xoaqwepo: world flags images

##title##

Created in 1988 by Paul Carroll, the World Flag is a global image meant to resonate with the people of the world. The design of the World Flag has in the center an image of the world surrounded by 216 flags. They include every national flag, the flag of the United Nations and some flags of territories dependent in one way or other on larger countries. Because of their inherent symbolic, nationalistic, and subconscious power, individual flags offered inherent possibilities for Carroll's vision. He wrote, "Moving individual flags into the global realm—transcending borders, race, and religions—creates unique impact from micro to macro and back." He anticipated a quote from the New Scientist, 5 December 2007: "The power of symbols to both inspire and unite people finds it's most relevant and meaningful perfection in the national flags and banners of the world."

In 1988, Paul Carroll was biking on a road near New Canaan, Connecticut, when he was struck by a cargo van and incapacitated. With only partial use of his limbs, Carroll passed hours of bed rest in contemplation. Carroll emerged from his rehabilitation with one goal: to create a symbol of world unity and cooperation that was universally recognizable and comprehensible. The World Flag Project was initiated to promote multi-cultural understanding with a focus on geography and common world issues through the global exposure of the World Flag.

In 1988 Carroll's parents introduced the World Flag to delegates from the Society of Prayer for World Peace based in Tokyo, Japan. Impressed by the flag's impact, they invited Carroll to participate in an upcoming event, the United Nations Prayer for World Peace in December 1989. This became the first public unveiling of the World Flag. The event was attended by Dr. Noel Brown, Director of the UN's Environmental Program and Friends of the UN. The exposure and recognition from this event led the governor of New Jersey to appoint Carroll as Hoboken's United Nation's Representative.

Working with the 20th Anniversary Earth Day Committee in 1990, Paul was able to secure potential locations in Central Park and at the World Trade Center to hang the World Flag. After months of negotiating, some at Port Authority felt that the image was too political. It took many weeks for Mr. Carroll, with the backing of the Earth Day Committee, to convince the Port Authority that the World Flag was meant to transcend politics. Finally, Tower One was chosen as the location to hang the banner. The organization faced a final hurdle in labor costs. It was then that Paul's father, James Carroll, a long-time Union Steamfitter with Local 638 in New York City, convinced all unions involved to donate their services to fly the World Flag banner from the World Trade Center.