Turkmenistan

Turkmenistan celebrated the International Day for Biological Diversity through several activites. There was an Art and Article Competition for children called «Nature Through A Child's Eyes.» More than 300 pictures and 30 articles were submitted by over 200 children. These submissions were exhibitted at the Show Room of the Painter’s Unit on 22 May 2007.

Two winning categories were announced: children between 5 and 9 years of age and children from 10-15 years of age. In total, 39 submissions were selected for rewarding. All participants of the competition, including winners and non-winners, were awarded diploms and gifts by representatives from the Ministry of Nature Protection and the UNDP during the official opening of the exibition. The event was held at the Exhibition Hall of the Ministry of Culture.

The exhibition was officially opened by the Deputy Minister of Nature Conservation, followed by welcoming speeches from the UNDP Permanent Represenatative in Turkmenistan, Mr. Richard Young, and guest speaker Mrs. Kori Udovicki, Director of UNDP's Bureau for Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States. This was followed by PowerPoint presentations on biodiveristy materials for children, as well as «Birds of Turkmenistan» and «Leopard – The Keeper of the Mountains.»

Many mass media journalists were invited to the exhibition and the event got very broad coverage.

In addition, posters and T-shirts with the «International Day for Biodiversity» and CBD's logo were prepared. Special calendars with the artwork from the art competition were published. To view the calendar click here. These gifts were distributed to the participants during the opening of the exibition.