There is nothing wrong with prejudging. We all have prejudges.
Now and then we judge or comment the behaviour of others.
The haircut of the neighbours wife. The neighbour himself who is too fat. Their stupid and noisy children. We cherish our prejudges, as we do with our stereotypes. All French people wear a black beret, a baguette under the arm and a bottle of wine. British people drink tea the whole day and are carrying always an umbrella. The Spanish kills bulls and dances the flamenco.
Germans drink beer and wearing funny leather shorts. About Belgian people we say nothing today.

Stereotypes are based on behaviour, things we see, looks, exteriors. Or on things we believe to see. They simplify reality. Some clothes tells us about religions. We make conclusions. We find them absurd or strange. A nun looks like a penguin. An Arab backpacker is a terrorist. A white American with a cowboy-hat is trigger-happy and they all have dental prostheses. Hells Angels are scary. A negro has white teeth and loves bananas. Mexicans have big hats and are lazy. Nothing wrong with stereotypes. WE create our own image, our own reality. And so do cartoonists. They make jokes about it.
But also with a reason. To show us that there is a thin line from stereotype and prejudge to discrimination and racism.
What’s the difference between gypsy’s with their caravans or holiday-makers with their camper. A punker with funny hair, a pop star with a cap or a woman with a turban?
As we accept all those prejudges. And we take them as they are. We can laugh. And laugh again. It would make the world less hostile.

4 Special Mentions
Graham Fowell (Great Britain)
Andrea Pecchia (not present) (Italy)
Pete Dredge ( collected by Jill Kearny) (Great Britain)
Constantin Pavel ( collected by Irina Licurici) (Romania)
Special Prizes
Tulp Prize (Jan Zandstra) (Netherlands)
Kever Prize (Stefaan Provijn) (Belgium)
FECO Prize (George Licurici) Romania
Main Prizes
3rd Prize: Sergey Sichenko (Israel)
2nd Prize: Mark Baars (Netherlands)
1st Prize: Constantin Sunnerberg COST (Belgium)
Special honourable Award: MARKIEZENHOF AWARD
Plantu(France)

After seventeen Dutch Cartoon festivals successfully organized in respectively Amstelveen (5x), Hilversum (1x), Amsterdam (1x), Eindhoven (6x) and Bergen op Zoom (3x), the Dutch Cartoon Association has chosen for the city of Bergen op Zoom as its permanent residence with a biennial in the cartoon museum.
Every two year the Dutch cartoon festival will be held in the Historical Centre Het Markiezenhof.In the last competition in 2011, more than 2500 cartoons from 48 countries were received.

For the 18th Festival in 2013 there were ± 2000 cartoons received. The best 100 cartoons were chosen by an international jury and the prize-winners were invited to be present at the opening ceremony on April 14.
All 100 cartoons will be shown until October 27st 2013 at the Het Markiezenhof Address: Steenbergsestraat 8, Bergen op Zoom, the Netherlands

The Palestian cartoonist, Mohammad Saba'aneh, was arrested by Israeli authorities on Saturday February 16, for reasons as of yet unknown.
He was arrested in Jericho and sent to ALJAFLA military base near Jenin City, where he was held for 12 hours with no information at all. Under the law of secret information the Israeli court can expand his detention another 16 days 'for more investigation'. After that period, it can be expanded with another 16 days, and then it becomes a period of 6 months, which can be extended without the need to have any clear accusation. This is called indefinite detention
In fact, on February 28, the Israeli court extended the detention of Mohammad Saba'aneh with another 9 days. Mahmoud Sabaaneh is held without an official charge. He risks indefinite detention.

The new Secretary General of the National Center for Defense of Freedoms Khaled El Masry filed a lawsuit against the cartoonist Doaa El Adl because of that cartoon :

Translation : "If you had said "yes" [to the referendum] you wouldn't have been sent away from Eden"

Khaled El-Masry said that cartoon was insulting of the prophet.

Doaa El EAdl is an Egyptian cartoonist who was published in the magazine Good morning and Rose Al-Youssef and Al Dostor newspaper in Egypt. She is now currently working for the daily El-Masry El-Youm Newspaper... publishes also in cartoonmovement and in Jordan website (.kharabeesh)..

