The Friendship Quilt
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The Friendship Quilt
“This Friendship Quilt is intended as an anniversary gift to the United Nations from its member countries.“
The Friendship Quilt
This Friendship Quilt is intended as an anniversary gift to the United Nations from its member countries. This quilt (225 square feet, 5×5 meters) was conceived by Ludmila Bokov, President of Cultural Contacts International, a non-profit organization. A group of international volunteers were working several years on putting it together. This quilt consists of 168 national patches representing UN member states who were willing to participate in this project. All patches are as different as the countries which they represent. The countries were trying to express their national emblem, symbol, totem or flag like the Statue of Liberty for the United States, Kremlin for Russia, red toy horse for Sweden or parrot for Madagascar. The side borders bear two words “friendship” and “peace” in 6 official languages of the UN: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish. This Quilt should tell the world about all the countries that strive for peace. All these patches surround blue-n-white block with the United Nations emblem. Member countries at the UN are considered as a brotherhood of the world. Therefore Friendship was chosen as the name of this quilt.
Cultural Contacts International
Cultural Contacts International (CCI), a non-profit organization, was established in 1989 in response to growing public interest to political, social and economic changes in the Soviet Union and subsequently Russia. Its goal is to conduct a cultural exchange for Russian and American textile artists engaged in quilting.
The 1990s were especially busy for our organization due to the high demand of its programs among our audience. We hosted numerous quilters from Russia to come to the United States. We staged a number of exhibitions in different American cities.
In 1990 we launched an international quilters’ exchange program “Friendship Album”. Individuals and groups, adults and children in both countries were invited to participate in making quilts together. Russian cotton fabrics were given to American participants and American fabrics to Russians. All resulting quilts made from Russian and American calicos by children and adults signified friendship between the two nations. In both countries numerous exhibitions were organized of those quilts. In the following years we continued organizing exhibitions, teaching master classes and quilting, and organizing tours for quilter groups of both countries.
United States of America
Countries Participating
A
Afghanistan
Albania
Algeria
Andorra
Angola
Antigua and Barbuda
Argentina
Armenia
Australia
Austria
Azerbaijan
B
Bahamas
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Barbados
Belarus
Belgium
Belize
Benin
Bhutan
Bolivia (Plurinational State of)
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Botswana
Brazil
Brunei Darussalam
Bulgaria
Burkina Faso
Burundi
C
Cabo Verde
Cambodia
Cameroon
Canada
Central African Republic
Chad
Chile
China
Colombia
Congo
Costa Rica
Côte d’Ivoire
Croatia
Cuba
Cyprus
Czech Republic
D
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Denmark
Djibouti
Dominica
Dominican Republic
E
Ecuador
Egypt
El Salvador
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Estonia
Ethiopia
F
Fiji
Finland
France
G
Gabon
Gambia
Georgia
Germany
Ghana
Greece
Grenada
Guatemala
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Guyana
United Nations
Countries Participating
H
Haiti
Honduras
Hungary
I
Iceland
India
Indonesia
Iran (Islamic Republic of)
Iraq
Ireland
Israel
Italy
J
Jamaica
Japan
Jordan
K
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan
L
Lao People’s Democratic Republic
Latvia
Lebanon
Lesotho
Liberia
Libya
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
M
Madagascar
Malaysia
Maldives
Mali
Malta
Mauritania
Mauritius
Mexico
Micronesia (Federated States of)
Mongolia
Morocco
Mozambique
Myanmar
N
Namibia
Nepal
Netherlands
New Zealand
Nicaragua
Niger
Nigeria
Norway
O
Oman
P
Pakistan
Palestine
Panama
Papua New Guinea
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Q
Qatar
R
Republic of Korea
Republic of Moldova
Romania
Russian Federation
Rwanda
Russian Federation
Countries Participating
S
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Samoa
Sao Tome and Principe
Saudi Arabia
Senegal
Serbia
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Slovakia
Slovenia
Solomon Islands
Somalia
South Africa
Spain
Sri Lanka
Sudan
Suriname
Sweden
Switzerland
Syrian Arab Republic
T
Tajikistan
Thailand
Togo
Trinidad and Tobago
Tunisia
Turkey
Turkmenistan
Tanzania (United Republic of)
U
Uganda
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
United States of America
Uruguay
Uzbekistan
V
Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)
Viet Nam
Y
Yemen
Z
Zambia
Zimbabwe
FRIENDSHIP &
PEACE