By ARIANE SHERINE - GUARDIAN.CO.UK
Added: Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:00 UTC

Thanks to LWS for the link.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2009/nov/18/atheist-bus-campaign



This week, the final phase of the atheist bus campaign will appear in London, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast – not on buses, but on billboards. Due to the amazing sums donated to the campaign fund by many Cif readers at the end of last year, we raised enough for a second wave of adverts – and the above posters will launch today.

When, in this Cif piece back in October 2008, we asked how the extra funds should be spent, one of the issues which came up repeatedly in the comments concerned the growth of of faith schools in the UK and the segregation of children according to their parents' beliefs. Many of you felt strongly that children should be given the freedom to decide which belief system they wanted to belong to, if any, and that they should not have a religion decided for them. Commenter Finite187 wrote, "A campaign against faith schools would be good as a next step," ciderpower said "You could address faith schools – religions want schools for the few, not for all" and 555555 asked, "How is this distortion of school education happening in this country?"

The atheist campaign team shared this point of view. However, rather than using adverts to try and campaign politically, we thought it would be more beneficial to try and change the current public perception that it is acceptable to label children with a religion. As Richard Dawkins states, "Nobody would seriously describe a tiny child as a 'Marxist child' or an 'Anarchist child' or a 'Post-modernist child'. Yet children are routinely labelled with the religion of their parents. We need to encourage people to think carefully before labelling any child too young to know their own opinions, and our adverts will help to do that."
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http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2009/nov/18/atheist-bus-campaign
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Thanks to weavehole for the link.
http://www.humanism.org.uk/billboards

The Billboard Campaign

What is the "Atheist Billboard Campaign"?

In the last two weeks of November 2009 billboards at four locations in the UK will display some of the labels routinely applied to children that imply beliefs, such as 'Catholic', 'Protestant', 'Muslim', 'Hindu' or 'Sikh', together with labels that people would never apply to young children such as 'Marxist', 'Anarchist', 'Socialist', 'Libertarian' or 'Humanist' (see images).

In front of the shadowy labels are happy children, with the slogan, "Please don't label me. Let me grow up and choose for myself" in the now world-famous font of the prior Atheist Bus Campaign.

The billboards are being unveiled to coincide with Universal Children's Day, 20 November, which is the United Nations 'day of worldwide fraternity and understanding between children'. Labelling children as if they innately "belong" to a particular religion, while ascribing incompatible beliefs to infants who "belong" to other religions, can only serve as an obstacle to understanding between children around the world.
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http://www.humanism.org.uk/billboards
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[UPDATE] Another good link

http://www.politics.co.uk/opinion-formers/press-releases/children-and-family/bha-from-buses-to-billboards-the-next-stage-of-the-atheist-bus-campaign-is-unveiled-for-universal-children%E2%80%99s-day-$1341311$365873.htm

BHA: From buses to billboards:

the next stage of the Atheist Bus Campaign is unveiled for Universal Children’s Day

Billboard adverts have gone up today in London, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, as the internationally renowned poster campaign which began this year on London buses launches its second phase. So much money was donated towards the campaign after the bus posters had been launched that the campaign organisers announced that any further money raised would be put towards new adverts later in the year.

"One of the issues raised again and again by donors to the campaign was the issue of children having the freedom to grow up and decide for themselves what they believe, and that we should not label children with any ideology," said Ariane Sherine, original creator of the Atheist Bus Campaign.

"I hope this poster campaign will encourage the government, media and general public to see children as individuals, free to make their own choices, and accord them the liberty and respect they deserve."

The posters display some of the labels routinely applied to children that imply beliefs such as 'Catholic', 'Protestant', 'Muslim', 'Hindu' or 'Sikh' mixed up together with labels that people would never apply to young children such as 'Marxist', 'Anarchist', 'Socialist', 'Libertarian' or 'Humanist'. In front of the shadowy labels are happy children, with the slogan, 'Please don’t label me. Let me grow up and choose for myself' in the now world-famous font of the Atheist Bus Campaign. The billboards are being unveiled to coincide with 20 November, Universal Children’s Day, which is the United Nations 'day of worldwide fraternity and understanding between children'. For images of the billboards visit this website
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Continue reading
http://www.politics.co.uk/opinion-formers/press-releases/children-and-family/bha-from-buses-to-billboards-the-next-stage-of-the-atheist-bus-campaign-is-unveiled-for-universal-children%E2%80%99s-day-$1341311$365873.htm

TAGGED: CAMPAIGNS, CHILDREN

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