Awards Ceremony
Street Children's Art Competition
Speech By
Urooj Malik
Country Director, ADB
Cambodia Resident Mission
7 August 2002
Russian Cultural Center
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Excellency Chea Sophara, Governor of the Municipality of Phnom Penh
Ladies and Gentlemen,
And our young artists
I welcome you to the Awards Ceremony for the Asian Development Bank's (ADB) Street Children's Art Competition, which was held on 15 June 2002. The competition was organized by Mith Samlanh/Friends. It was a very inspiring experience. There were about 150 former and current street children who participated in the competition. They have sent important messages to us through their artwork. We can see some examples of their dreams, what they would do 'If they had the chance…'
Before I go any further, I wish to express my profound thanks and deep appreciation to all staff from participating NGOs and volunteers who assisted in making the competition a great success. My special thanks also go to the NGO implementing partner, Mith Samlanh/Friends, for their exceptional organizing abilities and a highly dedicated staff team. It was a pleasure to work together with you. I wish to also thank the participating NGOs who sent children to the competition and for the wonderful work that you do on a day-to-day basis to assist the children of this unique Kingdom of Cambodia.
Last, but in no way least, I wish to thank the children for their willingness to share their dreams with us. To some of us, many of your dreams seemed very modest: to go to school, to become a teacher, to go back to the village, and to fish or grow food. Other children had dreams that took them to space, or piloting a plane or becoming a doctor, an athlete, and so on…
In other words, your dreams are the dreams of children all around the globe. You dream of a life fulfilled through realizing your potential and contributing to society. Many of you dream of helping the poor, because you have witnessed and experienced the pain of poverty. However, the difference between your dreams and the dreams of more advantaged children is 'having the chance…. having the opportunity'.
I wish to assure you that your voice and your dreams will not be lost or forgotten. They will be captured in a book entitled 'If I had the chance…'. Each of you will be interviewed so that we can learn more about what was behind your drawing and your dreams. The book will also describe the challenges facing children such as yourself as you try to realize your plans for your life.
Following the 15 June 2002 competition, the 150 artworks were brought to Manila for review by 3 juries, one for each of the 3 age groups (ages 5 to 8, 9 to 12, and 13-16). As you can imagine, the juries had a most difficult task at hand. They had to weigh 3 criteria for each drawing: relevance to the theme, originality and artistic ability. The juries had to select 9 drawings from the three different age groups.
For those of you who attended the competition, you will recall that the children themselves also acted as juries by indicating their favorite artwork. This resulted in 'children's selections'. We have one such awardee with us today.
Each of the artists selected by the juries will receive a scholarship to further their interest in the arts. The scholarship will be managed by their respective NGOs. The funds will be used to enhance the artists' abilities in the visual or performing arts. For example: taking courses, engaging an instructor or tutor, purchasing special supplies, etc.
Once again, it has been truly a pleasure to work and cooperate with you all, and most especially, the beautiful children and emerging artists of Cambodia. May God Bless You All.
Thank you for your attention.
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