Klaus and Eva Herlitz
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Klaus and Eva Herlitz are german businesspeople, living in Berlin. They are married since 1972 and they have three sons.
Klaus Herlitz (born 1947 in Berlin) and Eva Herlitz (born 1952 in Solingen) are the initiators of the United Buddy Bears activities. In Berlin 2002, the idea was born to motivate as many countries acknowledged by the United Nations as possible to select an artist - with the result that more than 148 artists have designed a large Budddy Bear (2 meters tall) so far. Each bear is an artistic expression of the individual country. These bears are placed next to each other in a large circle - generally in alphabetical order - as a unique synthesis of the arts.
One important prerequisite for this international unifying project is to choose artists from the individual countries - for the circle to reflect the diversity of the cultures of "one world". The observer learns about the culture, the history, the people and the landscape of the individual countries - large or small. Hence the United Buddy Bears circle has become a platform for even the smallest and poorest countries which frequently remain unnoticed. Suddenly, they are equal to larger and often rich nations.
The circle - representing The Art of Tolerance with its symbolism of love, peace and friendship - has been presented on four continents in over 12 metropolises of this world - always in the very heart of the cities. Admission to the exhibition is always free of charge. The number of visitors has often exceeded 1 million.
As soon as a country decides to commission a new Buddy Bear, the predecessor is sold at an auction in aid of UNICEF or other child relief organizations all over the world. So far, over USD 2,000,000 (since 2002 till 2007) have been raised at auctions in various cities of the world.
[edit] Bibliography
- Herlitz, Eva and Klaus, United Buddy Bears - The Art of Tolerance. Bostelmann & Siebenhaar Publishers, 2003. ISBN 3-936962-00-6
- Herlitz, Eva and Klaus, United Buddy Bears - World Tour. NeptunArt Publisher, 2006. ISBN 3-85820-189-8
