in only 100 places around the world. The project, created by artist Paul-Felix Montez, combines old and new technologies to interconnect and touch peoples’ lives, globally, and to teach them about peace makers. 100 Miles 4 Peace is about peace makers! The title refers to the main characteristic of the project: 100 installations, each one of them one mile in length, composed of 250 bronze plaques celebrating peace makers and located in 100 different locations across the globe. A sort of Hollywood Walk of Fame but for peace makers, celebrating them and their achievements. Elementary, Watson: a Simple Design can Produce a Great Effect As a unique installation, this monument will have some similarities in each of the 100 locations where it is installed. Thus, referring to the number of bronze plaques – 250 – the dimensions and distances between them are standardized in order to follow the “Art of Discovery” principles. Apart from this, each artwork will have its own local flavor as conceived by the designers installing it. In this way each one of them will be different but similar, increasing curiosity among people. Each plaque commemorates a peace maker and their method and is characterized by the new, pro-active, “make peace” symbol, designed by Paul-Felix Montez and Stan Goldin. A plaque can be installed in existing places as well as in new ones, in 10 working days, by a local contractor. Each installation is provided in the language of the place where it’s located, allowing local people to interact with it without any barriers. Locations are Limited so Hurry up! The most amazing thing is that this is a limited art installation. Thus meaning that it will be located in only 100 locations. It doesn’t matter whether they are in big or small towns, parks, colleges, streets, existing or new places, except that they are located around the world in order to make it a global project to help spread the Global Peace Movement. Different countries have already started promoting their One Mile 4 Peace monument such as the Kumara City in New Zealand, supported by ex-Prime Minister Helen Clarke. Other towns include Miami, Sydney (with the support of Zeny Edwards, Director of the United Nations Association of Australia Peace Program) and many others. As each town would like to have its own Peace Walkway monument, the available plaques will be exhausted soon, so if you are interested in participating, hurry up and contact Artist Paul-Felix Montez. “A grassroots movement begins with one person. Talk with your neighbors, your co-workers, fellow students, members of your local clubs and organizations. If you like to write, send letters to your local newspaper. Attend council meetings. Speak with your elected representatives.” Says Paul-Felix. A “You do” Monument This monument is not only a “You see” monument but it is, most of all, a “You do” one. What does that mean? It means that while walking along a Peace Walkway, people will be able to connect with their smartphones or tablets to the 100 Miles 4 Peace App and discover more information about peace makers. “The app’s facial recognition technology stores a 3D typographical data image map for each plaque, in any order and in any language, automatically bringing up the information for the specific plaque and peace maker, viewed on your device’s screen.” The app, which is free, features a great deal of content, among which is a calendar showing all peace events worldwide. People will be able to chat in real time with other visitors experiencing the walkway in other parts of the world. Following modern times, the app can interact with all social medias allowing instant uploads of photos and comments. It will also record each full mile-long walk and let people share them. Finally, the App is customized with a GPS list of all locations worldwide allowing people to travel from one to another. Just imagine how this will increase tourism in some countries! The Word is Spreading, Meaning Supporters are Increasing The Peace Walkway monument is being supported by loads of people, from foundations to government representatives (like WHO, the World Health Organization), to public speakers, journalists, actors, not to mention landscape architecture and architecture organizations (Land8, ASLA … and Landscape Architects Network too). This, meaning the project is considered a real opportunity for mankind, capable of changing its future in terms of peace making. There’s Hope for our Future The 100 Miles 4 Peace monument is an ambitious but simple project that gives hope to future generations in terms of peace making. Being global but yet limited to 100 locations, with a simple design and connected to the internet world by its own free app, makes it a great project, capable of really changing things, as its many supporters confirm. If people knew everyday what others did in the past for global peace, they would probably avoid the repetition of history and make the world a better place in which to live. Landscape architecture has a lot to say on the topic of global peace and various memorial monuments already show it in different countries, as we can learn more in Gerard de Silva’s article Could Landscape Architecture Help Rehabilitate a War-Ravaged City’s Social Fabric : Gebran Tueni Memorial, Beirut, Lebanon. Could this be the occasion for landscape architects to start a new adventure and give their contribution to this noble and challenging project? Let us know in the comments below! Go to comments

Full Project Credits For 100 Miles 4 Peace:

Project Name: 100 Miles 4 Peace/Peace Walkway Project Location: global; 100 locations around the world Team: Artist- Paul-Felix Montez, Gary Jackson Monumental Sculptures, Jason Rohan of Rohan Engineering Area: 1 mile Achievements: Ted Talks UCLA Speaker Finalist 2016 Facebook: 100 miles 4 peace Twitter: @makepeaceglobal Recommended Reading:

• Becoming an Urban Planner: A Guide to Careers in Planning and Urban Design by Michael Bayer
• Sustainable Urbanism: Urban Design With Nature by Douglas Farrs

Article by Elisa A.M.Varetti

Published in Blog