11eleven - celebrating global diversity

It was the dream of a girl – a dream to work for global peace in whatever ways she can. And that gave birth to a unique idea, that of celebrating global diversity through a project that shall encompass the entire globe. When Danielle Lauren came up with an idea, it was the idea of one person. But as she started working on it, with the conviction that the world really is a beautiful mixture of cultures and a realization of this beauty can bring us all together, she was able to bring together an international team of bloggers, social activists, translators and web designers. Today, her idea is on the very brink of realization.

11eleven project is a unique venture in that it tries to show us a different dimension of globalization – a face that is not menacing or threatening but one that depicts how the world is connected together in a conglomeration of different cultures and languages, each of them equally beautiful and enchanting. On a single day, Nov 11, 2011, the day when the date is to be spelled as 11/11/11, bloggers, photographers, film-makers, tweeters and social activists will come together on a platform to share their ideas; their views of how the world looks like from where they see it; what beauty the sounds spill from where they hear it; what truth the words which they pen contains; and finally, how this mosaic of inter-twining perspectives brings out the true connection that we all share, no matter where we are placed on a map.

The ‘about’ section on the official website well sums up the idea behind this project:

“We want to plant a seed of compassion in the world and allow people all over the planet to gain a perspective of this crazy rock that we all live on. Are people from different parts of the world really that different? Different cultures may have different traditions, but we’re pretty sure a teacher inMadagascaris trying to achieve the same as a teacher in theUSA, or a Muslim father wants the same for his children as a Jewish father! We want this to be used as a time capsule for people to look back on and see how the world was in 2011. We’re looking for truthful stories from people around the globe that will give us a clear idea of how it is to live where you do, something that news channels or other programs miss out on.”

The best part about the project is that if you wish to participate in it, you are not constrained by language barriers. Write in whatever language you may deem fit, be it English, Urdu, Punjabi or any of the thousands of other languages. The team at 11eleven claims that it has a team of international translators that is all set to handle this multitude and craft it into a semblance of a single, global narrative.

With a few days to the project, thousands of people are already on the list, actively participating in the project and furthering the word. 11eleven has partnered with a number of international not-for-profit organizations such as Global Voices to let the world know about it. You also stand a chance for your artwork to be introduced to a global audience through a number of publications such as Marie Claire Magazine.

The topics for the submissions are: Beginnings; Make A Wish; Play; Courage; Routine; Beauty; Water; Darkness; Faith; Heartbreak and Love. You will have one day, Nov 11, 2011, complete with its 24 hours to submit artworks from any of the categories about the topics listed above. The bloggers are to blog about “How I wish the world will be in 100 years”.

I feel particularly excited about this event because in it, I see a chance of showing the world what Pakistan truly is – that behind the glaring headlines of terrorists attacks and war against terrorism, we are people just like any other people; that we share similar joys, sorrows, similar routines, similar love for art and a similar compassion for humanity like any other in the world; that Pakistan is as culturally rich as any other region in the world. I believe that here, now, is an opportunity for us to tell the world who we really are and weave our colors in an international narrative. And to say out loud that we are a nation that loves peace and humanity.

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