Change: Israel love Iran Campaign

     Today, I have a chance to listen the Ronny Edry talks. If you do not know who he is, you are not alone. I went to event without having no idea what he did, but I am interested in the issue of Middle East especially the issue of Israel and Iran country.

     Ronn Edry is just an ordinary Israeli graphic designer who live in Israel. One night in March 2012, He made a first poster (the one below) to challenge the idea of the enemy between Israel and Iran and simply posted it on facebook without realizing that what he just did would start something much bigger.  He got great responses from the online world both from Israeli and Iranian people. Then, he understood that he himself can make 'the change' that all people were waiting for. Once he had too many responses, he started a page on facebook called Israrl-Love-Iran to post all posters that he had made. And then, everything exploded. It went into the media, and he had to travel around the world and talk about this project. (I cannot possibly talk about everything that he did. But if you are interested in this, please watch his ted talk or you can look up this project at "The Peace Factor" website.)

The first poster that Ronn Edry made.

     I am in no position to talk about the issue between Iran and Israel. I have very limited knowledge about both countries, but the reason that I talk about his work here is to remind us that changes can happen from just a single regular individual (and his computer). He made the change by starting from a really tiny point which everyone can do, and not by discussing about the situation in the Middle East and creating a grand plan to change everything because that will never happen.

     My favorite quote that I remember every time I heard something like this is from Margaret Mead, an American cultural anthropologist, that 

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.

Another Campaign called "Vote Peace"

PS: If you are interested in the country Israel, I just finished reading a book call Start-Up Nation written by Dan Senor and Saul Singer about the economy of Israel. The story are incredible and you will see the world with the new lens.