Young artists in Africa

The young winners of the 2009 China Children Environmental Protection Painting Contest traveled to Africa to receive their awards from the headquarters of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) at Nairobi, Kenya.

The 16 children, ages 5 to 13, were chosen from among 2.3 million contestants.

The winners are from 14 municipalities, provinces and autonomous regions.

The children recently spent nine days in the African country prized as a richly diverse wildlife habitat.

They listened to lectures delivered by experts and officials of UNEP, an organization that promotes public awareness of the importance of protecting natural habitats.

The Chinese children joined African children to create a painting about biological diversity for UNEP.

The trip and the painting contest were sponsored by the Luo Hong Environmental Protection Foundation, a green fund started by Luo Hong, the founder and president of Holiland, China's leading bakery chain.

Holiland has more than 1,000 outlets in China, with millions of yuan in annual sales.

As a photographer and environmentalist, Luo has traveled around the world, including Africa and the Arctic Ocean, to take pictures.

Along the way, he has donated hundreds of millions of yuan for wildlife protection.

In June, Luo was named a "Climate Hero" by UNEP. His photographs are being exhibited at UN headquarters in New York.

Earlier this month, Forbes magazine named the Sichuan province man one of the world's top 26 leaders, trendsetters and innovators.

Luo sponsored the first children's painting contest last year and has since decided to make it an annual event.

The past two contests attracted the participation of 3.8 million children.

UN Vice Secretary-General Achim Steiner, who also is executive director of UNEP, said the contest has inspired children to pay more attention to the environment.

The painting contest has also proven a model that is being duplicated in South Korea, India and Indonesia, Steiner said.

Luo said protection of biological diversity will be the theme of the third contest scheduled next summer.

Next summer's contest will be accompanied by additional events such as the selection of model "green" schools, teacher training activities and public classes on environmental protection.

(China Daily 08/17/2009 page8)