13-year-old Chiratchaya Kaeokamkong's painting of a child playing with fish, turtles and buffalo in a world awash with water and vegetation has won firstplace in the 22nd International Children's Painting Competition on the Environment, run by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
The work by Ms.Chiratchaya Kaeokamkong (Nickname Ning), CCF’s child who is from Sakaeo province, the south-east of Thailand, edged out almost 700,000 entries-a ten per cent increase on the number of entrants in 2012-by giftedchildren from 110 countries. All of the young artists painted under the theme of "Water: Where Does it Come From?" in support of the 2013 UN International Year of Water Co-operation.
Ms.Chiratchaya Kaeokamkong said she wanted her painting to show that "water is a very important resource, which we should conserve and keep clean for the next generation".
She won the top prize of US$ 2,000 and an all-expenses-paid trip to attend the award ceremony, which takes place alongside UNEP's Champions of the Earthaward in New York in September.
“Even though everyone knows that there are many benefits of water, many people still use it wastefully and never conserve it. They leave the garbage into the river and make the water polluted. This affects all living things, both land and aquatic animals. Therefore, I wish everybody helps to conserve the water because it is the most important thing in our lives.” Ms.Chiratchaya Kaeokamkong said.
Her father and mother / Chiratchaya Kaeokamkong / Her teacher
"We chose the theme of the 22nd painting competition to underline that water does not come from taps or even plastic bottles bought at the supermarket-it is generated by nature and supplied by forests and wetlands to rivers and lakes," said UN Under-Secretary-General and UNEP ExecutiveDirector Achim Steiner. "These budding young artists showed that they not only understand the crucial role of natural systems in providing this mostfundamental of resources, but the impacts on humans and wildlife when we damage and degrade our water-generating environment in the name of progress."
The International Children's Painting Competition is UNEP's flagship art and environment event. Since 1991, it has received more than three million entries from children in over 190 countries. The competition is organized in partnership with the Japan-based Foundation for Global Peace and Environment (FGPE), Bayer and the Nikon Corporation.
A gallery of the winning paintings is available at:
http://unep.org/tunza/children/22ndcompetition.aspx
