Children imagine a better country
Winners of art competition awarded
“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.”
True to the famous saying by Pablo Picasso, The Daily Star in association with Arla Foods Ltd organised “Imagine Nation”, an inter-school art contest, with the theme “How our children foresee Bangladesh”.
Fifteen English-medium schools participated in the competition in November, which was organised on occasion of Universal Children’s Day. Top 30 selected artworks were exhibited yesterday in the final round held at The Daily Star Centre.
Arman Bhuiya Arko, an eighth-grader at ABC International School in Narayanganj, won the first prize while Adeena Hasan, an eighth-grader at Manarat Dhaka International School and College, won the second prize. Nabiha Zaman, a sixth-grader at Manarat, and Shibraj Deb, a seventh-grader at Mount Royal Academy, jointly won the third prize.
Besides, other participants were given certificates and gift hampers.
Before the prize-giving programme, the artists described to the judges what they had imagined to create the artwork. Some imagined a city free of traffic jam, while others imagined a developed country that cares for its animals and environment – all were expressed through the artworks.
The Daily Star Editor and Publisher Mahfuz Anam was present as chief guest at the prize-giving programme. Contemporary visual artist Nazia Andaleeb Preema was one of the jury members.
Speaking at the programme, Mahfuz Anam said, “We casually say that young people are the future of our nation. But how? You [young people] are the future because of your qualities…by your skills and potential to imagine.”
“All of us may have heard about Uber, the ride-hailing company that does not own a car…Amazon, one of the biggest tech companies of the world dealing with e-commerce. How did these companies form? Someone had imagined and come up with these new ideas…” he said.
He also thanked parents for their devotion to the children.
Nazia Andaleeb Preema said children have effectively expressed themselves through their creative artworks and imagination.
“The artworks created, that too at this age, were really thought-provoking and fully utilised their freedom of expression,” she added.
Ayman Sadiq, founder and CEO of 10 Minute School; Osama Bin Noor, co-founder of Youth Opportunities; and artist Zahangir Alom were also present at the prize-giving programme, which was moderated by Tajdin Hassan, The Daily Star’s head of marketing.