San Pedro and Belize City Students Advance
Press Release
– Belize Lions Zone 59 –
November 29th, 2010 – Alissandro Vasquez, a Standard Six student at the San Pedro Roman Catholic School and first form student Hanna Diskin from St. Catherine Academy have taken the first step to becoming internationally recognized artists by winning a local competition sponsored by the San Pedro and Belize City Lions Clubs respectively.Vasquez’s and Diskin’s posters were among more than 375,000 entries submitted worldwide in the 23rd annual Lions International Peace Poster Contest. Lions Clubs International is sponsoring the contests to emphasize the importance of world peace to young people everywhere.
“Embracing the world together, hand in hand with different cultures, we can bring world peace,” the 12 year old Vasquez from San Pedro said. For her part the 13 year old Diskin said that we need to “spread love to bring peace.” The posters were selected by a panel of judges for its originality, artistic merits and portrayal of the contest theme, “Vision for Peace.” The judging was held on Friday November 26th, at the San Pedro Lions Den.The Belize Lion Zone 59 Chairman, Baldemar Graniel said he was impressed by the expression and creativity of the students at the San Pedro Roman Catholic School and St. Catherine Academy. “It is obvious that these young people have strong ideas about what peace means to them. I am so proud that we were able to provide them with the opportunity to share their visions.”
“Vasquez’s and Diskin’s posters will advance to face stiff competition through the international rounds of competition if they are to be declared the international grand prize winner,” Graniel said.
One grand prize winner and 23 merit award winners will be selected. The grand prize includes a cash award of US$5,000.00, plus a trip for the winner and two family members to the awards ceremony at Lions Day with the United Nations. The 23 merit award winners will each receive a certificate and a cash award of US$500.00. “Our clubs are cheering for Alissandro and Diskin as their posters advance in the competition, and we hope that their vision will ultimately be shared with others around the world,” Graniel said.
Locally, Vasquez, Diskin and the other students that participated in the poster competition will be honored for their participation by the San Pedro Lions Club and Belize City Lions Club later this week in San Pedro Town and Belize City respectively.Lions Club International is the world’s largest service club organization with more than 1.3 million members in 45,000 clubs in more than 200 countries and geographic areas. In addition to its efforts towards conquering blindness, the organization has made a strong commitment to community service and helping youth throughout the world.
