Stefan Sagmeister and Matthias Ernstberger

One Voice: Middle East conflict

Grant Awarded: $35,000

OneVoice is founded on the widely accepted principle that retributive violence is not a sufficient long-term strategy for conflict resolution, as well as the firm belief that an ultimate solution must provide security, dignity, self-respect, self-determination, freedom and justice for both peoples.

The challenge faced by Stefan Sagmeister and Matthias Ernstberger of Sagmeister Inc. in New York was to develop a distinctive symbol that could tie together all the activities of OneVoice, from marches in the region to celebrity supporters on TV. Wanting to avoid traditional peace iconography, partly because much of it had already been claimed by different constituencies in the conflict, they developed a die-cut symbol that simply depicts people from different sides working together to create something beautiful.

Posters bearing the symbol were recently posted all over the region, and while the results are still unquantifiable — over and above the meaning of the die-cut symbol — the appearance of something common, something shared will set in motion a recognition of the OneVoice agenda of peace.