The Philippines bags first place for two categories in the recently concluded wins the Asia Pacific Regional Ozone2Climate Art Contest held in celebration of September 16 as World Ozone Day.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources – Environmental Management Bureau (DENR-EMB) called for submissions of artwork to be submitted to the UNEP OzonAction team in the Asia Pacific Office and UNESCO with support from Mahidol University, Thailand.

For the Youth Drawing Category, the Philippines secured first place with the entry of Adrianne Nicole Sitjar “Let there be Shield on Earth.” For the Youth Graphic Design Category, Shaina Akmad won first place with her entry, “A Seed of Hope.”

The Philippines also won in other categories namely, Khaytel Cabanlong who won 3rd place under the Adult Graphic Design Category and Jayson Alcano as honorable mention under the Adult Drawing Category.

According to EMB Assistant Director, Engr. Vizminda Osorio, this is a testament of the Philippines’ strengthened campaign against ozone depleting substances highlighting the increased environmental consciousness of the youth on ozone protection as reflected in each artwork.

“We are very proud of the achievements of our youth. With their artwork, we can inspire more and generate awareness on the importance of our continued cooperation to protect the ozone layer,” Osorio said.

Thirty-four countries from Asia and the Pacific participated in the contest, which was launched on 16 September 2021 by the UNEP OzonAction team in the Asia Pacific Office and UNESCO with support from Mahidol University, Thailand.

More than 6,000 pieces of artwork in the categories of drawing, graphic design, and photography were submitted for the national level contests, of which 55% and 60% were submitted by youth and females respectively. At the end of the national contests in April 2022, 98 pieces of artwork from participating countries were nominated for the regional-level contest and were posted in a dedicated website for public voting until the end of August 2022.

The Philippines will officially hold the awarding ceremony for the winning artists on November 29, 2022 in celebration of November as National Environmental Awareness Month.