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