By: Valentina HUITFELDT
Leonardo 4 Children – Your first step towards becoming the next Leonardo Da Vinciound-breaking scientists, Nobel Prize winners, engineers, and inventors, we have to start understanding and fighting against the issues that will plague ours and the next generations. Many of us will work on the front lines of fighting climate change and inequality. It is therefore important for us to be ready to fight for what matters.
What better way to prepare and empower us than a little competition?
If you, like me and so many others, burn to make a difference, strive to leave a mark, aspire to be remembered, and to leave the world a little bit better than it was when you were born, you’re in the right place.
The Leonardo 4 Children awards are an opportunity for you to dive deeper into climate and social issues, to get you thinking about possible innovative solutions, to develop these ideas, and to display them in a creative way in front of people who matter. This is your chance to get the attention of people who could help you develop your career, meet experts and leaders in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), as well as help complete your university application.
Interested?
The main topics the Leonardo 4 Children’s awards delve into are climate, equality, and peace.
Climate – meaning interpreting the issue of climate change, addressing the problem, and possibly presenting a solution (e.g. on energy production/consumption, transport, water, agriculture/food, natural environment and biodiversity, waste and recycling).
Equality – meaning interpreting the issue of the lack of equality between people, addressing the problem, and possibly bringing forth an innovative solution (e.g. on promoting non-discrimination and social exclusion, fighting social stereotypes, gender equality, income equality, and fighting poverty)
Peace – meaning addressing the problem of a lack of peace and possibly presenting a solution to fight and/or prevent conflicts (e.g. on peace among families and friends, peace among social, political, ethnic, and economic groups, peace among people, nations, and regions).
Those aged 6 to 12 are encouraged to write a short, original fable, that is, a fairy tale, using your creativity and artistic and scientific skills. This fable would delve into climate, equality, or peace issues. Once your creativity has run its course, you are asked to illustrate this fable with a comic strip (2-10 frames with at least 2 colors) or interpret it with a music, dance, or drama piece. Ten fables will be chosen as the winners, and those will be granted awards at an award ceremony in late October, and the works will be displayed in museums, concerts, and events. The winners will take part in a talent development program worth 200/300 € where they will develop their talents, meet experts in the field, and be offered various visits and material. Your work will be judged by your ability to address the issue, the creativity, the quality of the illustrations, and the number of frames.
Those of you aged 13 to 18 are instead given the chance to showcase both your scientific and artistic skills in the form of a truly original work. You are asked to pick one artistic topic (eg music, dance, sculpture, drawing, painting, writing) and one scientific topic (eg energy, transport, aeronautics, biology, ICT) and combine the two in an original way concerning climate, equality, or peace addressing the issue and potentially proposing a solution. Your aim will be to create an inspiring, original, independent, and creative work. The work should be in the form of a drawing, painting , novel, story, poem, performance, sculpture, or any other creative work. The 10 winning works will be displayed in museums, events, and concerts, and can even be made into interactive games. Like the younger category, the winners will be awarded at an award ceremony in late October, and be offered a place in a talent development program worth 200/300 € where they will cultivate their talents, meet experts in the field, and take part in various visits and receive material. Your work will be judged by your ability to address the issue, as well as your ability to inspire, the creativity, and the integration of both art and science.
Now those of you who are young composers aged 16-30 are eligible for an award that will allow you to make a new, original musical composition on climate, equality, or peace. It should last between 3 to 10 minutes, you can use up to 7 instruments, and have the option to use voices/a choir. The first place winner will be offered the opportunity to use their music in a promotional campaign for UNICEF, and the second place winner for a Leonardo4Children promotional video. The top 3 composers will be invited to a talent development program, worth 500/300 €, where they will develop their music talent and receive a special prize. Your work will be judged by the inspiration of climate, equality, or peace, the creativity, the quality of tonal music, and the quality of vocal and choral elements (if applicable).
This open and inspiring initiative may be just the push you need to get out of your comfort zone and start putting your creativity to good use. Leonardo 4 Children aims to encourage the new generation to step up as the next leaders and workers within STEM. It will help you recognize the challenge that our generation will have to face when combatting both climate and social issues, and will prepare you to become the powerful, inspirational, and impactful face of the new generation.
I strongly urge all of you to consider applying, and to bring it up to your teachers as a possible class project. The deadline for applications is the 31st of May 2023. If you are interested in applying, visit https://carano4children.org/leonardo4children-2023/ for more information as well as the application form. I wish all of you the best of luck!
