Ten year old Sarah Uwera from Rwanda will exhibit her art work in Belgium during the commemoration of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. She will be among other children from around the world whose drawings were selected for the exhibition. The exhibition will take place today at 5.30p.m at “The Galleria” in the Belgian Capital of Brussels. It’s expected to be graced by Benito Ferrero-Waldner, the Commissioner responsible for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy. Uwera who is the only one from Africa was selected after competing with children from 51 countries worldwide. Her drawing was selected from among 25, 819 submitted. Ten drawings from each country were pre-selected for the final round of the Competition which has been organised, for the second year in a row, by European Aid in order to call on the children in third world countries, the future adults, to express their vision of women/men equality. Illustrations on Uwera’s drawing are “I go to school; Mary and her little sister stay at home- Mary and her brother go to school”. The participation of these children was supposed to demonstrate the creativity, enthusiasm and integration of the concept of gender in the spirit of the children, and more particularly in those of the 8-10 year age group, in the third world countries. According to a press statement, a Jury meeting took place in Brussels to identify the winners of the World Drawing Competition on gender equality. The Jury composed of children from the European School of Brussels aged between 8-10 years selected 14 drawings (2 drawings from each region participating in the Competition: European Neighborhood Countries, Africa, Caribbean, Pacific, Latin America, Asia, Mediterranean). The prize of a total value of Euros 1.000 for each region will be awarded to the two winners from each region. The winning drawings will be included in a booklet which will be distributed in the schools of the countries of the region concerned. Ends
