Social networking platform, Bebo, has announced its partnership with Vision of Humanity to launch ‘Peace is Breaking Out’, a global competition for the design community to create a picture of what peace means to them in the form of a new international peace symbol, or logo.

According to a poll conducted by the platform in the lead-up to the International Day of Peace, Angelina Jolie is the favoured celebrity peace ambassador among users capturing 41% of votes, outdoing Bono (18%), Ewan McGregor (18%) and Bob Geldof (6%).

Bebo users were also asked what peace meant to them personally and more than 52% of the respondents chose ‘no war and social equality’, followed by ‘a world without violence’ (18 per cent).

Steve Killelea, founder of Vision of Humanity, said, “We are looking for a design that will resonate with a global audience and is a visual representation of a more harmonious world.”

The winner will receive a trip to Washington, DC, where their design will be unveiled at the Global Symposium of Peaceful Nations being held in November 2009.

Dr Rachel O’Connell, chief safety officer at Bebo, said symbols remain a powerful means of communication and are very often steeped in meaning.

“We expect the activity on Bebos Peace hub to reflect the appetite for positive social change amongst this group and are using the International Day of Peace to signal a call to action to our users to create a peace symbol, imbued with meaning, for a new generation of peace ambassadors,” O’Connell explained.