Winning Images in the Columban Schools Competition on Peace

Picture by Jenessa Thomas

Source: Columbans

Winning images in the recent Columban competition 'Building Peaceful Futures' in Britain came from three schools, after judges sifted through 82 entries from 18 schools.

Cara Mashumba of St Mary's Catholic School in Bishop's Stortford was awarded first prize for her image 'Peace Building'. "My art piece is based on equality and peace for all people of different ethnicity and religion," she said. People of various cultures hold up banners reading: 'Real equality matters - We want peace'; 'Refugees Welcome' and 'Water for People, Not for Profit'. Cara says, "it is everyone's individual responsibility to maintain these values to decrease the amount of violence and chaos."

Second was 15-year-old Jenessa Thomas of Loreto Grammar School in Altrincham, who based her image on a dove, a popular symbol of peace. "My painting depicts a dove which is a frequent symbol of peace and hope in Christianity," she said; "the rays of light also contain paintings of actions and words of peace which can be seen continuously in the Bible through Jesus' actions."

Third was an image by 16-year-old Julia Szewczyk of St Augustine's in West London called, 'Spread love not war.' In her own words she says: "My drawing represents a young Ukrainian girl standing in the middle of her city that has been destroyed by war. She is holding the flag of her country and wearing Ukrainian national dress to represent Ukraine as a country. Next to the girl is a sunflower which is the national flower of Ukraine. In the background the city is in black and white to portray the bleak and lifeless city that has been destroyed by war. However, the girl is in colour to represent hope for a brighter future. In the foreground there is a protest which represents the people around the world standing together to fight for peace. I included the quote, 'Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God' from Matthew's Gospel to link the peacemaking actions of people around the world to the teachings of the Bible to spread love and not war."

The Columbans thanked all the young people who entered the 2023 competition and the judging panel. Former Columban competitions have focused on Climate Change, Migration, Throwaway Culture, Racism and 21st Century Changemakers.

Read the full list of winners and judges at: www.columbancompetition.com/

See all the winning images; https://columbans.co.uk/justice-peace/12212/winning-images-in-the-columban-schools-media-competition-on-peace/