The Danube Art Master competition is a unique platform where children and teenagers from the Danube River Basin are encouraged each year to reflect on the health of their local rivers and to contemplate how they can contribute to preserving these vital waters for the future. Participants are encouraged to use materials sourced, inspired, or directly taken from the environment to create their artworks, emphasizing the importance of their local surroundings as a primary source of inspiration.
Every year, this ambitious 14-country competition is jointly organized by the Global Water Partnership Central and Eastern Europe and the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR).
2023 competition saw an overwhelming response, with over 1,300 children from 133 schools across the Danube River Basin participating. They collectively created 300 artworks, celebrating the beauty and significance of the Danube River. The winners were selected by a jury comprising members of the ICPDR’s Public Participation Expert Group.
Young Researchers of Serbia is a National Organizer of this competition for over 10 years.
In December 2023, the ICPDR proudly announced the winners. Among them there are two works from Serbia:
- “Responsible to the Danube” by Nikola Lišanin (junior category) and
- “Blue Danube – Our Aim” by Maksim Ilić, Sara Škrijelj, Feđa Milojević and Matija Stojanović (teen category).
While awarding the prizes, Susanne Brandstetter remarked, “The younger generation is not only the future but also the present Keepers of our Danube. Their fresh perspective and creativity in approaching this vital resource, water, is a learning opportunity for us all, year after year.”
Danube Art Masters Online Ceremony will take place on January 17, 2024.