On Tuesday, June 28, 2011, at the Catholic University of Guayaquil, with the participation of the journalists: Boligán (El Universal, Mexico), Bonil (El Universo, Ecuador) and Cardo (Clarin, Argentina), commenced a series of meetings on the topic of freedom of expression when attacked by the governments of some Latin American countries. This was organized by the newspaper El Universo to celebrate its 90thanniversary, due next September 16, 2011.
  On behalf of the newspaper, with the same humor with which he faces life, he led all the charismatic and talented Javier Bonilla (Bonil). Trained in the Social Sciences and Politics, his passion for graphic journalism overflowed and made him start profusely to publish in the media of Ecuador, work that was recognized in 2011 when he received the prestigious "Award of Excellence" to the cartoon awarded by IAPA, Inter-American Press Association, in Lima. His work is remarkably broad. It usually ranges from topics such as those exposed, to commentaries on books, authors and writers (in the Rocinante section), everyday life or the internet (in Nuestro mundo y Vamos), or economics (in Gestión).
  To emphazise the concept of the event, both the Alliance Francaise and the Embassy of France in Ecuador, organised that Jean Plantu (columnist of Le Monde, Paris)  could participate and that the meeting would be held under the auspices of Cartooning for Peace, founded in 2008 at the request of Kofi Annan, then Secretary General of the United Nations.   Two other embassies were involved in  this event: the Brazilian, which enabled that Paulo Caruso (Epoca magazine) could attend, and the United States, which encouraged the visit of Matt Wuerker (Pulizter Prize Award recipient, cartoonist of the digital newspaper “Politico”.
   Over one hundred works were exhibited at the Crystal Palace. After the opening, the exhibitors mingled with the crowds, having pictures taken with them, signing autographs and making drawings for the people.

Words of the participants cited by the press

“We live in a very confusing world. Paradoxically, we have access to internet, but we are less informed than before, which becomes another form of obscurantism. In this context, humor is a tool to avoid neurosis.” (Matador).
   “Our role is to denounce the attacks with symbolic images, known regionally or globally. The public recognizes the drawing and interprets what it all is about.” (Boligán)
   “I wonder why they chose Tony Curtis (american actor) as president (he laughs, referring to Rafael Correa), because he is another different biotype from his people, that makes the game of populism. Freedom is like breathing, if you stop it, you die” (Paulo Caruso).
   “In terms of the communication media, none expresses  complete freedom of opinion, because each expounds the interests of the owner, in the same way that a government owned media will never criticize it” (Aristides Hernandez, “Ares”, Cuba).
   “You tend to think that only governments or right-wing dictatorships are repressive, but it is not. Populist governments do exactly the same” (Hernán Vidal, La Tercera, Chile).
   “In Ecuador, the government says that there is no freedom of speech because there are no political prisoners, but it has said that the press is calling for a Coup. As President Rafael Correa can express his ideas through the media and make speeches, he divulges his lies so that by repetition these be considered to be the absolute truth” (Xavier Bonilla, “Bonil”, Ecuador).
   “There are governments that have reached agreements between the extremes, right and left. The cartoon, a cry of rebellion, cannot die despite a limited freedom of speech” (Pancho Cajas, El Comercio, Ecuador).
   “Freedom of expression as part of human rights is a struggle undertaken every day. Cartoonists know where democracy falters. I came to Ecuador to enrich the experience of my colleagues” (Jean Plantureux, “Plantu”, Le Monde, France).
   “It is ridiculous that a democratically elected leader will call itself revolutionary. By definition, revolution is a radical change or transformation, generally violent and deep, against the prevailing state of affairs.  Whom does this Sr. Correa exert his revolution against, those who voted for him?” (Horacio Cardo, Clarin, Argentina).
 

Celebrating its twenty sixth aniversary, the Aydin Dogan International Cartoon Competition, an international institution, renowned for emphasizing throughout its trajectory the importance of freedom of expression, awarded in 2009, 15 distinctions for works selected amongst 3127 drawings of 1116 artists from 85 countries, inviting the selected artists to Istanbul. 
   Istanbul is the biggest city in Turkey.  It was called Byzantium until 330, then Constantinople (¨City of Constantine¨, in Arabic), until 1930 when it was officially named Istanbul.  Its name is originated from Greek Eis Tin Poli, since it was the Greeks, who called Constantinople ¨The City¨. Unesco declared World Heritage Site to Istanbul’s historical areas in 1985 and in 2010 it was expected to be declared the Cultural Capital of Europe.  The outstanding organization of the graphic humor contest which has more history than all the others nowadays, is not however, its only activity.
  The foundation has dedicated, since 1996, to sponsor and promote the improvement of public health, education, scientific research, sports and economy.

   Named after its founder, Aydin Dogan, one of the most prosperous businessmen in Turkey, born in Kelkit in 1936.
  “The commitment of the Aydin Dogan Foundation to recognize, support and promote the graphic-political commentary and the cartoon is absolutely remarkable and has been a kind of epiphany come true for those of us who devote our lives to this job “Patrick Oliphant, winner of the Pulitzer Prize in Editorial Cartooning, in 1967”, and  renowned graphic humorist, commented.
   We were greeted with a welcoming cocktail and then dinner at the magnificent Armada Hotel, where we stayed.  As from the following day, we participated of a series of visits to the city’s different icons:  The Topkapi Palace, the Blue Mosque, the exquisite Santa Sofía church, the Great Bazaar, The Spices Bazaar and Kadir Has University, where we held a meeting with the students of Art and we interacted with them, drawing in big panels after lunch.
   It was my first visit to Turkey and it could not be more shocking. Not in vain had it been the capital of the Ottoman Empire -دولتعالیهعثمانیه-, almost as vast as the Roman and it remained at the center of the interactions between the East and the West for six centuries.
  The first phase of the Ottoman expansion took place under the rule of Osman I (1288-1326) and continued in the reigns of Orkhan, Murad I and Beyazid I, at the expense of the territories of the Byzantine Empire, Bulgaria and Serbia. Bursa fell under his rule in 1326 and Adrianople in 1361.

On Saturday, September 24, 2007, the newspaper El Mundo, of Madrid, together with the Planeta publishing house, of Barcelona, Spain, began to publish the collection “The geniuses of knowledge”, of books of great thinkers, magnificently designed by Carlos Rúa, of Trapping S.L.  ..The objective was to increase the circulation of the newspaper on Sundays, an objective that was widely achieved and moved the newspaper to continue with the books, extending the collection to politicians and celebrities, making a total of sixty something drawings.