Drawing for the cause of peace

Winners of the drawing competition Peace for Children will be picked on Wednesday.

The drawing contest saw more than 1,500 children participate from 22 special needs centres from across the UAE.

Children of various ages and disabilities took part in expressing their feelings about peace and war in the world.

A book will be compiled with all the children's drawings.

Centre directors and competition organisers said the concept of the contest was to give children the chance to express peace from their point of view.

An official from the organising committee said: "It is worthy to mention that this artistic demonstration derives its significance from the highly expressive skills possessed by special needs children compared to normal children, and their ability to communicate their message in an honest and human way by means of colours."

The pictures entered show how children are affected by their surrounding environment.

The drawings all had aspects of the environment and the suffering of children in wars.

There are also some drawings representing the UAE environment, habits and traditions.

The technical committee supervising the competition will rate the drawings according to age categories and disability.

The top three drawings will be awarded appreciation certificates and prizes.

The organisers said they felt the competition had allowed the children to highlight their capabilities, demonstrate their feelings towards peace and denounce wars that bring poverty, mayhem and deprivation.