PITTSBURGH--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Bayer Corporation and the United Nations Environment Programme’s Regional Office for North America (UNEP RONA) have kicked off the 21st annual International Children’s Painting Competition on the Environment (ICPC).
The ICPC, sponsored globally by Bayer AG and regionally in North America by Bayer Corporation, is an environmental education initiative for elementary and middle school students that uses art as its primary instructional vehicle.
The theme of this year’s painting competition is Green Communities, and U.S. and Canadian students -- ages six to 14 -- are invited to participate and create artwork that illustrates their concerns and hopes for the protection of the environment in their communities, cities and countries.
“Young people play a vital role in our communities and represent our best hope for change. This competition uses art to encourage them to think about their future and their role in building a greener, more sustainable world for us all,” said Amy Fraenkel, Director of UNEP RONA.
The free-style artwork must be submitted on either letter or legal-size paper and can be created using crayons, colored pencils, watercolors, oils, etc. Individual students may enter more than one submission. North American submissions must be received by the UNEP RONA office by February 29, 2012. For complete entry rules and conditions, visit www.BayerUS.com/MSMS or www.unep.org/rona.
The ICPC is a signature event of UNEP’s annual World Environment Day (WED) celebrations. The North American host city for 2012 WED celebrations is Washington. For the sixth year in a row, Bayer will be the lead sponsor for the WED youth programs in North America and will host the first prize winner at all Washington youth events.
The North American first prize winner will receive a fully-paid trip to Washington on June 5-6, 2012, and a fully-paid trip to the 2012 TUNZA International Children’s Conference (date and location to be determined). TUNZA is UNEP’s worldwide youth forum that brings students together to discuss environmental issues and share experiences.
“These children will very soon become the leaders of the world’s communities. Through our long-standing partnership with UNEP RONA on the painting competition and World Environment Day, our goal is to reach the widest possible audience of today’s students with important messages about environmental responsibility, science literacy and their role as the next generation of environmental stewards,” said Rebecca Lucore, Executive Director, Bayer USA Foundation and Head of Bayer’s Making Science Make Sense® program.
About Bayer Corporation and Making Science Make Sense®
Bayer Corporation, headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pa., is the U.S. subsidiary of Bayer AG, an international health care, nutrition and high-tech materials group based in Leverkusen, Germany. The company’s products and services are designed to benefit people and improve their quality of life. The Corporation is committed to the principles of sustainable development and to its role as a socially and ethically responsible corporate citizen. Economy, ecology and social responsibility are corporate policy objectives of equal rank. In North America, Bayer had 2010 net sales of EUR 8,228 million ($10,861 million) and employed 16,400 at year-end. For more information, go to www.bayerus.com.
Making Science Make Sense® (MSMS) is Bayer’s company-wide initiative that advances science literacy through hands-on, inquiry-based science education, employee volunteerism and a public education campaign. Currently, 12 Bayer sites around the U.S. operate local MSMS programs, which together represent a national volunteer corps of more than 1,000 employees.
About United Nations Environment Programme
Established in 1972 following the United Nation’s Conference on the Human Environment, UNEP’s mission is to provide leadership and encourage partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing, and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations.
About UNEP Regional Office for North America
The mission of UNEP's Regional Office for North America (RONA), which is located in Washington, D.C. and comprises Canada and the United States, is: to build support in the region for UNEP's work; to promote effective responses to international environmental challenges; and to foster cooperation on environmental issues between North America and the broader international community. To achieve this mission, RONA’s strategy is to promote collaboration between UNEP and all sectors of North American society, including U.S. and Canadian governmental institutions, the private sector and civil society groups, and to provide UNEP with North American perspectives. For more information on UNEP RONA, go to: www.unep.org/rona.
About Bayer and UNEP
Bayer AG is the first company in the world to forge a long-term partnership with UNEP in the area of youth and environment. The partners first began cooperating on youth environmental projects in Asia in the late 1990s. In 2004, Bayer and UNEP signed a framework agreement to globalize this partnership. The partners have jointly organized a dozen environmental projects for young people around the world, including the TUNZA International Youth and Children’s Conference, regional youth networks, the Bayer Young Environmental Envoy Program, the International Children’s Painting Competition, the photo competition Ecology in Focus in Eastern Europe and TUNZA Magazine. In addition, Bayer Corporation in the United States supports UNEP’s World Environment Day activities in North America. Further information on the partnership between UNEP and Bayer is available on the Internet at: www.unep.bayer.com.
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