Workshop 4 | All Ages | Fly a kite for peace
In Afghanistan, where flying kites has great cultural significance, the perfect kite-flying weather also provides perfect conditions for the drones, whose bombs have left children fearful when they play. Afghan Peace Volunteers began Fly Kites Not Drones as a nonviolent way to call for peace.
In 2011 in Gaza, where war, violence and conflict are never far away, 13,000 children taking part in a summer camp broke the world record for the number of people flying kites at the same time.The flying of kites is a statement of hope in the face of violence and fear; it is a sign of peace.
So make your own kite and send your message of hope for peace into the skies…
Making your kite
Kites can be bought in the shops, but if you make your own you can design it to be really yours.
We have included two sets of instructions for making a kite. In the printed pack, we have guidance in making a ‘sled kite’, which we have found to be very reliable.
We have also now added instructions for Afghan kite-making provided by Afghan Peace Volunteers, including the video of Gulamai demonstrating how to do it.
Alternatively, there are many excellent sets of instructions and video guides for kite making that can be found online. You can also order child-friendly kite kits ready to assemble from Kites for Schools (www.kitesforschools.co.uk).
We encourage young people to write their message of peace on the kite before they fly it.
When should you fly your kites?
Fly them any time, but there are several dates in the year when it might be most appropriate:
March 21: Afghan New Year (Nao Roz)
June 4: International Day for Children as Victims of War
September 21: UN International Day of Peace
November 20: Universal Children’s Day
December 10: Human Rights Day
Send up a wish
If you have done Workshop 1, you’ll know that in Afghanistan people believe a wish sent up with a kite can come true. Young people’s wishes can be written on the kites. Ask the group
to think about their hopes for peace, for children who suffer with war and violence or for the world they would like to grow up in. These could link to The UN Convention on the Rights of The Child (see Workshop 1).
If you are feeling ambitious, find a thin 25cm long piece of paper and write your wish on it.
When the kite is flying and the string is taut, tie the paper around the string and watch the
wish climb the string!
Share your kites with the world
How can you spread the children’s message of peace?
Take photos of the children and their kites; share them on Facebook (www.facebook.com/
flykitesnotdrones) or Twitter (@kitesnotdrones, #flykitesnotdrones) with others around the
world who are also flying kites for peace.
Send a story of your pupils’ hopes for peace to the local newspaper.
Follow-up ideas
What makes a kite fly?
Explore the science of the four forces that act on a kite:
gravity, lift, thrust (or pull for a kite) and drag.
Design a kite!
Using the internet, research different types of kite used
around the world. Choose your favourite styles.
Look at the instructions for a sled kite included in Fly
Kites Not Drones. Prepare your own design.
Write a kite poem
Listen to the song, We All live under the Same Blue Sky
Taking the title, “We all live under the same blue sky”, write a poem where every line starts
with the words “We all…”.
This could be set to music, or when the words are ready, draw an outline of a kite and write the poem inside, making a ‘shape poem’.
