New York – Young people around the world are encouraged to get creative in this year’s World Wildlife Day (WWD) Youth Contest. IFAW hosts the 5th Annual International Youth Art Competition (International Fund for Animal Welfare) in cooperation with the Secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
WWD’s 2023 theme “Partnerships for Wildlife Conservation” shines a spotlight on people making a difference to wildlife – whether local, national or global.
The art competition focuses on species that have benefited from people working together to protect and conserve them. These partnerships can range from community members working together to protect the wildlife around them, to scientists working together to understand and correct critical threats to survival, to wildlife groups and governments working with others to protect and improve habitats for species to thrive.
Open to artists ages 4-18, participants will select a species that has benefited from these partnerships, then depict it as an individual animal or in its native habitat. The competition capitalizes on the enormous creativity of the world’s youth through artwork and builds on the growing success from previous competitions – with over 1,500 entries last year from nearly 60 countries around the world.
Entry opens Jan. 9The tenth2023, and a must for artists Submit their artwork electronically by 11:59 PM GMT on February 6The tenth, 2023. All entries must be original and hand-created with markers, crayons, colored pencils, and/or paint. Twelve semi-finalists from different age groups and one separate Grand Prize winner will be selected by a prestigious international jury.
The winner of the 2022 tournament was 13-year-old Chinese Yangun Mao with his piece titled “Homecoming”. Previous winners have come from Hong Kong, Australia and the United States. The 2023 winner will be announced at the annual World Wildlife Day event hosted by the United Nations. World Wildlife Day is celebrated annually on March 3Research and development And in 2023 marks the fiftieth anniversary of CITES.
For more information about World Wildlife Day and this year’s virtual event, visit https://wildlifeday.org.
Note to editors:
Photos from past WWD International Youth Art Competitions can be found here here.
Media communication:
IFAW – Rodger Correa / rcorrea@ifaw.org / +202 834 6637
CITES – David Whitbourn / david.whitbourn@un.org / +41 79552 1507
UNDP – Sangita Khadka / sangita.khadka@undp.org / +212 906 5043
About IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare):
IFAW is a global non-profit organization that helps animals and people thrive together. We are experts and ordinary people, operating across seas and oceans and in more than 40 countries around the world. We rescue, rehabilitate and release animals, restore and protect their natural habitats. The problems we face are urgent and complex. To solve it, we match fresh thinking with bold action. We partner with communities, governments, NGOs and businesses. Together, we create new and innovative ways to help all species thrive. See how in ifaw.org.
About CITES
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) was signed on March 3, 1973 and entered into force on July 1, 1975. With 184 parties (183 countries + EU) it remains one of the world’s most powerful tools for wildlife conservation By regulating the international trade in more than 38,000 species of wild animals and plants. CITES-listed species are used by people all over the world in their daily lives for food, healthcare, furniture, housing, tourist souvenirs, cosmetics, or fashion. CITES seeks to ensure that international trade in such species is sustainable, legal and traceable and contributes both to the livelihoods of the communities that live near them and to the national economies of a healthy planet and people’s prosperity, in support of the United Nations Sustainability. development goals.
About the United Nations Development Program
UNDP partners with people at all levels of society to help build countries that can withstand crises, and drive and sustain the kind of growth that improves the quality of life for all. On the ground in nearly 170 countries and territories, we provide global perspective and local insights to help empower lives and build resilient nations.
About United Nations World Wildlife Day
On December 20, 2013, the 68th session of the United Nations General Assembly declared March 3 as World Wildlife Day to celebrate and raise awareness of the world’s wild fauna and flora. The date is the day the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) was signed in 1973. World Wildlife Day has become the world’s most prominent annual event dedicated to wildlife. It is an opportunity to celebrate the many beautiful and diverse forms of wild fauna and flora and to raise awareness of the different challenges facing these species. More than a million species are currently at risk of extinction. Today also reminds us of the urgent need to step up the fight against wildlife crime, which has wide-ranging economic, environmental and social impacts.