Competition increases the quality of work, said Stelios Christopoulos of Charge d'Affaires Delegation of the European Union to T&T, as he delivered an address at the awards ceremony of the 2011 Gender Equality Drawing Competition at Sagicor Financial Centre in Port-of-Spain last Thursday. "We believe in competition," Christopoulos said. "The more intense the competition, the better the quality. "With a higher quantity of entrants the quality is expected to be better, which in the end will lead to better results, products and services," he said. "This not only applies to this competition but also to art, life and business in general."
The winning drawing was submitted by Jessica Jagnanan of Rochard Douglas Presbyterian school. The runners up were Dravid Mahadeo, also of Rochard Douglas Presbyterian school, and Naomi Achong of Melville Memorial Girls' AC school. A total of 137 entries were submitted from 17 primary schools throughout T&T. Among them, ten entries were chosen to represent the country in the international competition at EU headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. A top prize of 1000 euros (approximately $8,600) will be awarded to the best entry in the world. In 2010, three of the drawings from T&T made it to the finals of the competition and featured in a special booklet about the competition produced by the European Commission, and were put on display last November in the Musée des Enfants in Brussels.
The top ten were chosen by a panel comprising Hazel Brown, co-ordinator of Network of Non-Governmental Organisations of Trinidad and Tobago and Shastri Maharaj, artist and curriculum co-ordinator of Visual Arts, Ministry of Education. Since the EU Gender Equality Drawing Competition began five years ago this is the fourth time that T&T has participated in the event. It is held annually on March 8, which coincides with International Women's Day, and seeks to raise awareness about gender equality issues, highlighting the fact that men and women are equal and have the same rights and opportunities everywhere in the world. "The more equal a society is the better off its citizens when more women are involved," Christopoulos said. The competition is open to children aged eight to ten who live outside the European Union. An elated Jessica Jagnanan said about her victory: "I feel great about winning! It is my first time!" "My winning drawing shows that both men and women are equal at work and in the home and could share chores like in the kitchen."