The regional shortlist for this year’s Art Competition run by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has been revealed. The Regional First prize was awarded to 9-year-old Tina Doumit from Lebanon for her drawing divided in two- half of which reflects the wonder of water and life, with the rest of the scene depicting a dead tree and animal surrounded by the desert.

 

The painting beats competition from over 400 entries from West Asia, to claim the regional top prize of US$ 1,000 and an all-expenses-paid trip to attend the Tunza International Children's Conference on the Environment.

 

Second prize was awarded to 10-year-old Ali Sayed Hassan of Bahrain for his colorful painting of a man coloring the planet.

 

Children from across the world were invited to submit artworks on the topic of “Water: Where Does it Come From?”.

 

Tina’s dream is to become an art teacher and help children express their hopes and fears for the future of our planet and actively support the conservation of the nature.

 

“I wanted to show people that water is very important to our life. We should help save water because if we don’t have it we will die. My wish is that people would use water properly, said Tina.

 

The International Children’s Painting Competition is UNEP’s flagship art and environment event. Since 1991, it has received more than 3 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.