Drawing to Resist: Cartooning for Peace Marks 20 Years in Paris
Drawing to Resist
Twenty years after Kofi Annan and Plantu helped launch the network, cartoonists gathered in Paris for a public drawing, debates on democracy and a new collection bringing together 150 editorial cartoons from around the world.
Twenty years after Kofi Annan and Plantu helped launch an international network around editorial cartooning, Cartooning for Peace returned to the question that shaped its beginnings: what can a drawing do when public debate itself is under pressure?
The anniversary was marked in Paris on September 24 with a giant collective fresco outside the Hôtel de Ville and an evening at the Théâtre de la Concorde under the title Democracy Under Pressure: Drawing as a Form of Resistance. A day later, Éditions de La Martinière published Défendons la démocratie !, a new volume bringing together 150 editorial cartoons.
From 2006 to a global network
Cartooning for Peace was created in 2006 from an initiative shared by former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan and French editorial cartoonist Plantu.
Its formation followed the international controversy surrounding cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad and grew from the idea that editorial cartooning could provide a space for debate across political, cultural and religious divides.
Two decades later, the organisation describes a network of 374 cartoonists in 80 countries. Its activities now combine exhibitions and publications with education, advocacy and support for cartoonists facing threats.
In his anniversary message, Cartooning for Peace president Kak said the organisation’s exhibitions and publications have reached more than six million students through material dealing with human rights and freedom of expression. Nearly 50,000 students have participated directly in workshops with editorial cartoonists.
Democracy under pressure
The anniversary continued at the Théâtre de la Concorde with an evening of discussions, encounters and live drawing. Plantu served as patron of the event, which was hosted by Kak and ARTE senior reporter Vladimir Vasak.
Participating cartoonists included Chappatte, Liza Donnelly, Kak, Kichka, Kroll, Landschulz, Marie Morelle, Mykaïa, Piet, Plantu, Lars Refn, Rodho, Sié, Truant, Urbs, Vadot, Yas and Zohoré.
Cartoonists were joined by representatives from organisations working on journalism, human rights and democracy, including Reporters Without Borders, Amnesty International France, the Fondation Jean-Jaurès and France’s National Consultative Commission on Human Rights.
Not every cartoonist could be in Paris
The anniversary also drew attention to cartoonists working under circumstances far removed from a celebration in Paris.
Palestinian cartoonist Safaa Odah, recipient of the 2026 Kofi Annan Courage in Cartooning Award, was also given special recognition. After leaving Gaza, Odah arrived in France in August and joined an artist residency in Angoulême through the PAUSE programme.
Their stories placed the anniversary in the context of the conditions under which editorial cartoonists continue to work — including imprisonment, censorship, threats and violence.
Twenty years later
In his anniversary message, Cartooning for Peace president Kak looked back at a media landscape transformed by declining newspaper readership, social networks and new forms of disinformation.
Défendons la démocratie !
The anniversary also brought a new book. Published by Éditions de La Martinière, Défendons la démocratie ! brings together 150 editorial cartoons from around the world, addressing democracy, freedom of expression and contemporary political and social pressures.
The 192-page volume combines cartoons with contributions from Gilles Finchelstein, Sylvie Kauffmann, Magali Lafourcade, Thibaut Bruttin and Paula Forteza, together with an afterword by Amnesty International.
The cover illustration is by Norwegian-Turkish cartoonist Firuz Kutal.
Browse the book
Interactive preview · Éditions de La MartinièreIf the reader does not load, open the publication on Calaméo .
Twenty years later
The environment in which editorial cartoons circulate has changed radically since 2006. Newspaper audiences have contracted, images cross borders almost instantly through social platforms, and the same drawing can enter several political and cultural contexts at once.
Cartooning for Peace has changed with that landscape. What began around a meeting of cartoonists has developed into a network combining drawing with education, advocacy and support for cartoonists at risk.
The Paris anniversary brought those strands together: public drawing outside the Hôtel de Ville, debate at the Théâtre de la Concorde, attention to colleagues facing imprisonment or threats, and a new collection of 150 cartoons.
Twenty years on, the message remains concise: drawing to resist.
