The 15th annual Alexandru Ene Drawing Competition and the second annual The Atom – My friend Essay-writing Competition take place in Romania

The Romanian Nuclear Energy Association (AREN), the Romanian Atomic Forum (ROMATOM) and SN Nuclearelectrica SA recently organised two events that put Romanian children firmly in the creative spotlight: the fifteenth annual Alexandru Ene Drawing Competition, which has established itself over the years as a regular fixture on the Romanian nuclear industry’s events calendar, and the second annual The Atom – my friend Essay-writing Competition.

The competitions were promoted during April and May, in schools in Bucharest, Cernavoda, Pitesti and areas including counties such as Hunedoara, Arges, Bacau, Ialomita. By the competition deadline more than 100 drawings and 38 essays had been received.

The participants included kindergarten children, school and high school pupils up to 18 years old, all of whom had expressed their imagination and creativity under the supervision of their art, physics and biology teachers. The themes which entrants had to draw or write about were: What do we know about energy? The atom – our friend, nuclear power saves the environment and energy of the third millennium.

The organisers hosted an exhibition of the entries and an award ceremony at the Hebrew State Theatre, on the June 10, during which the winning entries received a prize. The mission of the jury was a difficult one. They had to evaluate both the artistic impression as well as the message conveyed by each drawing and essay. The award ceremony began with an artistic show dedicated to the younger generation, parents and teachers. It was performed by students of the International School of Informatics together with the popular singer Alexandra Ungureanu.

The President of AREN, Mihaela Stiopol, together with the Deputy Secretary of ROMATOM, Valentina Dinu and Livia Chitu from the Young Generation Network, awarded prizes to the most talented children. The prizes were divided into 4 age categories. The special prize for originality and composition was awarded to Pristavu Adrian Emanuel (a 12 years old student from the Albestii de Arges School) for the drawing entitled The World in Colours. All who took part in the competition received a diploma to mark their participation and everyone enjoyed the show.

The drawings will be on display at different locations in Bucharest and around the country (Pitesti, Cernavoda, etc).