Parliament announces art competition to celebrate Democracy Day

The Parliament has announced it will be holding a drawing competition to celebrate the International Day of Democracy.

The International Day of Democracy is celebrated annually on September 15.

The Parliament said the purpose of the drawing competition was to familiarize people with the work of the Parliament and educate people on the principles of democracy.

The theme for the competition is ‘People’s Rule – Role of the Parliament’.

The conditions:

• The drawing must not have an image or message contrary to principles of Islam, the Maldivian constitution and laws, and community standards  
• The name, permanent address, ID card number, birth date and present address must be written on the back of the drawing
• The drawing must not have been used to enter another competition
• The drawing must be original artwork of the contestant
• The pieces must be hand-drawn, computer graphics will not be accepted
• Any drawing medium of choice can be used
• The drawing must be at least 18”x12”, with a one-cm unlined border
• All phrases in the drawing must be handwritten in either Dhivehi or English.

The contestants can enter in four age categories. They are:

• 35 years and above
• 18-35 years
• 14-18 years
• Lower than 14 years

Parliament states the age must be calculated based on how old the contestants are as of September 1, 2022.

The drawings will be judges by a panel selected by the Parliament.

30 percent of the marks will be for the relevance to the theme, 40 percent will be for creativity and presentation, and 30 percent will be for quality.

Contestants will need to score at least 70 percent to come first place, 60 percent to come second place, and 50 percent to come third place.

First place winners from each age category will receive an MVR 2,000 cash prize, second place winners will receive MVR 1,500, and third place winners will receive MVR 1,000.

Meanwhile, the overall winner of the competition will receive a MVR 5,000 cash prize, the second place winner MVR 4,000 and third place winner MVR 3,000.

The deadline for submission is 02:00 pm on September 1.

Contestants must also submit a copy of their national ID card and application form with their drawings, or email the information to the Parliament.

The application form is available for download on the Parliament’s website.