The outcomes of the drawing contest for children and teenagers "Kar Barysyn Saktayyk" ("Let's save the snow leopard together!") have been wrapped up. This year, the organizers of the contest received more than 400 creative drawings of the snow leopard, the symbol of Kazakhstan.

The organizers of the creative initiative are the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Kazakhstan together with the Forestry and Wildlife Committee of the Ministry of Ecology, Geology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Kazakhstan with the support of the Global Environment Facility.

This year, the contest took place from 27 September to 23 October 2021 and was organized to mark the International Snow Leopard Day celebrated annually on 23 October. Children and teenagers aged 7-16 years old living in the areas of the snow leopard presence (mostly the East Kazakhstan region) could participate in the contest. The organizing committee received more than 400 drawings from all parts of the region. The largest number of drawings was received from Urdzhar, Katon-Karagai, Kurchum, Ayagoz, Borodulikha districts and Semey, Serebryansk and Altai cities. The participants should have sent their drawings of a snow leopard or its inhabitant ecosystem in painting or graphics.

“The snow leopard is endangered today due to destructive and uncontrolled human activities, disruption of ecosystems, poaching and climate change. Through such initiatives we hope to raise awareness among the youth about the role of environment for the snow leopard protection.  We are glad that children actively participated in the contest. Drawings were sent from every part of the East Kazakhstan region and many of them are high-quality, emotional masterpieces”, - said Talgat Kerteshev, UNDP project portfolio manager in biodiversity.

The evaluation team of the contest included Aiman Omarbekova - UNDP project expert; Saltore Saparbayev - photographer, zoologist of the Institute of Zoology, the Ministry of Education and Science of Kazakhsta, Olga Vesselova, independent art curator, and Aigul Mukey, TV presenter and blogger.

“We have seen true masterpieces. Despite their young age, the participants demonstrated professionalism and highlighted the contest topic through bright colors, graphic representation and other art techniques. It was difficult to choose the winners because each drawing was special in its own way. A large number of participants imply that the youth is not indifferent to the fate of the snow leopard. We are very pleased about it”, - shared her impressions Olga Vesselova, an independent art curator.

The drawings were evaluated according to such criteria as relevance of the drawing content to the contest theme, art skills, uniqueness of the idea and compliance with the requirements for preparing the contest drawings.

According to the voting results, they were ranked as follows: in the 7-12 years old age category, Saida Kusainova from the Kurchum took first place, Milena Gorkovenko from Ust-Kamenogorsk and Rassul Khaberov from Serebryansk ranked the second and the third accordingly. In 13-16 years old age category, Zarina Zalimzhanova from Ayagoz was nominated the first place, Anna Utebekova from Borodulikha district and Alexandra Kiskina from Ust-Kamenogorsk - the second and the third places accordingly.

Also, the jury noted the masterpiece presented by Shynar Mussakan from the Katon Karagai region and awarded her with a special prize.

Kar Barysyn Saktayyk's winner will be awarded with diplomas and valuable prizes.

"Kar Barysyn Saktayyk" drawing contest is an environmental and educational event designed to draw public attention to the need to take active measures to preserve the snow leopard population and reduce the risks of extinction of the Red List animal in Kazakhstan.

The snow leopard is listed in the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Kazakhstan. Currently, the total number of snow leopards in Kazakhstan is 135-170. Since 2018, with the financial support of the Global Environment Facility, UNDP has been implementing a project for the conservation and study of the snow leopard in Kazakhstan.