The UNESCO Bangkok Education for Sustainable Development 2008 Asia Pacific Mural Contest has now drawn to a successful conclusion. There were numerous extremely strong entries which made judging a considerable challenge. Deliberations took place throughout the ten day judging period. Unfortunately there can only be one overall winner. UNESCO Bangkok is happy to announce that the winner of the 2008 Mural Contest is the entry submitted by the Ateneo Environmental Science Society from Ateneo de Manila University in the Philippines. The title of their mural  is "Let Hands Shine to Breathe Better" submitted for the theme of Action for Climate Change.

UNESCO is pleased with the response to the competition. There were numerous high quality submissions. The response from Sri Lanka and the Philippines in particular was especially encouraging. Judging took place between the 10^th August and the 20^th August 2008 at the UNESCO Bangkok office. UNESCO staff judged the descriptions of murals and how they best illustrated elements of education for sustainable development. UNESCO's panel of judges looked for the clearest and most creative description of the entry.

The art work was also judged by renowned Thai artist Mr. Morrakot Naksin. When judging a competition Mr. Morrakot said "The most important criterion is whether a work of art is natural, not following any particular formats. This way, a piece of art can be considered ‘pure art'."

The Ateneo Environmental Science Society says "We chose this design because of how it symbolizes our hand in hand approach towards the issue of climate change. It also exudes the logical environmentalist path we take as an organization towards the said issue."

Describing their work they stated "the sun and its rays as our hands is the icon of how we can take on the issue together and outwards to everyone. Each smiling face in the cloud symbolizes the ever growing number of people becoming aware of the issue and learning the ways of how to cope with it."

The Ateneo Environmental Science Society will receive a Canon HV30 Mini DV/HDV Camcorder for their inspirational effort. Congratulations!

The two runners up were both entries from Sri Lanka. The first runner up prize goes to the Grade 12 Arts Section of the ASPnet school, Pilimathalawa Central College, for their work entitled "Towards the World with Our Heritage". The work is six meters long and two meters high running down the length of a stairwell. It depicts how Sri Lanka's "indigenous and traditional industries and social patterns have protected, preserved and transferred from generation to generation".

The second runner up prize has been awarded to D.P.L Pradeep Jayasundara of the UNESCO Club at Thunthota. Highlighting its theme of Action for Climate Change, Pradeep acknowledges that "there is a close relationship between man and nature", moreover "life depends on nature". Pradeep thus believes that "it is our duty to preserve nature for our future generations".

The runners up will receive a Canon PowerShot A580 Digital Camera for their wonderful efforts. Congratulations to both.

There were also several entries that deserve a special mention:

• The Orphanage School, Luang Prabang, Laos
• The SLS Montessori School, Rawalpindi, Pakistan
• Chinbat Bayanbat, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
• Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults, Tehran, Iran
• Medagama National School, Medagama, Bibila, Sri Lanka
• Philippine Normal University, Manila, Philippines
• Ramon Magsaysay High School, Manila, Philippines
• Arethusa College, Colombo, Sri Lanka
  

Congratulations again to all the winners. UNESCO Bangkok thanks everyone for all of their effort in organizing, promoting, and participating in the competition which will continue to raise awareness of sustainable development issues and inspire other to take action. We hope you also enjoyed taking part in the process of promoting ESD to help shape our future.

See more pictures in the Mural Gallery