Beautiful China – Henkel Kids Painting Contest

Henkel China’s Campaign to Teach Children About Sustainability Ends on a High Note

From the children’s smiles to the heartfelt gratitude of the non-profit organization that benefited from the activity, Henkel helped make a difference. The “Beautiful China – Henkel Kids Painting Contest” officially ended on June 21 with a closing and awards ceremony.

Over 100,000 RMB was donated to Roots & Shoots, which will plant a “Henkel Forest” with part of the donation. The contribution was raised through internal donations at Henkel, along with a large donation directly from the company. Faruk Arig, President of Henkel China, made the official donation at the ceremony. “This is a great opportunity that really embodies our strategic priority – inspire. I am proud of the time and effort that Henkel employees have made, and the contributions that we can make together to our local communities,” he commented.

At the awards ceremony, Mr. Arig also presented two Grand Prize awards to jury-selected artwork and honorary mentions to key schools, which concluded an extensive series of activities. These activities were initiated back in December 2013, with a media kickoff and launch ceremony. All of the activities were designed to inspire and encourage children to think about sustainability, and to learn about it through their own actions and thoughts.

More than 170 schools throughout Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan participated in the contest. Children aged 9 to 16-years-old put their artistic skills to the test, and submitted drawings or paintings that highlighted their ideas on embracing sustainability in their daily lives. The children had until April 15, 2014, to submit their artworks as part of the competition.

As an ongoing part of the entire initiative, two roadshows were held in Shanghai in March and April, where Henkel volunteers had a chance to interact with children in their classrooms. Sessions were held along with games and quizzes that allowed volunteers to work with the children, and help them to better understand how important sustainability is.

By the time the deadline came around, the contest had already received a total of 23,000 artworks from children all over Greater China, which was a tremendous achievement in itself. Thanks to school roadshows as well as the major push that was organized and implemented by the Henkel China team, the children were able to submit their artworks to the project.
Two rounds of jury meetings were held during the months of April and May to select winners of the contest. Members of the jury consisted of artists, Henkel representatives, as well as other dignitaries. Starting on April 28, seven jury members debated through the afternoon to decide on 120 finalists, and during the second round held on May 16, the Grand Prize winners were selected after much discussion.
In June, 130 of the selected pieces of art were displayed in different exhibitions, starting from Children’s Day. These exhibitions attracted a lot of attention – not only because of the quality of art, but also because of the important message that they conveyed.

From June 16-18, Henkel employees were able to purchase souvenirs that made from the children’s artwork. These amazing keepsakes included art reproductions, key chains and even picture postcards. They also serve as important reminders of the importance of sustainability – something that every Henkel employee should strive for.

Speaking at the closing ceremony of the “Beautiful China – Henkel Kids Painting Contest” initiative, Mr. Arig commented, “The past six months have been a success for Henkel in terms of spreading the message of sustainability to everyone through the efforts of our China team. Please continue to devote some of your time and effort towards important causes such as sustainability, and help us to make a difference in our communities in order to build a better future.”

 The contest was initiated back in December 2013, with a media kickoff and launch ceremony.

Faruk Arig, President of Henkel China, made the official donation at the ceremony.

There was a very happy and warm atmosphere in the room during the quiz session.