World Boys and Girls Exhibition opens

World Boys and Girls Exhibition opens

Minister of Culture and Tourism I Gede Ardika will open the World Boys and Girls Exhibition on Thursday at Galeri Nasional at Jl. Medan Merdeka Timur 14, Central Jakarta.

The 10-day exhibition will display more than 300 paintings by children from 161 countries including Indonesia. The paintings portray children's desire for peace in line with the exhibition's theme of EARTH, an acronym for Enjoy, Appreciate, Realize, Try and Hope.

The event is organized by Saddharma Pundarika Indonesia (SPI) on behalf of its parent organization, Japan's Soka Gakkai International (SGI), and supported by UNESCO.

A painting competition will also be organized on Sunday for children between the ages of four and nine years old with total prize money of Rp 5.5 million (US$528).

"Children must learn about peace as early as possible and painting is the ideal form to help children express themselves freely," said entertainer and art observer Suyadi, popularly known as Pak Raden in the 1980s puppet show Si Unyil. -- JP