Editorial Cartooning · Press Freedom · Cartooning for Peace
Cartooning for Peace Celebrates 20 Years
Cartooning for Peace marked its 20th anniversary in 2026, two decades after the international network grew from an initiative led by French cartoonist Plantu and former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
Founded in 2006, the organisation brings together editorial cartoonists from around the world and works around freedom of expression, press freedom, human rights and the role of political cartooning in public debate.
Twenty Years
From a United Nations meeting to an international network
Cartooning for Peace was established in 2006 after a meeting at United Nations headquarters in New York brought together twelve international editorial cartoonists around the conference Unlearning Intolerance.
Since then, the network has used exhibitions, publications, education and advocacy to support editorial cartooning and to draw attention to threats faced by cartoonists around the world.
Editorial Cartooning Today
The medium has changed less than the world around it
The way cartoons circulate has changed dramatically in twenty years. A drawing that once appeared in a newspaper the following morning can now travel internationally within minutes, detached from its original publication and seen by readers in entirely different political and cultural contexts.
The basic mechanics of the editorial cartoon remain remarkably simple: an observation, an idea and a drawing. A cartoon does not need to supply an answer. Often its value lies in making an uncomfortable question difficult to ignore.
Cartooning for Peace — 20 years in images
Paris · September 24, 2026
Démocratie sous pression : dessiner pour résister
The 20th anniversary was marked at the Théâtre de la Concorde in Paris with « Démocratie sous pression : dessiner pour résister » — Democracy Under Pressure: Drawing to Resist.
The evening brought editorial cartooning into a wider discussion about pressure on the media, disinformation, freedom of information and contemporary democratic life, with debates, encounters and live drawing involving cartoonists from the Cartooning for Peace network and representatives of organisations working in journalism and human rights.
Participants included cartoonists from France, Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Israel, the United States and Côte d’Ivoire, reflecting the international character of the network.
Freedom to Draw
An anniversary with a serious context
The anniversary also drew attention to cartoonists working under direct pressure. The Paris programme paid tribute to Ashraf Omar of Egypt and Al-Hazza of Saudi Arabia, both imprisoned, and to Russian cartoonist Semyon Skrepetsky, who was killed in June 2026.
Palestinian cartoonist Safaa Odah, a member of Cartooning for Peace, was also recognised. In 2026 she received the Kofi Annan Courage in Cartooning Award and, after a long period in Gaza, was able to reach France for an artist residency.
Publication
Défendons la démocratie !
The anniversary also coincided with Défendons la démocratie !, published by Éditions de La Martinière under the direction of Cartooning for Peace.
The book brings together 150 editorial cartoons from around the world alongside essays on democracy, journalism, human rights and political pressure.
My Contribution
A cartoon for the 20th anniversary
I created the cartoon shown above for Cartooning for Peace’s 20th anniversary. It was also included among the drawings shown at the Théâtre de la Concorde event in Paris.
Editorial cartooning has been part of my professional work for many years alongside illustration, comics and visual communication.
Editorial cartooning and visual commentary
For editorial illustration, political cartooning or visual commentary commissions, send me a brief outline of the subject, publication and deadline.
