Wednesday, 2 January 2013

Peace Poster Contest – It is more than a contest!






Project :  Peace Poster Contest – It is more than a contest!

Date      : 22nd September 2012 (Saturday)
                       6th October 2012 (Saturday)
Time     : 9:00am - 12:00pm

Venue   : SJKC On Pong 2 School, Pandan Mewah, Ampang, Selangor 
               SJKC Desa Jaya 2, Bandar Sri Damansara, Selangor


We quite like the theme of 2012 - 2013 Peace Poster Contest (PPC) “Imagine Peace”. All of us agree that embracing, mutual respecting and equality are the key factors to achieve peace. It seems so easy and simple, yet peace seems so distance to many of us. There are still wars, racial conflicts, religious conflicts and many other conflicts around the world.

Our club organised two PPC contests at two different areas. On September 22nd we did it at SJKC On Pong 2 (On Pong National Type Chinese Primary School 2), Pandan Mewah, Ampang,Selangor. We invited two other Natinal Type Chinese primary schools and three National primary schools around Ampang area. There were Chinese, Malay and Indian pupils took part in the contest. In the event three best posters were selected.

On October 6th, we did it at SJKC Desa Jaya 2, Bandar Sri Damansara, Selangor. We managed to get one private school, one National Type Tamil primary school and two other National Type Chinese schools around the area to participate in the contest. The participants were come from different cultural and social economic backgrounds.

On the Oct-6th PPC, we wanted something different, as we notice that the so called winning posters are seemed to share a similar idea; dove, rainbow, globe and flags, perhaps the difference could be the colouring skill.

Our judge Mr TanPoh Chuan of Poh Chuan Art Centre, an experienced and committed art teacher, also teaches art for special need children, suggested to us that judging the product of any contest should not neglect the potential of others; peace is embracing and giving other the equal chance.

For the Oct-6th PPC judging process, we followed Mr Tan Poh Chuan’s idea. At the end of the contest, posters were divided into three groups:

First group, the completed product of good colouring and drawing skill but low creative skill.

Second group, the completed product of moderate colouring, drawing skill and moderate creative skill.

Third group, incomplete product, moderate colouring and drawing skill but good creative skill.

Another judge, a class assistant in an International School, a peace lover, a yoga instructor who majored graphic design in her varsity study, Miss Tan Li Xuan, suggested to interview each and every participant about his/her product.

The first group would tell you that that was the peace poster his/her art teacher wanted.

The second group would tell you that they are trying to get close to the norm, but their idea of peace could be different from the norm.

To our surprise, the third group’s answer reflected our negligence; there are other views on peace, their views would not be accepted by teachers, judges and other adults. It was a touching moment, few pupils were in tear.

We then selected the best from the three groups, an embracing outcome. Of course it was not an easy process. We believe that it would not be well received by others, as most of us are comfortable with the norm and the presence.

I would like to suggest to Lions International HQ, instead of having Peace Poster Contest annually, could we organise Peace Poster Exhibition annually at all levels? There is no winner, but allowing our children, our youth to have their views of PEACE to be shared by others, the local level and the international level.

Let the people from all over the world; with different social economic and cultural backgrounds share their views of PEACE.

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