Children Hand Over Peace Petition and Dove Sculpture to Downing Street

|TOP|In the run-up to the UN Summit on Small Arms in New York (26 June-7 July), children from a school in south London will carry a dove sculpture made from toy guns, and a peace petition signed by more than 4,000 children to 10 Downing Street today.

Run by Christian Aid's children's website globalgang.org.uk, the petition encouraged 8-12 year-olds to send a message of peace to Tony Blair and George Bush, urging them 'to do everything they can to make the world a peaceful place to live in'.

Global Gang had requested toy guns from visitors at Livesey Museum for Children, Southwark, for children to make a dove sculpture as part of a workshop in support of a petition for peace.

Children from Pilgrims Way primary school in London, where gun crime is a pressing issue, took part in the workshop. The children made a 1.5 metre (five feet) dove sculpture out of toy guns, toy soldiers, war planes and coins after watching a video about a weapons amnesty project in Mozambique.

|AD|The children’s peace dove followed the inspiration of the British Museum’s Throne of Weapons on display at the Livesey. The Throne is made of decommissioned guns from a Christian Aid-supported project in Mozambique that encourages ex-soldiers to hand in their weapons in exchange for ploughs and bicycles. The weapons get dismantled and turned into sculptures – symbols of peace.

One child that took part in the workshop said: 'Some of my friends' dads have guns and they think they're cool, but I would never get a gun.'

Pupils will hand over the petition to 10 Downing Street at 11.30am today.

Sophie Shirt, Editor of globalgang.org.uk said: “It's great to see how a successful weapons amnesty project is inspiring people all over the world, including children in London. Many children play war games and see weapons as exciting and fun. Giving away their toys can be difficult! But through this workshop they were able to exchange these symbols of war for symbols of peace and understand the dangers of real guns. With our peace petition, we wanted to give children the opportunity to both share their feelings and take action to influence decision-makers.”