Melika and Nasim are among the 23 winners of first prizes at the competition, which is co-organized for children aged 7 to 15 by the Japan Quality Assurance Organization (JQA) and the International Certification Organization Network (IQNet). It is also supported by the UNICEF Tokyo Office.

In addition, the Iranian children Arefeh Mirhaj, Sarina Rabi Hamedani, Hannaneh Eshqi and Sama Hosseinnejad were awarded honorable mentions.

The children are the members of Iran’s Institute for Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults. 

The Environmental Best Prize, the top honor of the contest, went to the Japanese 10-year-old girl, Kitahara Kokomi.

“When I look at the works gathered here, I feel as if I am communicating with the mind of each child,” Kinutani Koji, president of the jury, has said in his statement for the closing day of the contest.

“I always learn a lot from the entries, some of which are innocent and spontaneous, others are heavily tinged with the air of their native countries, and yet others have strong messages to bring to a wide audience,” he added.

In the international section, Denis Avdic, a 14-year-old boy from Bosnia and Herzegovina, won the best prize, while the American 13-year-old girl Lindsay Qin was presented with the UNICEF Prize.

Hossain Shahadat from Bangladesh, Lara Hine Chinita from Portugal, Samaddar Tanuj from India and Nutthanicha Veerasenee from Thailand received the JQA Special Prize.

The jury special prize in the international category was awarded to Ang Jia Yi from Malaysia.

“We hold this contest to give an opportunity for children of the future generation to become more aware of their global environment through drawing pictures under the theme of the environment of our Earth,” the organizers have said in their statement for the competition.

Photo: A painting by 11-year-old Iranian girl Melika Amjadian won first prize at the 20th JQA International Environmental Children’s Drawing Contest in Japan.

 

Source: Tehran Times