Art Competition for Street Children

An art competition for 150 street children between the ages of  5 and 16 under the theme If I Had the Chance  was held on 11 May 2002 at the auditorium of the Department of Social Services in Dhaka by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in collaboration with Aparajeyo-Bangladesh. Using drawing as the medium, the children completed this theme sentence through their art. The competition was one of seven to be held by ADB in Asia and the Pacific. The other cities which will host competitions are Jakarta, Kathmandu, Manila, Phnom Penh, Port Moresby, and Ulaanbaatar

The 150 "street artists" were registered through local NGOs working with street children on a daily basis in Dhaka. Following the competition, juries at ADB Headquarters in Manila, Philippines will select the 9 winning drawings. In addition, the young artists themselves will choose their favorite drawings which will receive the Children’s Selection Awards.

An Awards Ceremony will be held on 27 June 2002 at which time the awardees will receive a trophy and a scholarship to further their interest in the arts. Later in the year, a book including a selection of the artworks as well as profiles of the artists and their realities will be published by ADB.