Nature's Voice Our Choice

This Winning Poster was Created by Dave Laurence A. Juntilla, Age 10, Davao City, Philippines

To Celebrate World Water Day 2009, we are holding our 2nd Annual international Poster Contest with the theme 'Water and Culture’.  Water is esteemed by every culture in the world for its spiritual, ceremonial, scientific, agricultural, recreational, natural, and life giving values.  The ways in which water is celebrated and used varies greatly between communities in the desert, rain forests, plains, high mountains, valleys, and along the sea.  It even differs among people living in the same region depending on religion, location of residence, and interests.
For centuries cultures throughout the world have expressed their love of water through the arts.  We wish for educators to spend time speaking to students about the different ways in which water shapes their lives, culture, and values.  Find examples in your community such as:
*  Local Water Art (Fountains, murals, statues, etc.)
*  The history and use of a local water resource (fishing, transportation, drinking, recreation, etc.)
*  Think of stories, fables, or proverbs from your region about water.
*  Discuss spiritual and religious uses of water (this can differ greatly among students in the same classroom)
*  Have an older person from your community come and speak about how water use has changed over several decades
We are announcing the contest early so that educators will have more time to explore the idea of water and culture with their students and students will have time to digest these ideas before beginning their posters.

Guidelines:
Posters will be divided into 6 age groups:
*  Under 5 *  Age 11 - 12
*  Age 6 -7 *  Age 13 - 15
*  Age 8 – 10 *  Age 16 - 18
Anyone within these age groups can participate
Posters should be original artwork created by the student
Posters should be hand drawn or painted on 8 1/2" x 11" or A4 paper

On the back of each poster please include the following information:
Name:
Town or City:
Country:
Age:
Contact Phone # or email:

Posters should be sent to the following address and postmarked by March 22, 2009
Nature's Voice Our Choice
2601 Park Center Drive, #810
Alexandria, VA  22302  USA

Posters will be judged on originality, impact, and visual message
Winners will be announced on our website and contacted directly by April 22 (Earth Day)
This year we will choose
*  3 winning posters from students in the Metro DC Area
*  3 additional winning posters from students throughout the United States, and
*  6 winning posters from international students (one from each age category).
Each winning student will have the opportunity to create a community water committee, identify a community water resource problem and design and implement a solution with technical and financial assistance from Nature’s Voice Our Choice.

For questions regarding this contest please email us at education@naturesvoice-ourchoice

Our World Water Day International Poster Contest is part of our ‘Student’s Give Water a Voice’  program