Nairobi, 9 August 2010
- Nine-year-old Jingmin Wang says she's
on a mission. After watching zebras, giraffes
and elephants in Kenya's
wildlife reserves, she's been inspired to
return to China and tell "all her friends
and family" to do more to protect the
environment.
Wang Jingmin is one
of twenty winners of this year's Chinese
Children's Painting Competition organised
by the Luo Hong Environmental Foundation
and supported by the United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP). Today, the twenty finalists
took part in an awards ceremony at UNEP
headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, and later
followed in the footsteps of many world
dignitaries by planting trees at the United
Nations complex.
The painting contest
- now in its third year - is organised by
UNEP Climate Hero Luo Hong; a well-known
entrepreneur and wildlife photographer in
China. The theme of this year's contest
was "Biodiversity in Action",
and a record 2.6 million children from across
China took part. During a week-long trip
to Kenya sponsored by Mr. Luo, the twenty
winners and their teachers travelled to
the rich wildlife habitats of the Maasai
Mara and Lake Nakuru to witness biodiversity
in action.
At today's awards ceremony
in Nairobi, the young artists received certificates
for their paintings - all of which will
go through to the UNEP International Children's
Painting Competition on the Environment.
The winner of that award will be announced
on 12 August 2010.
The winning entries
from the Chinese contest - which include
tigers lamenting on the fur trade, monkeys
suffering the results of deforestation and
giraffes gasping for air in a smog-filled
city - were also displayed on social networking
sites such as Facebook, Flickr and Renren.
The pictures were shared by thousands and
inspired many enthusiastic comments. "Looking
at the suffocating smoke the child from
Beijing drew, I feel like I am going to
be smothered as well. There is endless imagination
and ideas, which extend into the wide blue
sky", wrote one Chinese internet user.
"The annual visit
to Nairobi by the winners of the Chinese
Children's Painting Competition has become
one of the highlights of the year",
said Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General
and UNEP Executive Director at today's ceremony.
"When I look at the imagination and
passion for the environment shown in your
paintings, I know why I am here doing my
job at UNEP", said Mr. Steiner, who
joined Luo Hong and competition chairperson
Liz Rihoy on the podium.
Mr. Luo also congratulated
the children and teachers on their winning
entries and vowed to attract even more participants
to next year's competition. "It is
very important to the spread the word on
the environment", said Mr. Luo. "In
China, more and more people are taking an
interest in this competition and I will
do my very best to make it bigger each year."
Certificates in hand,
the children made their way to the wooded
grounds of the United Nations complex where
they planted five trees and unveiled a plaque
to mark the occasion. The young laburnum
trees were among dozens of species of plant
and animal life witnessed by the young painters
during their trip to Kenya; an experience
that has also planted a long-term enthusiasm
to protect the environment.
"I painted my picture
because I saw that humans' behaviour is
hurting animals", said nine-year-old
Jingmin Wang, the painter of 'Please Close
your Mouth', which shows lions, birds and
trees inside a gaping human mouth. "I
want to go back and tell my friends and
teachers and family that we have to be less
wasteful and use less water. This will help
protect our animals and trees."
