United Nations announces worldwide poster design contest for children and young people

The United Nations is promoting cooperatives in a big way this year, and even children are getting into the action – with a worldwide poster contest on the topic.

Agricultural cooperatives are the focus of World Food Day (16 October) this year, and cooperatives more generally are being highlighted with the UN’s International Year of Cooperatives.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) – together with the United Nations Women’s Guild – is inviting children and young people aged 5  to 17 to enter the first-everinternational World Food Day poster contest.

A cooperative – also known as a co-op – is a business that balances two goals:  making a profit, and providing other benefits to its members.  In the case of agricultural cooperatives, it’s an association of people working together, sharing tools and expertise to grow vegetables or fruit, to fish together, make bulk purchases, or simply to sell their goods collectively. An estimated one billion people are members of some kind of cooperative.

The poster contest challenges young people to use their imaginations and their artistic skills to create a poster illustrating the theme, “Agricultural cooperatives – key to feeding the world.”  They can digitally design, draw or paint the poster.

All submitted work will be on view in the gallery section of the World Food Day poster contest website, which will give those involved a sense of accomplishment and create some excitement about their efforts.

Entering is simple: children or their teachers can go to

http://www.fao.org/getinvolved/wfd-poster-contest/contest-enter/en/

and submit a poster depicting an agricultural cooperative and showing how people working together can make a difference in the world.

Deadline for entries is 30 September 2012.

The winners, who will be announced on World Food Day (16 October), will receiveCertificates of Recognition signed by a United Nations official, Ending Hunger T-shirts and other gifts.  The winning poster designs will also be featured online, including on the Facebook pages of FAO and the EndingHunger movement.

Here is a fact sheet for detailed information on the World Food Day poster contest including the rules for the participation.

Fact sheet for detailed information on the World Food Day poster contest