Tanya Ferreira, Mililani Middle School eighth-grader, will be among 24 international finalists in a Lions Club Peace Poster Contest. Mililani student a finalist
in poster contestStar-Bulletin staff
Tanya won the local competition out of 150 young people (ages 11 to 13) in Hawaii who participated.
Merit winners were Chelsey Kaneshiro of R.L. Stevenson Middle School and Reyn Nishizuka and Charissa Wittig of Kailua Intermediate School.
They will be recognized by state Sen. Matt Matsunaga, Councilman Jon Yoshimura, artist John Morita and members of District 50 Lions at a ceremony at 11:30 a.m. tomorrow at the Senate chamber, state Capitol.
The International Association of Lions Clubs sponsors the peace poster contest annually to stress the importance of world peace to young people. Contestants are judged on artistic merit, theme and originality.
Denise Werle, chairwoman of the local contest, said more than 350,000 people worldwide were challenged this year to depict their vision of "Lighting the Path to World Peace."
Judges were Lt. Gov. Mazie Hirono; Morita, an internationally known artist; and Loretta Yajima, director of the children's Discovery Center.
The local contest is held in honor of the late U.S. Sen. Spark Matsunaga, a Lions member, who was a peace advocate. Cash awards are made through the Spark Matsunaga Foundation.
One grand-prize winner will be selected from among the international finalists and will receive a cash award, commemorative plaque and a trip for the winner and two family members to attend the Peace Poster Contest Award Ceremony held on Lions Day at the United Nations in New York.
Werle said this year's peace posters will be displayed for the next six months in Baggage Claim Area D and E at Honolulu Airport.
"At a time when peace has a special meaning for all of us, we are honored to be able to share this important art exhibit with visitors and the people of Hawaii," Werle said.