Mauritius is the 167th country that Anthony Asael has visited in the past three years. By the end of his odyssey, he will have been to every single one of the United Nations? member states, including Iraq and North Korea. In terms of the sheer scale of his adventure, it?s right up there with Phileas Fogg?s ambitious gambit of circumnavigating the globe in 80 days. In terms of his journey?s legacy though, it?s far greater than anything Jules Verne?s fertile imagination could ever have concocted. The purpose of Anthony?s indefatigable globetrotting? A stunningly enticing book entitled The World through the Eyes and Rhymes of the Children.

?We strongly believe that if today?s children have a better understanding of their neighbours and the outside world they can become true global citizens. There is no difference between a child that is born in Sweden, Mauritius or Nepal. It?s only later that they become educated or contaminated. Instead of being curious, people are afraid to get to know their neighbours. Conflicts between countries arise because of a lack of understanding?, the 33 year-old Belgian traveller explains.

The modus operandi of his non-profit organization, Art in All of Us, is simple, which it has to be given the plethora of variegate cultures it is applied to. Anthony Asael, who is usually accompanied by his partner in art, Stephanie Rabemiafara, first selects a school, orphanage or children?s home. ?We work in all different types of schools, be they public, private, rural or international.?

On site, he introduces himself to the children and dives straight into the thick of things, namely a photography class. ?We try to teach the kids that it?s not just about pushing the button. They need to have an idea, a concept they want to express.? He then hosts a workshop on drawing and poetry during which the children are encouraged to creatively express what their country means to them. Unfailingly, the part of the workshop that gets the kids most excited is the game that is played at the end of the session. ?We put the children into groups and hand out drawings and poems. They have to guess which countries.?

The drawings and poems are then sent to Chile where the book is being compiled. One poem, one photograph and one drawing are then selected for each country, a process which can be rather painstaking, as is the task of translating all the poems into English, French and Spanish (the three languages the book will be published in). ?Sometimes we have 500 poems?, Anthony says with a smile. Another logistical nightmare has been to secure visas for the 192 countries that will be featured in the book.

The World through the Eyes and Rhymes of the Children is not the be-all and end-all of Art in All of Us. This non-profit organization has also set up Pen Pal and Awareness programs all over the world. The former allows children from staggeringly different cultures and backgrounds to share drawings, poems and sculptures on themes such as My daily life, Children?s rights and My dreams. ?We have organized exchanges between children in Australia and Nepal, Canada and Nigeria, Brazil and Angola, and Ukraine and St Vincent. They talk about their country in a creative way and learn about a different culture.? Anthony describes the awareness program as ?a funny geography class using art?.

<I>«I?m Belgian. My mother is Turkish and my father?s Italian. My grandmother is Cuban. This mixture stimulated me to learn more about the world from a young age.»</I>

The burning question is, ?How does one embark on such a wildly grand undertaking?? ?I didn?t wake up one day and say to myself, ?I want to do this?. I think I was inspired by a combination of factors. I?m Belgian. My mother is Turkish and my father?s Italian. My grandmother is Cuban. This mixture stimulated me to learn more about the world from a young age. I had traveled a lot before the project and had been struck by how many conflicts were caused by a lack of knowledge and tolerance.?

And what about the exotic places he has visited during this vast pedagogical endeavour? He describes the Kurd village in Iraq where he worked as ?a normal village in the Middle East?. On the other hand, Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea, is ?very violent. It has a population of less than a million but around five murders and rapes every day?. Myanmar was ?difficult to work in because of the political situation but the kids were great?.

Despite its violent recent history, Rwanda is ?trying to get over the past. Nobody talks about it. It?s taboo. There are no Hutus and no Tutsis. It?s as if they created a new culture 10 years ago, the culture of Rwanda?. Anthony also worked with ex-child soldiers in Liberia where he witnessed the healing power of art. Notwithstanding the fact that over 9,000 languages (800 in Papua New Guinea alone) are spoken in the 192 countries Anthony will have visited by next year, he avers that all children want the same things. ?They want to be loved by their parents, to play and to grow up.?

As for Anthony, he is on the final stretch of his extraordinary voyage. After Mauritius, ?only? 25 countries await (North Korea and Afghanistan included). He is living proof that there is indeed a little art in all of us.

The World through the eyes and rhymes of the children will be published towards the end of 2009. Treat yourselves by visiting the web site www.artinallofus.org