PRESS RELEASE N0: JPNEMPAK 08-033           

Islamabad: 15th October, 2008

            The Embassy of Japan, in collaboration with the Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA), the Pakistan-Japan Cultural Association (PJCA), Islamabad and the MEXT Alumni Association of Pakistan (MAAP), organized the Japan Children Art Competition and Speech Contest on Wednesday 15th October, 2008 at the National Art Gallery in Islamabad.  The Competition, which proved popular among school children for the past 14 years, is part of the Japan-Pakistan Friendship Fest 2008 and promotes creativity among the talented and budding young artists and speakers, consisting of nearly 100 enthusiastic students from over 32 different schools of Islamabad and Rawalpindi. 

Students of 13 and 14 years of age composed pictures in the Art Competition of the theme “Me in Japan”. Mr. Ghulam Rasool, a renowned painter of the Pride of Performance and former Director General of PNCA, Ms. Fauzia Minallah, a renowned painter along with a representative of the Embassy of Japan made up the panel of judges for the art competition.  

One student of each school of the same age competed in the Speech Contest with the topic “What kind of a friend is Japan to Pakistan: Is Japan a friend?”. The panel of judges for the speech contest comprised of Ms. Ishrat Hyatt, Senior Journalist and Columnist, The News, Ms. Shabnam Riaz, PTV English Newscaster, Poet, Author & Columnist, and a representative from the Embassy of Japan. 

On the recommendations of the judges, the prize winners of the Japan Children’s Art

Competition were as follows:

First Prize:     Muzna Khan, Divisional Public School, Rawalpindi

Second Prize: Ahmed Karim, Schola Nova, Islamabad

Third Prize:    Noor-us-Saba, Roots College International

Consolation Prize:   Sheeza Mughal, Springfield Public School 

The Names of the Prize Winners in Speech Contest were as follows:

First Prize:   Sundas Rauf, OPF Girls College, Islamabad

Second Prize: Danyal Hasan, Asas International School, Islamabad

Third Prize:   Semone Akhtar, Gandhara Public School, Islamabad

Consolation Prize:     Hannan-ul-Haque, Schola Nova, Islamabad

Special Prize: Syed Ahmed, Pegasus School International, Islamabad           

H.E. Mr. Chihiro Atsumi, Ambassador of Japan to Pakistan, Syed Ijlal Haider Zaidi, President PJCA, and Dr. Muhammad Akbar, President MAAP, awarded prizes to the winner of the speech contest and of the art competition. All students were given certificates of participation. Ambassador Atsumi remarked that: “We hope that this competition will provide an opportunity for the students to familiarize themselves about Japan and to contemplate on the friendly relationship Japan and Pakistan have enjoyed for more than five decades.”