Chinese Children's Painting Competition on environment

2013-08-01 15:24

By (Chinadaily.com.cn)

Chinese Children's Painting Competition on environment

The Auction of the Last Bucket of Water, by Wang Zixi, 8 years old.

Comments: This is a visual display of a well-told story: the auction of the last bucket of water in the unpredictable future. Under the eight scarlet figures of the upset price, the facial expression of the bidders falling over one another is the highlight of the painting. [Photos provided to Chinadaily]

Nairobi, Kenya - An auctioneer gestures with his hammer as an excited crowd frantically thrusts wads of cash in the air all competing to buy the last bottle of water left on Earth. Elsewhere, a tiger, deer and antelope try in vain to share the water from a fast-shrinking lake, as other thirsty animals approach in the background.

The striking scenes are among those captured by the top twenty prize winners in the 2013 Chinese Children's Painting Competition, organized by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Luo Hong Fund

Armed with paintbrushes, crayons and vivid imaginations, over 630,000 schoolchildren entered this year's competition, which carried the theme "Water: Where does it come from".

On July 16, the winning artists received their prizes at a special ceremony held at UNEP headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya.

Following the award ceremony, the schoolchildren and their teachers visited the world-famous Maasai Mara wildlife reserve, and took part in a joint painting activity with schoolchildren from the Mathare slum area.

The painting competition is just one part of the Chinese Children's Environmental Education Programme, also supported by UNEP and the Luo Hong Fund.

As part of the initiative, a course on environmental awareness has been integrated into the school curriculum in China. This year, over 3 million children participated in the programme. Around 50,000 teachers have also received training on the environment and sustainable development to date.

Each year, the Chinese Children's Environmental Education Programme designs a special course for the prize winners of the painting competition. The course aims to equip the young artists with the knowledge and confidence to become future environmental leaders, and to encourage their peers to take an active interest in biodiversity, sustainable lifestyles and other issues.

UNEP also organizes the annual International Children's Painting Competition for the Environment, in partnership with the Japan-based Foundation for Global Peace and Environment (FGPE), Bayer and Nikon Corporation.

Since 1991, the international competition has received more than 3 million entries from children in over 100 countries.

The global winners of the contest are set to be announced later this month.