The United Nations Human Settlement Programme (UN-Habitat) Pakistan is pleased to announce the opening of our first Art Competition to celebrate the International Day of Zero Waste 30 March 2023.

International Day of Zero Waste

The International Day of Zero Waste aims to promote sustainable consumption and production patterns, support the societal shift towards circularity and raise awareness about how zero-waste initiatives contribute to the advancement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The waste sector contributes significantly to the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity and nature loss, and pollution. Pakistan faces serious problems due to mismanagement of plastic and other solid waste. Pakistan ranked sixth globally and third in Asia among plastic waste generators^[i] with the country producing about 30 million tons of solid waste annually out of which 9% is plastic waste^[ii].

In 2019, UN-Habitat and UN Environment identified 50 land-based point-source hotspots in Africa and South Asia, using available waste management data. According to the study, Karachi is identified as among the top 10 marine litter hotspots in the region, constituting an increasing risk to ecosystem health and biodiversity. This is rooted in unsustainable production and consumption patterns, poor solid waste management and lack of infrastructure, lack of adequate legal and policy frameworks and poor enforcement, and a lack of financial resources both at national and local governments.

In 2021, UN-Habitat launched the Waste Wise Cities Tool – Step by Step Guide to Assess City MSWM Performance through SDG Indicator 11.6.1 Monitoring (WaCT) in Karachi. The WaCT survey 2021 showed that approximately 12.067 tonnes of municipal solid waste are generated daily, of which 81% is collected and 0% is managed in controlled facilities.

Living Indus is as an umbrella initiative of Government of Pakistan and a call to action to lead and consolidate initiatives to restore the ecological health of the Indus within the boundaries of Pakistan. Zero waste cities and communities is one of the Call of action to restore ecological health of indus basin and create a circular economy for plastics.

The International Day of Zero Waste will be celebrated on 30 March 2023 under the theme “International Day of Zero Waste.”

UN-Habitat Pakistan is organizing an online Art Competition on ‘International Day of Zero Waste to raise awareness about importance of zero waste cities and communities, sustainable consumption and production, and its role in improvement of health of Indus basin in students, Students are encouraged to submit an Artwork (sketching, painting, drawing etc.) along with a relevant message which clearly states the Artwork’s linkage with theme.

How:

1. A high-resolution photograph of Artworks should be sent via e-mail to unhabitat@gmail.com
2. Maximum Artwork size should have 22 X 30 inches and students are allowed use any medium, including color pencils/crayons, poster/water/oil colors etc.
3. Contestants are required to include the following details when submitting their entries via email, with the following information.

• Student name, email address, contact phone number, School name and address.
• Please include this statement with your entry: “I agree to the terms of this competition and to the organizer printing, publishing and using my Artwork entries for promotional purposes as outlined.”

4. A maximum of one entry per contestant only.
5. Entries should be submitted to unhabitat@gmail.com by no later than, 28 March 2023. Twenty selected entries will be displayed on the UN-Habitat Official website and Social Media platforms, and the shortlisted entry submitters will be notified via email/phone.
6. The first, second and three winning entries will be awarded shields and certificates.
7. The schools of first, second and three winning entries will be awarded shields.
8. The top three winning entries along with their institute will be published on the UN-Habitat Pakistan website, social media pages.

Terms and Conditions:

1. Students (Grade 3-5, 6-9 and 10-12) are welcome to participate in the competition.
2. Participants must have artwork by themselves, and should not direct use any sort of picture, clipart etc.
3. UN-Habitat Pakistan reserves the right to promote print Artwork in any of its brochures, publications, online forums, and other formats by giving due recognition to the student in accordance with UN-Habitat’s branding guidelines.
4. The decision of the panel is final and no objections will be entertained.

Judging Criteria:

1. Thematic relevance to International Day of Zero Waste and to the subject of the competition will be given primary consideration.
2. The level of creativity used to illustrate the subject of the competition, including technique and aesthetic quality, will also be taken into consideration.
3. Each entry will be reviewed by a judging panel. Winning entries will be selected by a judging panel comprised of professionals from academia, media, and UN-Habitat.

Prizes

• Shield and appreciation certificates to the winners
• Appreciation certificate will be awarded to selected top 20 students.

Contact:

Ms. Faiqa Aziz

email: faiqa.aziz@un.org

Mr. Basharat Hussain

email: Basharat.hussain@un.org

0334 527 1656

UN Habitat

Level 2, Serena Business Complex,

Khayaban-e-Suhrwardy G-5/1, Islamabad-Pakistan

www.unhabitat.org.pk