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By Katrice R. Jalbuena, Reporter
Two young Filipino artists took home top honors
in an international picture contest held in Japan recently.
Bernardo Matudan, a third-year student from
Batasan Hills National High School, placed first and 12-year-old
Jamille Bianca Aguilar, second, in the 15th Annual World
Children’s Picture Contest.
The contest was organized by the Ie-no-Hikari
Association, a Japanese charitable corporation dedicated to the
cultural promotion of rural communities.
The yearly competition is sponsored by the
Ministries of Foreign Affairs; Education, Culture, Sports, Science
and Technology; Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries; Nippon Hosei
Kokai (NHK); the International Society for Education through Art;
the Japan Federation of Art Education Teachers; and the
International Raiffeisen Union.
Philippine Ambassador to Japan Domingo Siazon
Jr. reported to the Department of Foreign Affairs that Bernardo
received the gold prize for his work, “Time is Gold,” while
Jamille Bianca won the silver prize for her work entitled, “The
Different Side of Me.”
During a ceremony held on March 24 in Toranomon
Pastoral Hotel in Tokyo, the works of Bernardo and his 19 gold prize
co-awardees were selected from more than 50,000 entries from 66
countries. The judges included experts from the National Museum of
Art in Tokyo and the country’s premier universities and art
associations.
Jamille Bianca won the silver prize along with
39 other young artists for her work.
Siazon invited Bernardo to the Philippine
Embassy on March 27 to personally congratulate him on his win. He
encouraged the young artist to continue honing his artistic skills
and developing his math skills to fulfill his dream of becoming an
engineer.
Bernardo was accompanied by his teachers, Maria
Hazele Pineda and Nobel Pineda. His award-winning piece, which he
created using a ballpoint pen, and the other entries may be viewed
at Ie-no-Hikari’s website at www.ienohikari.net/zugacon/english/index.html.
Ie-no-Hikari will start accepting applications
for the 16th Annual World Children’s Picture Contest from June 1
to September 30. Details will be made available on the group’s
website.
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