Beijing, 15 April, 2009
- The 2010 Chinese Children's Painting Competition,
organized by the United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP),
broke all records with 2.6 million entrants
this year, up from 2.3 million last year.
With a focus on the
theme of 'Biodiversity', children from 34
provinces, municipalities and other regions
in China participated in the competition
- with the youngest being a mere six years
old and the oldest 14.
In a final selection
of the winners today in the National Art
Museum in Beijing, a panel of 15 judges,
including Liz Rihoy, chair of the Organizing
Committee of the Competition, chose the
620 winners whose names will be announced
in a ceremony on World Environment Day on
5 June in Beijing.
Two of the judges, Yang
Miaoshuo and Zhou Yue, are children themselves
and won first prize during last year's competition.
Also among the big names comprising the
judging panel were the WWF advisor on Biodiversity,
Liu Xueyan, Chief of the News Department
of the Beijing Environmental Protection
Bureau, the Deputy Chief of China Environment
Newspaper, and Mr Fan Di'an, the curator
of China's National Art Museum, among others.
The top winners will
also compete in the global Children's Painting
Competition which will be held in Japan
on 6 May, and will visit UNEP's Headquarters
in Nairobi (Kenya) later this year.
The competition - sponsored
by Mr. Luo Hong, a Chinese businessman,
environmentalist and photographer - aims
to raise awareness on environment issues
among China's young people and the Chinese
public in general.
Communities unite for Live Earth to address
water shortage
Geneva (Switzerland)/Nairobi
(Kenya), 16 April 2010 - "Every step
and every drop counts to solve the water
crisis."
This is the rallying
cry of the global Live Earth Run for Water
campaign which on Sunday 18 April will mobilize
communities in more than 175 cities around
the world to raise awareness of the growing
scarcity of safe, clean water.
A series of 6km community
runs or walks will take place over the course
of 24 hours, accompanied in some cities
by educational Water Villages and sustainably-managed
concerts featuring international artists.
Supported by the UN
Environment Programme, the Live Earth organizers
are aiming to stage the largest ever solutions-based
initiative aimed at solving the world's
water crisis.
Six kilometre runs were
chosen as the campaign centerpiece, as this
is the average distance women and children
walk to collect water in many developing
countries.
UNEP was also an official
partner of the "Live Earth: Concerts
for a Climate in Crisis", a series
of memorable rock concerts staged on seven
continents on 07.07.07 (7 July 2007) which
successfully triggered greater public awareness
of the threat of climate change.
The organizers are hoping
the campaign this Sunday will achieve similar
results, only this time drawing attention
to the daily challenge facing around 880
million people who do not have access to
clean, safe water.
This startling figure
includes an estimated 165 million people
across the Pan-European region who must
cope on a daily basis with contaminated
or dwindling water supplies. Part of UNEP's
contribution to the global effort this Sunday
involves partnering with the City of Vernier
to stage a Friends of Live Earth 6km walk
along the River Rhône.
"While walking
beside the Rhône, we hope the participants
will realize that water is rare and valuable
despite its apparent abundance in Switzerland,"
the Mayor of Vernier, Thierry Cerutti, said.
"Everyone taking
part can learn about water conservation
through organized information stands and
signs along the route while they soothe
their souls and appreciate the importance
of living in harmony with great waterways
such as this," Mayor Cerutti said.
Among the cities which
will host a Live Earth Run for Water concerts
are Los Angeles (Melissa Etheridge), New
York (John Legend and The Roots), Atlanta
(Rob Thomas), Rio, Brazil (Jorge Ben Jor),
Cape Town (The Parlotones), Buenos Aires
(Kevin Johansen) and Mexico City (Kany Garcia/
Sandoval).
UNEP is also linking
the 'green' Live Earth concerts to a new
UN Music and Environment initiative, currently
under development by UNEP and the UN Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO)
in conjunction with a cross-section of the
music industry.
Other Friends of Live
Earth events include clean-ups at local
waterways, fund raising to donate money
to build wells and other water infrastructure,
and a photographic exhibition in Mumbai.
A full list of Live Earth Run for Water
and Friends of Live Earth events is available
at http://liveearth.org/run.
