The International Environmental Children’s Drawing Contest
SII took upon itself to promote within Israel the International Environmental Children’s Drawing Contest held annually by IQNet, The International Certification Network, and by JQA, the Japan Quality Assurance Organization.
To increase the awareness of the contest among Israeli children and to pursue wide media coverage, SII asked the minister of education and culture to help spreading our message. Minister Limor Livnat buckled down to the matter, and in a festive ceremony held in her bureau with the participation of SII Director General Ziva Patir and a group of children who participated in last year’s contest, the competition was launched. The launch succeeded in gaining much coverage in all the communication media: national newspapers, children’s magazines and electronic media.
SII produced a poster and a colorful information booklet, distributed by direct and electronic mail to all educational institutions, community centers, children’s and youth clubs, and similar locations.
The Ministry of Education and Culture contributed by sending a letter to all art teachers in the schools that urged them to urge their charges to participate. On SII’s home page on the Internet a special banner devoted to the children’s drawing contest was placed, including full details on entering the contest. In addition, paintings that won in previous years as well as paintings from Israeli schools that were submitted to the contet in the previous year were placed on the SII website
Following the wide coverage in the mass media and exposure on the Internet site, we received many enquiries from children and from parents requesting details for their children. As part of our engagement with the potential painters and with the educational institutions, we pointed out the importance of learning about the environment and about the internalization of values as an educational message – values as a strategic objective that will help achieve a better quality of life in the future. The children were thus exposed to standards as they relate to the environment and learned of their importance.
Furthermore, we encouraged the educational institutions to mount an exhibition of paintings before they were sent to Japan. The exhibition itself was a valuable learning experience for the children, and served them as a source of pride in front of those who viewed the exhibition on the eve of its journey to Japan. The children who learned about the environment through their creativity also gained the feeling that they are an active part of an international process.
At the time of sending the drawings to Japan, we succeeded in placing one of the children, whose painting was sent to the contest on the national radio. The girl told listeners about the contest and expressed her wish that this year paintings from Israel would be awarded a prize.
Vered Oren
Spokesperson and Head of Public Relations
The Standards Institution of Israel
42 Chaim Levanon Street
Tel-Aviv, Israel
Tel: 972 3 646 5116
Fax: 972 3 6465079
vered@sii.org.il
