This week, large trucks rolled up to the Plaza San Martin next to my office and forklifts started unloading wooden crates. They say there are 140 crates....but I know there are only 139.
Slowly the display took shape. It was the United Buddy Bears. The bears are part of a UNICEF program that have been displayed in several cities around the world ( www.buddy-bear.com ).
The bears are here with the following message: 'The Buddy Bears stand together hand in hand in a peaceful circle, promoting tolerance and understanding among different nations, cultures and religions.'
Mounted on concrete bases, the bears are arranged alphabetically in a circle in the Plaza San Martin.....
Slowly the display took shape. It was the United Buddy Bears. The bears are part of a UNICEF program that have been displayed in several cities around the world ( www.buddy-bear.com ).
The bears are here with the following message: 'The Buddy Bears stand together hand in hand in a peaceful circle, promoting tolerance and understanding among different nations, cultures and religions.'
Mounted on concrete bases, the bears are arranged alphabetically in a circle in the Plaza San Martin.....
outside my office building here in BA.... 
It starts with a Buddy Bear from Afganistan....
and goes all the way around to Buddy from Zimbabwe......
In between, there are interesting bears from Cuba....
and from places like Maldova.....
Maldova? - on the Maldova bear, there is a Maldovian that is pointing to where Maldova actually is on the globe - so we all know). 
There is also the Bhutan Bear.
There is a problem though - one that has got me a little chuffed. While there are bears from those big bear nations like the Bahamas and the United Arab Emirates. There is NO bear from Canada.
He should be there standing in between the Camaroon Bear and the Central African Republic Bear.
I contacted a friend at the Canadian Embassy to inquire about the whereabouts of the Canada Bear and 'they are looking into it'.I know he exists because I found him on some website. He looks pale compared to many of the others.
He would be the 140th bear in the display and perhaps based on the weather in Canada, he is hibernating these days.Should I get an update on the Canada bear, I will let you know.
United Buddy Bear Butts....
B.
1 comment:
Hello,
My husband and I saw the Buddy Bear exhibit in Vienna in 2006. It was delighful and were very disappointed not to find a Canadian Buddy Bear. Upon our return to Canada, we inquired and were told that the original Cdn Buddy Bear had become too fragile for further travel and that they were seeking a new sponsor.
"Canada is one of the very few large countries of this world that keep giving us a negative answer – something we do not understand.
It was only thanks to a private Canadian sponsor that Canada was represented at the first nine exhibitions of the global tour of "United Buddy Bears"."
Dr. Klaus Herlitz
Buddy Baer Berlin GmbH
Kurfuerstendamm 21
D-10719 Berlin
Tel.: +49(0)30/88 77 26 81
Fax: +49(0)30/88 77 26 90
www.buddy-baer.com
stahl@buddy-baer.com
We received a message last week, again from Dr Herlitz, with a copy of a letter from the Minister of Foreign Affairs dated June 2009 stating that:
“…..I regret to inform you that Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada does not have a program that would fund the creation of a new bear for Canada.”
The sponsorship requirements were identified as:
1.The costs for a blank bear are 2.200 EUR
2. An artist from Canada would have to travel to Berlin – hence the return flight would have to be covered.
3. Normally, the artists need 4 – 5 days to design a new bear, which would lead to hotel charges for approximately 7 nights.
4. We provide the studio where the artist can create the new United Buddy Bear for Canada.
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