OBJECTIVES:

• To attract attention of the people in the eastern Asia and the USA to the situation with the migratory birds.
• To wake in children an interest in the problems of survival of the migratory birds, to involve them in the activities aimed at conservation of the birds, connecting peoples and countries.
• To demonstrate the anxiety of children at the situation with the migratory birds to the people in the eastern Asia and the USA.
• To contribute to people's diplomacy by means of contacts between the contest participants.

SCHEDULE OF THE CONTEST:

1. Distribution of information about the contest and about migratory birds in the respective participating countries (November 1996).
2. Receiving of contest works (January-February 1997).
3. Summing up the results of the contest, awarding procedures, mailing of the winning works to Blagoveshchensk (March 1997).
4. Preparation of the summary exhibition of the winning works (April 1997).
5. Opening of the exhibition in Blagoveshchensk (May 15, 1997).
6. Camping and trips for the winners in the Amur Region (June 1997).
7. Travelling exhibition of the winning works in the participating countries (August-December 1997).

CONDITIONS:

1. Children in the age between 7 and 17 in the Chinese People's Republic, Japan, Republic of Korea, the Far East of Russia and the USA are invited to participate in the contest.
2. Each participating country distributes information about the contest independently, forms its own jury, selects and awards winners.
3. Graphic, handicraft and literary (only in Russian) works are accepted. No limitations on work techniques. A short letter to other participants or to the exhibition visitors in Russian or English is favoured.
4. Each work should contain the following information on the reverse side in English in block letters:
• fuIl name of the author and his (her) age;
• name or slogan of the work;
• technique used;
• full postal address. In case of the collective works, please, give the full postal address of the collective and the name of the leader.
5. For the sake of portability, graphic and handicraft works should not exceed 60 x 50cm. 6.In order to participate in the summary travelling exhibition, the winning works should be sent to: Igor G. Sakovitch, Kalinin St. 61-52, Blagoveshchensk, 675011, Russia, e-mail: <batyushika@glas.anc.org>
6. The list of enclosed works and information about how many children were participating in the local contests are also necessary.
7. The works are not reviewed or returned to the authors, they may be used by the organizers of the international contest for exposition in other travelling exhibitions or in other activities aimed at nature and wildlife protection and conservation.

In 1996 the "Amur-Batyushka" Center of Ecological Education of the Social-Ecological Union's Amur Division in cooperation with the Amur Regional Children's Library, the Khingan State Reserve, the Administrations of the Amur Region and the city of Blagoveshchensk, "The Amur" Programme of the Social-Ecological Union, the International Crane Foundation (USA), the Government of the Ch'ungch'ongnam-do Province (Republic of Korea), the Government of the Heilongjiang Province of China, the Mayor of the city of Kushiro (Japan), organized the Children's Art Contest "Crane, the Bird of Peace".

More than six thousand children age 5 to 18 in China, Japan, Republic of Korea, Russia and the USA took part in the contest. The contest winners were welcomed at the Festival of Cranes in the Amur Region, many of them made a trip down the Amur river along the crane breeding places. In Russia about 20 thousand people visited the travelling exhibition of the works-contest winners. In October 1996 this exhibition starts its route within the USA and in the Republic of Korea. The preparation for the publication of the illustrated volume of the contest participants' collected works is now under way.

Contest and festival participants as well as visitors of the exhibition demonstrated appreciation of the exhibited works, expressed intentions to participate in the similar activities, and put forward ideas how to widen the scope of themes for the next contest. Such a response convinced us that it is necessary to continue international contests of children's creative activity.