2 Suns Shamsaan

Shamsaaan (meaning 'two suns' in Arabic) is a South African initiated project that promotes arts and culture as a platform for dialogue and positive social change.

An inaugural project, the 2017 Shamsaan Palestine’s Children Commemorative Art calendar profiled 13 young Palestinians aged between 5 and 16 years old. Their triump over adversity is reflected through artwork, photographic portraits and life stories set against articles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child that should be protecting them. The initiative rallied international support and was translated into Italian, Turkish and Arabic, enjoying good sales in several countries.

A 2018 calendar includes messages from renowned struggle stalwart Ahmed Kathrada and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights 2009 -2014 Navi Pillay. The calendars aim to create awareness and to foster a deeper understanding of the impact on the lives of Palestinian children living under occupation. Through children’s eyes, one is able to see an alternative vision of the everyday that is brutal and filled with hardship and, simultaneously, joyous and bursting with dreams of the future.