What People Are Saying

Picturing 7 Billion, The New York Times, October 31, 2011

Hakan Altinay, What Would You Say to the Unborn 7 Billionth Human Being?, Radikal, November 30, 2010

Donna Doherty, Good Question: Global Interactive Exhibit Asks What Does the World’s 7 Billionth Person Need to Know New Haven Register, Sunday, October 3, 2010

Betsy Yagla, Artists Send a Message to the World’s Seven Billionth Person New Haven Advocate, September 28, 2010

Jessica Shor, Project asks: What would you say to the world’s seven billionth baby? Yale Daily News, September 27, 2010

Claudia Lopez, Este año nacerá el habitante 7.000 millones ¿Qué le diremos sobre el mundo en el que vivirá? Un Periodico, July 2010

Richard Emblin, Who’s Counting? The City Paper (Bogota, Colombia), July 2010

Hakan Altinay, A Global Civics: Necessary? Feasible?, Global Policy, June 30, 2010

Hakan Altinay, The Case for Global Civics, Brookings Institute, March 10, 2010

Hakan Altinay, 1000 Days to the 7 Billionth Human: What Do We Tell Her? Huffington Post, October 23, 2009

About:

Who are we?

We are Beluma Arts, a New Haven-based community group focused on creating, supporting and promoting participatory public art projects. From 2009-2011 we were devoted to the realization of the 7 Billionth Person Project.

It was through this Project that we aimed to start a conversation about the current state of the world. In all it's joy, and all it's pain. By collecting thoughts, images, questions, songs and blessings from around the world -- for the 7 billionth person -- we challenged people to think beyond the personal, to the global.

Started in partnership with the Yale World Fellows Program in the fall of 2009, the project emerged from conversations around the responsibilities we each have to our fellow human beings -- and about a new concept: global civics. What would it mean if each of us started to think of ourselves as "global citizens"? How do we build a sense of community that extends beyond neighborhoods, national boundaries, languages?

We've already collected more than 200 answers of all mediums from more than 30 countries. And we've hosted two large scale events. Our official launch was in July of 2009 in Bogota, Colombia. In the fall of 2010, we put on a large-scale, participatory exhibition in New Haven, Connecticut, USA. In the spring of 2011, we brought the project to Sri Lanka. While we do not have plans for additional exhibitions, we continue to welcome your online submissions: http://www.7billionthpersonproject.org/submit

Cheers!

belumaarts.org