Human Rights Poster Competition 2010

Introduction

“Human Rights Poster Competition 2010” is conducted by the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM). This event will be conducted in all Schools (Public and Private) around the country till the end of this month. The themes for this competition will focus on the UN “Convention on the Rights of the Child” to mark its 20th anniversary.

This is the third consecutive year HRCM is conducting such an art competition. In 2008 the competition was held to create awareness about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. And in 2009 the theme was “Prevention of Child abuse - My responsibility”.

Convention on the Rights of the Child

United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) on 20th November 1989. In a very short period of time, it has become the most widely accepted human rights treaty ever.

Maldives ratified this convetion consisting of 54 Articles on 11th February 1991. By ratifying the convention the government has an obligation to protect and uphold the rights of every child in the Maldives.

You can view and download the complete text of this convention in English from the following link:

Convention in English

The Competition

The competition will be conducted in schools. The date, venue and time should be fixed and informed to the interested participants by their respective schools personnel. It is advised that the competition be supervised by a teacher and conducted under the stated conditions. Guidelines and themes for the competition will be presented in the poster provided by HRCM.

Art work should not be taken home or outside the school premises for completion. This is to ensure the authenticity of the art work as well as to make certain that awards are given to the most deserving participants.

Dead Line

The exact date time for conducting the competition will be announced by the respective Schools. Schools are responsible to collect and compile the artwork of its students. Both the Art/paintings and School Entry Forms, along with the participants list should be sent to HRCM before 10th August 2010.

Duration

Duration of one month will be provided to the Schools for the completion, compilation and sending the paintings to HRCM.

Entry form

An entry form will be provided to all schools which need to be filled in with information about the participants. It is requested that a Teacher or School Contact Person fill out the entry form for each individual student (provided with the posters) and attach to the corresponding paintings. Entry forms can be photocopied based on the number of participants.

Entry requirements and Age Categories

Any student studying at a government or private school in the proposed age group will be eligible and is encouraged to participate in the competition. The three age groups are:

Under Thirteen Age group (Students between 11 and 13 years of age)

Under Sixteen Age group (Students between 13 and 16 years of age)

Under Nineteen Age group (Students between 16 and 19 years of age)

The Age groups were categorized based on the criteria used by the Ministry of Education. When judging posters from students in SEN (Special Educational Needs) classes, their age and disabilities will be taken into account.

Entry Rules and Conditions

Artwork must be done on Drawing block or A3 size.
Full name and other entry form details must be completed and attached to the individual paintings
Style of painting is free: crayons, colored pencils, watercolors, etc.
Students are allowed to use one relevant message in their posters.
Only hard copies of paintings will be accepted.

Judging criteria

Originality Relevance of the artwork with respect to the specified list of topics/themes. Art work should reflect one of the topics provided for the art competition

Awarding ceremony and prizes

The winners will be announced on at the ceremony held to mark the Human Rights Day this year.

Prizes will be awarded to the best three paintings under each age group and a special honorary award will be given to the school(s) with the maximum participation as well as distinction based on the winners. All the other entries will receive a token of appreciation. The winning paintings will be exhibited at the venue of the Human Rights Day celebrations, as well as on the website of the HRCM. Selected entries from the Art Competition will be used on HRCM posters, leaflets, reports and Newsletters.

Topics

1. Government should protect children from work that is dangerous or that might harm their health or education
2. All children have the right to relax and play
3. Children have the right to the highest standard of health and medical care attainable.
4. Children who have any kind of disability should have special care and support so that they can lead full and independent lives.
5. Children have the right to get and to share information as long as the information is not damaging to them.
6. No child should be punished in a way that humiliates or hurts them.