Tonga commences the Ozone2Climate Art Contest

Tonga commences the Ozone2Climate Art Contest

The Ozone2Climate art contestants are hosted by the National Ozone Layer Protection Unit at the Department of Climate Change conference room.

On the 10^th May 2022, the National Ozone Layer Protection Division from the Department of Climate Change conducted a consultation meeting with the contestants of the Ozone2Climate Art Contest on the awareness of the ozone layer and the Montreal Protocol requirements. Discussions were also held for questions regarding the art contest. This is the first Ozone2Climate art contest to be conducted in Tonga and it is organized to promote the linkages of ozone layer protection and climate change mitigation as well as proclaiming the achievements accomplished under the Montreal Protocol.

The art contest consists of two age groups which are ‘Youth’ and ‘General Categories.’ The registered participants will compete in drawing, photography and graphic design depending on the type of artwork registered by the competitor. The winners at the national level will enter into the regional contest to compete with other contestants from 38 Asia – Pacific Countries. Monetary prizes will be awarded to the winners at the national level whereas the winners at the regional level will be awarded a certificate from UNEP together with trophies.

Mr. Fifita from the National Ozone Layer Protection Unit encouraged the contestants in his presentation with regards to the additional benefits that will be gained from this contest. He believed that this is a golden opportunity to showcase the artworks to a wider audience, gaining recognition of the brilliant imaginative skills of the artist/contestant. He also reminded them that it is not only the artwork and artist’s visibility that will be placed unto the global stage but also a great way to use creativity in inspiring people to take action on environmental issues.

Furthermore, the registration has closed with more than 20 contestants and the deadline for the submission of artworks is set for the 20^th of May 2022. There will be no late submissions. For initial screening prior, the National Ozone Layer Protection Unit will submit all the artworks in digital files to the Mahidol University in Thailand. Then a judging committee organized by the ozone layer protection unit will carefully judge the submissions based on four categories:  Relevance, Creativity, Quality & Overall Impression.

The art contest is an outreach platform for continuous mobilization of public support on phasing out of ozone depleting substances and decreasing potent greenhouse gases with the aim of motivating people to protect the ozone layer. The art contest is funded by UNEP to be implemented by Asia Pacific National Ozone Units as part of the commemoration of the World Ozone Day on the 16^th of September, 2022 program.

Ends