Mayors for Peace - Children's Art Competition - Peaceful towns

Tasman District is a member of the ‘Mayors for Peace’ network. To further promote peace education in its member cities, Mayors for Peace holds an international art competition for children aged 6-15 who live in these cities.

In 2026 we are again inviting young artists of Tasman District to create and submit artworks that explore and promote peace, keeping with this year’s theme: ‘What Peace Means To Me’

Competition Summary

To further promote peace education in its member cities, ‘Mayors for Peace’ holds an international art competition on the theme of peace for children ages 6 to 15 in all member cities. The winning entry for the Mayors for Peace President’s Award will be adopted as the design for Mayors for Peace clear document folders to be used on various occasions, including United Nations conferences, to promote awareness about the importance of peace education.

Participants and categories

To be eligible to enter, children participating must live in the Tasman District.

• Category 1 = Children aged 6 to 10 years old as of November 1, 2026
• Category 2 = Children aged 11 to 15 years old as of November 1, 2026

Theme: “What Peace Means to Me”  

Artwork Requirements: 

B4-sized (257mm×364mm) or A3-sized (297 mm x 420 mm) white paper must be used for artworks. 

Note: The artwork that wins the Mayors for Peace President’s Award is printed on plastic folders, so about 1 cm may be trimmed from its edges. 

• Artworks must be drawings or paintings. Photo collages, digital art, etc. will not be accepted. There are no other rules about materials. 
• Artworks must be flat ones that can be scanned. 
• Artworks must not have been submitted to other competitions.  
• Each artwork must be made by an individual, not by a group. 
• Artworks must not infringe on the rights of a third party, such as copyright (including that for animated characters), trademarks, and the right of publicity. 
• Emblems for the Red Cross Society and other similar emblems are not allowed
• One applicant can submit one artwork only. 

Click here to submit your digitally scanned art work.

Entries close on 4 September 2026.

Selection process

A panel, led by the Mayor of Tasman Tim King, will select their favourite five best artworks in each of the two age categories as our ten finalists.

Finalists will be invited to an awards ceremony in September where their physical artworks will be exhibited and Mayor Tim King will present prizes to the winners.

Selected works will then be submitted by Tasman Council to the Mayors for Peace Secretariat in Japan. Artworks that go on to win the Mayors for Peace President's International Award will be printed on document folders and used
to promote awareness of the importance of peace education.

Winners of the international awards will be notified in early December, with a separate prize giving ceremony with Mayor Tim King arranged.

Terms of using the artwork

• The copyright to all artworks submitted to the Mayors for Peace Secretariat is owned by the Secretariat. The Secretariat owns the right to publicize, present, exhibit, print and distribute copies of these artworks without the applicants’ agreement.  
• The submitted artworks may be used for member cities’ projects when the Mayors for Peace Secretariat gives permission.  
• The winners of the Mayors for Peace President’s Award and the Outstanding Performance prize will have their artworks, names, ages, member cities, countries, and messages regarding their works posted on the Mayors for Peace website. 

Inquiries 

Luke Shaw, Community Partnership Officer. [email protected]

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