Sister Cities International aims to promote peace through mutual respect, understanding, and cooperation – one individual, one community at a time. This year’s theme is Generation Rescue: Sustainable Water for All.
Climate change has become an undeniably harsh reality in our lives, making the importance of raising awareness and taking action more essential every day. As temperatures rise, water patterns are disrupted, ecosystems are disturbed, cultures are affected, and energy resources are proven to be unsustainable for long- term use. These ongoing changes impact our local and global communities in every aspect, and youth are the key to tackle this global reality.

Eligibility
• Students must be between 13 and 18 years of age at the time of the 2021 international deadline. (April 1, 2022 for the Roanoke top 5 submissions to Sister Cities International)
• The student must be affiliated with a dues-paying member of Sister Cities International. This is Roanoke Valley Sister Cities.

Sister Cities International Awards:
• Photographs of all artists’ work will be published on Sister Cities International’s website.
• One artist will be selected as a Grand Prize Winner, 2nd Place Winner, and 3rd Place Winner.
• The Grand Prize Artist Winner will receive $1,000, 2nd Place Winner will receive $250, 3rd Place Winner will receive $100.
• The winners will be announced at the virtual Youth Leadership Summit tentatively scheduled for August 2022.

Roanoke Valley Sister Cities Awards:
• Photographs of the 1st- 3rd place artists’ work will be published to the RVSC website and Facebook page.
• 1st Place $300, 2nd Place $200, 3rd Place $100 and Honorable Mentions $25 each.

Submission Requirements to RVSC:
• Students may select one (1) piece of original artwork to submit for this showcase.
• Important note: This year we will not be accepting physical artwork, only photographs of the artwork. To ensure our judges have the best quality view of your artwork, please confirm that photographs are no less than 1350×1080 pixels.
• Photos of media accepted include oil, acrylic, watercolor, charcoal, colored pencil, crayon, ink, marker, etching, collage will be accepted. Digital medium artwork will be accepted this year. This is not a photography contest.
• Only two-dimensional (2D), unframed artwork will be accepted.
• A teacher must send the photograph(s) of the student artwork along with the application to
roanokevalleysistercities@gmail.com
• All photos of artwork must be e-mailed by March 18, 2022.
• Judges will evaluate submissions based on theme interpretation, originality, and creativity.