Manila, February 17 2016 — A student from the Philippines was recently awarded the Gold Prize in a regional drawing competition, run annually by UN-Habitat.
Fourth grader, Maria Angelica Tejada, from P. Burgos Elementary School in Sta. Mesa, Metro Manila, was the second Filipino child to win the award since the annual competition begun nine years ago.
Her winning submission was one of 392 artworks entered into the contest from all over Asia and the Pacific.
In front of her fellow school students, Maria was presented with a certificate signed by Yoshinobu Fukasawa, UN-Habitat’s Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, and a personalised jigsaw puzzle of her winning artwork. Her school also received a large globe of the world for students to use in the library and in geography lessons.
The theme for the 2015 competition was ‘Designed to live together’ – encouraging students to consider the importance of creating inclusive communities.
Maria spent one week to complete the mixed media artwork – using watercolours, coloured pens and pastels. The piece depicts a vibrant community with members helping one other, surrounded by a landscape filled with trees, flowers and wildlife. All this is framed within a larger portrait of a smiling child. The artwork expresses both her creative talent and fine drawing skills.
The Silver Award was presented to Karmen Tam Hoi Man (6th grade) from China, and Bronze Award to Haruka Yasunaga (5th grade) from Japan. Nine other entrants were awarded commendation prizes. The winning entries feature within an annual UN-Habitat calendar, which is distributed to partners throughout the Asia Pacific region.
