Mayors for Peace art competition for children

‘Peaceful Towns’ Children’s Art Competition 2026 – Guidelines for entering the competition

1. overview

1. overview

To further promote the theme of peace in its member cities, the Mayors for Peace initiative is organising a peace-themed art competition for children aged between 6 and 15 in all member cities. The city of Chemnitz is taking part in this competition.

The submitted artworks will be forwarded by the city of Chemnitz to Mayors for Peace. Award-winning artworks will be published and receive a prize depending on the category.

The winning artwork of the Mayors for Peace President’s Award will be used as the design for Mayors for Peace folders, which are used on various occasions, such as United Nations conferences. This is intended to raise awareness of the importance of peace education.

The City of Chemnitz also reserves the right to present the submitted artworks in an exhibition. Participants will receive an invitation in good time.
 

2. participants and categories

Participants:

The competition is open to children aged 6 to 15 (cut-off date: 1 November 2026) who commute to or live in the member cities of Mayors for Peace.

Categories:

Category 1:         6 to 10 years
Category 2:       11 to 15 years
 

3rd topic

“What Peace Means to Me” – “What Peace Means to Me”

4. requirements for the work of art

The artworks must fulfil all of the following requirements to be considered for the shortlist. The winning image of the Mayors for Peace President's Award will be printed on transparent document folders. Therefore, approximately 1 cm of the artwork may be cut off at the edges.

  1. Use only white paper in B4 (257 mm x 364 mm) or A3 (297 mm x 420 mm) format.
  2. Only drawings and paintings are permitted. Photo collages, digital art, etc. will not be accepted. There are no restrictions on the materials to be used.
  3. Artwork must be drawn/painted on flat surfaces so that it can be scanned.
  4. The artwork must not have been submitted to other competitions. This excludes competitions organised by member cities, through which the selected artwork will be submitted to the Mayors for Peace Secretariat.
  5. The artwork must be created by a single person (joint works by several people will not be accepted).
  6. The artwork must not infringe the rights of third parties, e.g. copyrights (including cartoon characters), trademarks or portrait rights.
  7. Emblems for the Red Cross and other similar symbols are not permitted.
  8. Only one entry per participant is permitted.

5. procedure for participation in the painting competition - information for applicants

Please send

  • the artwork together with
  • the completed application form (in English) and
  • the completed data protection consent form


to the following address:

City of Chemnitz
Department 09 - Department of European and International Relations, Protocol
Markt 1
09111 Chemnitz

or hand in all documents together at the reception desk in the foyer of the Town Hall. 
Do not submit your artwork directly to the Mayors for Peace secretariat.
 

6. schedule

  1. Deadline for submissions to the City of Chemnitz: Monday 21 September 2026
  2. Announcement of results: Scheduled for early December 2026 (to be published on the Mayors for Peace website)
  3. Dispatch of certificates and commemorative gifts, and provision of data for participants’ certificates: Scheduled for January 2027
     

7. prices

  1. For each category, one first prize, two second prizes and three third prizes will be awarded. In addition, special prizes may be awarded to entrants in each category.
     
  2. The Mayors for Peace President’s Award will be presented to one of the two works that receive first prize.
     
  3. The member cities whose works are selected as winners will receive certificates and commemorative gifts. In addition, the winner of the President’s Award and the respective member city will each receive 20 transparent document folders printed with the artist’s name, age, country/region and city, as well as the submitted image.
     

8. further information

  1. The Mayors for Peace Secretariat holds all copyright and usage rights to all submitted images. The Secretariat also has the right to publish, present, exhibit, print and distribute the submitted works without the artists’ consent.
     
  2. Member cities do not require permission from the Secretariat to organise an exhibition of the accepted works. However, member cities are asked to submit photographs and a written summary following the exhibition.
     
  3. The names, ages, member cities, countries or regions, artworks and peace messages of the prize winners will be published on the Mayors for Peace website.
     
  4. Member cities are asked to keep the artworks in their possession until the results are announced.
     

9. questions

City of Chemnitz
Division of the Lord Mayor
Division 09 - Department of European and International Relations, Protocol
E-mail: protokoll(at)stadt-chemnitz.de
Telephone: 0371 488-1521