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CATHERINE W GICHUKI
DOHA
OVER 50 independent and international schools submitted over 400 artworks reflecting their impressions of South Africa as part of a contest organised by the South African Embassy to promote bilateral ties between Qatar and South Africa.
The South Africa Embassy Children Art Competition 2016 is the first-of-its-kind in which students aged between 13 and 16 years painted pieces themed, 'South Africa as I see it'.
Each school was required to submit not more than 20 pieces to be created by the students between September-end and October before being submitted to the panel of four judges from the staff and alumni of VCU-Q School of Arts for evaluation.
The top 20 entrants will receive medals while the winner of the contest will receive a floating trophy for his/her school, as well as two flight tickets to SA along with accommodation.
The award ceremony will be held at VCU-Q on December 7. The initiative is organised by the Embassy of South Africa and supported by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education. It is sponsored by Etihad Airways.
Speaking to media persons on Sunday, South African Ambassador to Qatar HE Saad Cachalia said,"This is an initiative premised on strong bilateral ties between Qatar and South Africa and mutual respect. South Africa is looking at different ways to strengthen ties with Qatar."
According to him, recently there have been high-level visits between the two countries, increase of trade and rise in interest in Africa as a tourist destination among residents of Qatar. Cachalia said that the competition seeks to raise awareness of people in Qatar about SA and thus promote tourism."Kids play an important role in the planning of family holidays. Through the contest we want children to talk about South Africa with their parents in order to convince them to visit the country."
According to Cachalia, Children did a lot of research on SA while working on the art pieces.
The ambassador added that a similar competition is planned in South Africa where the students will do artworks with 'Qatar' as their theme.
He said that South Africa supports Qatar's quest to promote art and culture."We want to contribute to Qatar's endeavourto promote issues of art and culture."
One of the judges, Michael Perrone said they would evaluate the works on the basis of its creativity, technical skill and innovation.
