[Award Ceremony] Health and Wellness Champions, Fighting for a Better World
The award ceremony for the 2024 Climate Change Painting Competition, hosted by TAISE, was held on July 20th. The judges encouraged the students to utilize the knowledge and practical applications learned from this competition to protect our planet's future. The winning students are all looking forward to using their paintings as a call for more people to take better care of the health of Earth and mankind.
Making its 14th debut this year, TAISE has held this competition since 2009 to encourage teachers and parents to care about climate change and sustainable development issues and influence the next generation via guidance with students' artistic creations. To bring everyone's attention to health and well-being, and to face the impact of climate change on humanity and the global environment, this year's theme is "Ambassadors of Health and Wellness," echoing the third United Nations Sustainable Development Goal: Health and Well-Being.
TAISE Chairman, Dr. Eugene Chien, said that the record was broken for the hottest June in the past 120,000 years last summer and that this year has set a new record. Through the painting competition, he hopes to make more people wake up to the reality that Earth and mankind are suffering from climate change and incorporate more sustainable practices into our everyday lives. Jhang Wun-Sing, the Chief Secretary of the Climate Change Administration of the Ministry of Environment, further mentioned that in the face of climate change, both individuals and organizations can respond through mitigation and adaptation and encourages everyone to implement low-carbon and green practices in all aspects of our daily life and consumptions.
Seeing students of all ages expressing their imagination and expectations for a healthy life through paintings, Jia Shu-Li, deputy director of the Health Promotion Administration of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, was pleased that the award-winning students not only paid attention to the impact of infectious diseases on humans but also deepened their concern for the health of the ocean and our planet. She took special care to remind the young ambassadors of health and wellness that smoking, alcohol, unhealthy diet, and lack of exercise are the four major factors that harm health. She called on everyone, young and old, to develop health-conscious habits together and continue to protect the Earth.
On the day of the award ceremony, 89 winning works were displayed for children of all ages to enjoy.
Leveraging the power of art to spur action
Looking at this year's entries, Wu Long-Rong, the chief judge and honorary chairman of the Republic of China's Association For Education Through Art, affirmed that all the outstanding works met the level of the creator's physical and mental development stage, have clear themes, perfect composition, unique characteristics, elegant color harmony, and demonstrated the ability to utilize innovative media. Liao Shuang-Cing, a special committee member of the Department of Information and Technology Education in charge of environmental education, remarked that art has considerable power to touch people's hearts and thus spur tangible action.
Lee Chen-Ning, a first-year student in the Affiliated Experimental Elementary School of National Chiayi University, won first place in the National Competition - Traditional Artwork - Elementary School group with Protect Marine Animals. During her frequent trips to the beach, she often saw many people littering, and with her uncle's encouragement, drew a picture of a beached whale, deceased due to having ingested too much garbage. She hopes everyone will stop littering so more beautiful animals can live on.
First place in the Elementary School group of the National competition, Li Chen-Ning, Affiliated Experimental Elementary School of National Chiayi University
By playing on the idea of the Rubik's cube and showing the impact of various choices, Hsieh Yi-Rui, the first place in the High School group of the National competition and a recent graduate of Qingxi Elementary School in Taoyuan City used her art teacher's advice on "thinking outside the box" to incorporate various issues such as diseases caused by climate change into her painting, hoping that people will change their thinking and lifestyle. Just like the turning motion engaged when playing with a Rubik's cube, it is both an action and an opportunity to break through difficulties, making the world a better place, a healthier planet, and healthier individuals.
First place in the High School group of the National competition, Hsieh Yi-Rui from Qingxi Elementary School, Taoyuan City
Using gentle, pastel colors to present scenes of mothers protecting their newborns, children crossing the road safely, and doctors and nurses working together to fight diseases, Hsinchu County Dong Xing Junior High School's Wang Ko-Ching conveyed her imagination of a healthy society through Fighting Bravely Against Diseases and took the first place for this year's national Digital Artwork Division. She explained that the leaf on the bottom symbolizes Taiwan, wishing good health for everyone on the island.
First place in the Digital Artwork division of the National competition, Wang Ko-Ching from Dong Xing Junior High School, Hsinchu County
Concerned about the situation of African refugees facing a lack of medical resources and threats of disease, and hoping to encourage Taiwan to join the ranks of those providing aid, Huang Chen-Xuan of Tainan City Wenyuan Elementary School composed a piece called Awareness of Aiding Refugees, focusing on promoting the value of African children to further advocate for a more equitably healthy future for our next generation, winning the gold medal of the international competition group.
International Elementary School Group Golden Award, Huang Chen-Xuan, Wenyuan Elementary School, Tainan City
The gold medal was awarded to Goh Jun-Han of the Pin Hwa High School in Malaysia for the Junior High School Division of the International Competition. For him, healthcare workers are like a beam of light and guardians in a dark room. No matter how bad the environment is, healthcare workers will selflessly care for everyone, bringing new hope to the world.
International Junior High School Group Golden Award, Goh Jun-Han, Pin Hwa High School, Malaysia
This year's Climate Change Painting Competition was directed by the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Environment, and the Ministry of Health and Welfare, and jointly organized by the Good Neighbor Foundation, Grape King Bio Ltd., Shin Kong Life Insurance Co., Ltd., and Chung Tai Resource Technology Corp., CTCI Corporation, Taiwan Soka Association, Child Welfare League Foundation, The Merit-Times, Epson Taiwan Technology & Trading Ltd., ARTCO KIDS, Dr. Morita Group Moribio Cosmetic Company Ltd. Taiwan Branch (Hong Kong), as well as the Taiwan Environmental Information Association.
Group photo of General Coordinator, Chairman Dr. Eugene Chien, and representatives of the directing organizations representatives and cooperating organizations
Among them, the Good Neighbor Foundation, which has long cared about supporting reading comprehension and education on sustainability in rural elementary schools, has graciously sponsored 25 Good Neighbor Foundation Special Awards, and the OPEN-Chan mascot will personally present the awards to encourage more grassroots movements of teachers and students enriching their knowledge of sustainability and health through artistic creation.
TAISE disclosed that this year's competition had 6,306 students from 22 counties and cities in Taiwan, in addition to 22 foreign countries and regions (including Taiwan). The top three winners and other honorable mentions from each category of this year's national and international competitions were exhibited on-site at the SDG Asia Exposition in Taipei World Trade Center Hall 1 from August 8th through August 10th; the works will remain on display at the Taipei MRT Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall Station Art Gallery and Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Kaohsiung Zuoying Store from September through October.
Winners of the "Good Neighbor Foundation Special Awards" with OPEN-Chan