Painting a beautiful world: a children's art story

While children are the least responsible for the negative changes in the environment, they are likely to bear a tremendous burden as they are the future of humanity.

Our planet faces challenges that could result in a very bleak future if we don't do more to take care of it.

Climate change, the destruction of many forms of life, and our refusal to take better care of the lands of our planet mean we are doing an injustice to our children. Whether they are in Bhutan or Barbados, India or Namibia, children have beautiful dreams of what the world should be.

The UNCCD/CDIO, through this project, "Painting a beautiful World: A children's art story", provides an opportunity for children around the world to paint the reality of the landscapes they presently occupy, or the one they would like to occupy.

The central idea is for children to show what they feel, how they feel, and why they feel the way they do about land. This project is for children to either paint the world they have as regards land or paint the one they would like to have. In participating, children will draw something in their environment, or how they imagine the environment could and/or should be.

Children are encouraged to bring out their full imagination and artistic gifts by drawing pictures of nature, animals, their families, and the surrounding area to show the importance of land. The hope is that they will contain messages towards global environmental protection while showing uniqueness including in culture, regional landscapes and languages. Through art, the children can express their dreams about the world they want to live in and portray solutions that could help achieve a better quality of life on Earth.

The deadline for submissions is the 19th of June 2023.

Campaign objectives

The main aim of this project is to raise children's awareness across the globe as to the importance of protecting the land and the environment. The hope is that through this project children will:

• come to appreciate the great significance of land in their daily lives.
• play a role in the mission to protect the lands of the planet.
• become future stewards in the protection of land.
• connect with other children around the world in the common quest to protect the planet's lands.
• gain greater general awareness as to the importance of sustainable development.

It is also hoped that there will be a greater conversation between adults and children on the issues of the protection of the environment and the need to ensure a secure future for the children of the world.  

Rules

Format for submission:

• A hand-drawn illustration using crayons, paint, pencil, pen, and anything that creates colours.
• The maximum size of the painting/drawing should be A4.

1. Participation in this Art Story is FREE!
2. Participants must be a minimum of 6 years old and a maximum of 12 years of age at the closing date 
3. Participation is open to an individual child or group of children of the same school.
4. The submission of each participant or group of participants must be approved by a parent, teacher, or guardian. However, the drawing must be the original work of the participating child/children.
5. All drawings must be submitted through this link in a scan or photograph format of the original hand drawn.
6. All entries must be original works which have not been previously published. 
7. The participants grant the Secretariat of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), its partners and other UN agencies, as well as other persons or entities authorized by the Secretariat, a free-of-charge, non-exclusive, irrevocable, transferable, perpetual, worldwide right to use the copyright, related rights or any other intellectual property rights in accordance with existing law or that may  arise by law concerning the submitted drawings. 
8. The UNCCD is entitled to publish the drawings but has no obligation to do so. 
9. Individual participants may make two submissions, that is, submit two pieces of artwork. Groups are only allowed to make one submission.
10. If an entry is considered for an award, the intended awardee will be asked to submit proof of age.
11. All entries and the participants' details (name, age, school, or town) may be used in publicity campaigns UNCCD.

Participation in this exercise means full acceptance of all rules stated above.

Selection process

All submissions will be assessed by the UNCCD Capacity Development and Innovations Office (CDIO), which will grant six awards of 50 euros each for the submissions considered the six best. 

Furthermore, special awards of 100 euros with be given to the three school submissions considered the best.

All participants will be given certificates.