The Peace Crane Project was founded in 2013 by

Sue DiCicco Sue DiCicco (born April 28, 1959) is an American sculptor, children's book author and illustrator, and founder of Armed with the Arts and the Peace Crane Project. Career DiCicco was born in Southern California, and started in the film indust ...

, in order to promote world peace and raise awareness of the

International Day of Peace The International Day of Peace, also officially known as World Peace Day, is a United Nations-sanctioned holiday observed annually on 21 September. It is dedicated to world peace, and specifically the absence of war and violence, such as might ...

(21 September). A "peace crane" is an

origami crane The ''orizuru'' (折鶴 ''ori-'' "folded," ''tsuru'' " crane"), origami crane or paper crane, is a design that is considered to be the most classic of all Japanese origami.Jccc Origami Crane Project – Materials For Teachers & Students. MEANIN ...

used as

peace symbol A number of peace symbols have been used many ways in various cultures and contexts. The dove and olive branch was used symbolically by early Christians and then eventually became a secular peace symbol, popularized by a ''Dove'' lithograph b ...

, by reference to the story of

Sadako Sasaki was a Japanese girl who became a victim of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima by the United States. She was two years of age when the bombs were dropped and was severely irradiated. She survived for another ten years, becoming one of the most wi ...

(1943–1955), a Japanese victim of the long-term effects of the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima in 1945. Sasaki was one of the most widely known ''

hibakusha ' ( or ; or ; or ) is a word of Japanese origin generally designating the people affected by the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the United States at the end of World War II. Definition The word is Japanese, originally written i ...

'' (Japanese for "bomb-affected person"), said to have folded one thousand origami cranes before her death. The Peace Crane Project participated in the 20th Annual Sadako Peace Day, hosted by the

Nuclear Age Peace Foundation The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation (NAPF) is a non-profit, non-partisan international education and advocacy organization. Founded in 1982, NAPF is composed of individuals and organizations from all over the world. It has consultative status to the ...

in Montecito (2014). Participants in the Peace Crane Project are asked to fold an origami crane and then sign up on the website to exchange their crane with someone in a different city, state, country or continent. They are encouraged to take a photo of their crane after placing it in their community, and to upload the photo online. In

Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

, India, over sixty schools took part in the peace crane exchange in 2013. The Peace Crane Project announced a new initiative for 2017, inviting students around the world to fold a crane and include it in a traveling exhibit of 1,000 cranes which will appear at a variety of venues over the next several years. Purpose Global in 2016 included the Peace Crane Project a "list of the 500 most influential global initiatives for peace".

Ellen DeGeneres Ellen Lee DeGeneres ( ; born January 26, 1958) is an American former comedian, actress, television host, writer, and producer. She began her career in stand-up comedy in the early 1980s, gaining national attention with a 1986 appearance on '' ...

tweeted about The Peace Crane Project on Peace Day in 2019, encouraging her followers to participate.

References

{{Reflist *Masahiro Sasaki and Sue DiCicco, "The Complete Story of Sadako Sasaki" (2018)
sadakosasaki.com

External links

The Peace Crane Project Official SiteThe Complete Story of Sadako Sasaki (book)International Day of Peace Official SiteLoretto Community Peace Crane Project PageCranes 4 Peace Blog
Peace Crane Project