Nairobi, 5 June 2011
- The United Nations Environment
Programme's Regional Office for Africa has
today declared Monica Adhiambo Arego of
the Limuru Girls High School in Kenya, the
regional winner of this year's International
competition on the Environment.
The theme of this year's
competition was "Life in the Forests".
Children aged 6 - 14 were invited to use
their artistic skills to show the rich biodiversity
contained in the world's forests.
Monica Adhiambo Arego's
painting was selected by a jury composed
of the representatives UNEP and Bayer, two
of the main organizers of the Children competition,
out of 1072 entries received by the Regional
Office from thirteen countries around Africa.
Her painting illustrates
the importance of forests in Africa: how
forests, through their vital functions as
a cross-sectoral service utility, are a
key component of the environment and a source
of livelihood for diverse biodiversity species.
Fourteen years old Monica
said: "I wanted to show how forests
are home to large numbers of flora and fauna.
A forest is a community of plants, animals,
and micro-organisms. It is a complex ecosystem
as it is not only a habitat but also provides
watershed protection, and should therefore
be conserved. Left alone, the forest can
be self-regulating in sustainability and
be resourceful for all creatures of the
earth." "It feels great to be
a winner and more so when you are campaigning
for a worthy course like forest conservation,
I feel that my efforts are fruitful. She
added.
Monica's view on forests
conservation is that it should start with
individual efforts, as we are all responsible
for the ecosystems.
The Regional Director
of UNEP in Africa, Mounkaila Goumandakoye
said: "It is very promising and rewarding
to see that this competition, as a key component
of our strategy to engage the children and
youth in positive environmental actions,
is gaining a greater impact across the continent,
ushering a new generation of future environmentally
conscious young leaders who will make sounds
decisions in protecting our environment
and promoting sustainable development."
This year's painting
competition attracted 606,996 entries from
99 countries. UNEP offices in Nairobi, Bahrain,
Bangkok, Geneva, Panama, and Washington
DC each chose their own regional winners
and submitted a total of 1,490 paintings
to the global selection.
The global winners will
be chosen by a jury comprised of representatives
of the competition organizers. These global
winners will be announced at the Tunza International
Children's Conference in Bandung, Indonesia
from 26 - 30 September 2011.
All regional and global
winners will receive a cash prize (US$ 1000
for the regional winners, US$ 2000 for the
first prize winner) as well as an all-expenses-paid
trip to the Tunza International Children
Conference in Indonesia.
This annual competition
is jointly organized by the United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP), the Japan-based
Foundation for Global Peace and Environment
(FGPE), Bayer and Nikon. The painting competition
has been held since 11000 and in that time,
over a million entries from children in
over 100 countries have been received.
Mr. Ichiro Terato, Representative
Director, Member of the board Executive
Vice President of the Nikon Corporation
said: "Worsening of global environment
has become more serious for the last 20
years. Deforestation has been greatly increasing
every year around the world, having a serious
effect on the life in the forests. The awarded
paintings contain children's hope that precious
forests and the life in the forests should
be sustained. We expect that people all
over the world will take action collectively
to realize the children's hope. It is our
privilege to co-sponsor the 20th International
Children's Painting Competition on the Environment,
and we hope that we will continue to support
this competition in future."
A selection of winning
paintings will be shown in exhibitions around
the world. They will also be exhibited online
and will be used for posters, post cards,
calendars, and in publications to raise
awareness of the need to conserve biodiversity
Note to editors:
The International Children's
Painting Competition on the Environment
is part of UNEP's TUNZA strategy for children
and youth. TUNZA is a word in Kiswahili
that means to "treat with care".
The programme aims to increase young people's
involvement in environmental issues through
environmental activities such as Plant for
the Planet, International Conferences and
Global Youth Gatherings.
