International poster competition for students on the theme: ‘Water is Life’

We are calling on all students studying fine arts, design, communication design and architecture to enter the international poster competition ‘Water is Life 2010/2011’.

The aim of the competition is not only to demonstrate that the younger generations are prepared to bear their share of the responsibility for our world but, first and foremost, to publicise the message that ‘Water is Life’ to a broad public by means of worldwide exhibitions.

This is even more significant given the fact that on 28 July 2010 the United Nations General Assembly incorporated the ‘right to clean water’ in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

“Worldwide, 884 million people have inadequate access to clean water and more than 2.6 billion people do not have basic sanitation. Each year, around two million people die as a result of drinking polluted water, most of whom are children,” explains UN Ambassador Peter Wittig (source: Zeit online).
However, as with the entire Declaration of Human Rights, the right to clean water is not binding under international law.

The inclusion of this article in the Declaration nevertheless has an important symbolic value and will enable a certain degree of influence to be exerted in politics, business and society.

In addition to the aims outlined above, the competition also provides an opportunity to showcase young creativity from all over the world on a global scale. The one hundred best posters will be presented in travelling exhibitions around the world, accompanied by a comprehensive catalogue with further entries.

The organiser of the competition is the German Sanitation, Heating and Air Conditioning Association (ZVSHK) in collaboration with Professor Heinz-Jürgen Kristahn from the Berlin University of the Arts and Professor Lieyan Wu, Rector of the Nanjing Arts Institute, Chin

All posters have to include the following text:

• in German: ‘Wasser ist Leben’
• or in English: ‘Water is Life’

Further text information or slogans can be added if desired.
Up to 4 posters can be submitted per entrant (as individual works or as a series)

All posters must be submitted digitally (by uploading them online) and must meet the following requirements:

1. Format: DIN A4 (21.0 cm x 29.7 cm, portrait or landscape format)
2. Resolution: 400 – 600 dpi
3. Colour mode: RGB
4. File format: JPEG (Quality factor: 10 – 12)
5. Maximum file size: 15 MB
6. File name (This should be named as follows: surname, first name, country, date (year-month-day) and, if several submissions are made, please number them consecutively)
7. Example: ‘Doe_John_USA_2010-11-08_No.01’
8. Brief description of the poster concept (see Online Form)

On filling in the competition form (which you need to fill in online and upload with the poster file!), the entrant confirms that he or she is the exclusive copyright holder and author of the poster.

Submitting the filled-in form also authorises the competition organisers to use the submitted posters in one or more exhibitions, on its competition homepage, in a catalogue and for publicity purposes for the exhibition(s).

Prizes and publication

1^st Prize: 5000 Euros
2^nd Prize: 3000 Euros
3^rd Prize: 2000 Euros

An expert judging panel will select the best 100 entries, which will be presented in a catalogue and shown worldwide in a travelling exhibition.

The 100 successful entrants will all receive a free copy of the catalogue.

In addition to awarding prize money, the organisers can also purchase individual posters.

For more details, click here.

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