In 2009 she received the award of "Journalism Excellence in Caricature" in Egypt ...and that was the first time a femal cartoonist received that Prize.

"I choose to be a Muslim" she said "...and I respect all religions....my cartoons have been used for a purpose different from that I drew them. The basis for the charge is not the story of Adam..."

Feco (UK) - Procartoonists.org

It was my great good fortune to visit St Just Le Martel recently, along with The Surreal McCoy, to see the proceedings for ourselves and to share in the delights of the festival. We had answered the call to assist in putting on an exhibition for them, “Spotlight on the Brits”, and were very pleased to help organise it, in conjunction with the British Cartoon Archive, and to come and take in the resulting show.
Flanked on the left by an excellent exhibition from the Americans, with many modern and historic French cartoons entertaining the centre, our stands featured some wonderful British cartoons from many of our Procartoonist.org members.
Of course, 2012 was an extraordinary year for us, as the world focused on the UK for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the London Olympics. Many of the cartoons on display were from our newspapers and magazines, from Private Eye, The Times, The Guardian, and The Sun.
We were naturally taken with the warmth and hospitality shown to all of us, and also with the way that the community pulls together to make such an enjoyable event happen. And with the good will and company of the organisers, Feco groups and representatives, and the many talented cartoonists from France and further afield all in attendance, it would have been very difficult to have had anything but a wonderful time there.
Well, until the next time! We hope to meet up with some of you again for the Dutch Cartoon Festival next year and then it is straight on to the 10th Shrewsbury International Cartoon Festival the following weekend. As many of you know, Feco ex-President Roger Penwill helps organise and run this cartoon-filled event, and I do hope many of you may come and visit this wonderful historic town then, if not sooner.

Au revoir!

Nathan Ariss
Feco (UK) Chair

The Syrian cartoonist Ali Ferzat was kidnapped on August 25th by masked security agents.
They confiscated his papers and drawings
They severely beat him, trying to injure his hands.

Ali Ferzat has published cartoons critical of the Syrian regime

Rumen Dragostinov passed away in August 7th, 2011. This great artist was awarded in numerous competitions.

Rumen Dragostinov was born on 17-09-1956 in Sofia.
At 1975 he finished Art School in Sofia.
During the eighties and beginning of the nineties, he worked at newspapers "Transporten glas" and "Fenomen" like cartoonist and graphik designer.
Last years he worked as advertising and graphik designer in a design firm.
He was regular participant in a number of World cartoon contests.
Member of the UBA section caricature.
He was vice President of FECO Bulgaria since 2004.
He participated in cartoon exhibitions both at home and abroad. Winner of 30 national and more than 150 prizes from most famous World contests.
He participated as a member of international juries of cartoon contests in Serbia, Azerbaijan, Syria, Turkey...
Solo Exhibitions:
1981 - Sofia, Bulgaria
1989 - Tolentino, Italy
2003 - Krusevac, Serbia
2010 - Kruishoutem, Belgium

First prize - Tolentino, Italy (1987) ; Grand prix at Belovar - Croatia (1998) ; Grand prix - Skopje, FYROM (2002) ; Grand prix- Montevideo, Uruguay (2003) ; Grand prize - Free cartoon web, China (2008) ; First prize - Teheran, Iran (2003) ; First prize - Teheran, Iran (2004) ; First prize - Lefkosa, Cyprus (2004) ; First prize - Krushovac, Serbia & Montenegro (2005) ; First prize - India (2005) ; First prize - Presov, Slovakia (2006) ; First prize - Alanya, Turkey (2006) ; First prize - Tabriz, Iran (2008) ; First prize - Jaka bede, Polska (2008).

Ivailo Tsvetkov – Bernard Bouton

Munich is to finally receive its own Museum of Satire to be named „Komische Pinakothek“!

Consequently, passionate art lovers and experts in this field have founded a development association

and have launched their project to the general public With the help and support of international

museums, well-known illustrators and caricaturists, the initiative is going to focus on the realization of

its undertaking.



Förderverein Komische Pinakothek e.V.