The Contest: The aims of the competition are to promote children's creative representation of the world, to enhance their cartographic awareness and to make them more conscious of their environment.

Prizes: The five Canadian finalists will receive valuable prizes.

Exhibits: The five best maps from Canada, together with maps from other countries around the world, will be placed on exhibit during the 20th International Cartographic Conference of the International Cartographic Association in Beijing, China, 6-10 August 2001. A further selection of Canadian entries may be displayed at meetings of cartographers and map makers across Canada. The awarded drawings are submitted to UNICEF for consideration as greeting cards. Previous entries may be viewed at http://collections.ic.gc.ca/children/

Entrance Details: The competition is open to anyone 15 years of age or younger as of 1 April 2001. The theme for this competition is "Save the Earth."  The judges will be looking for: (1) a recognizable connection between the form, shape, and use of cartographic elements which creatively address the Competition's theme; (2) a recognizable image of all or a large portion of the world in which shapes and relative locations of land masses and oceans are as correct as can reasonably be expected for the child's age and within the context of the "system of projection" used; (3) appropriate cartographic elements such as symbols, colours, names and labels, etc., which help address the Competition's theme; (4) clarity and legibility of the point, line and area symbols appropriate to the media of expression, whether on paper or other surfaces, whether drawn or made up of indigenous materials; (5) expressive rendering and appropriate use of the perceptual dimensions of colour, i.e. changes in value for quantitative distinctions and changes in hue for qualitative distinctions; (6) overall aesthetic quality in such matters as balance and harmony among the image elements.

The maximum size for the drawing is 420 mm by 297 mm (17 inches by 11 inches). Because UNICEF greeting cards are much smaller than the size of the paper you will be using, it is very important not to make the things you show on your map too small. Any number os "systems of projection" can be used to generate the coastlines and other base material (e.g., international boundaries and graticule). These can include tracing or copying an existing worl map or using a computer program.

Your drawing mus have a title and include your name, age, grade, teacher's name and school address. Clearly PRINT this information on the label provided below and attach the label to the back of your drawing.

Deadline: Maps must be postmarked no later than 1 April 2001 and mailed to:

Agreement: All maps from Canada will become the property of the ICA Map of the World Contest, Canadian Organizing Committee, whose decision will be final. Maps will not be returned. Any participant agrees that his/her representation may be reproduced by ICA or UNICEF or scanned for publication on the Internet by Carleton University without consultation or copyright fees.