The Ecology Commission of the Mukachevo Greek Catholic Eparchy, in collaboration with the NGO “Institute of Ecological and Religious Studies” (IERS), the “Interreligious and Civil Environmental Forum of Eastern Europe” (IRCEF), and the “PADIYUN” Transcarpathian Regional Center for Children and Youth Creativity, announces a children’s environmental contest titled “The Carpathians – Creation Entrusted to Us.”
Holy Scripture teaches us to view the world not merely as a collection of natural resources, but as God’s Creation—a gift in which humanity is called to be a responsible co-worker with the Creator. “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it” (Psalm 23:1), and humanity is entrusted to “till it and keep it” (Genesis 2:15). Therefore, caring for nature is inseparable from the Christian vocation to protect life, love one’s neighbor, and treat God’s gifts responsibly.
The contest takes place within the framework of the “Season of Creation”—an annual period of prayer, reflection, and concrete action to protect God’s Creation. It runs from September 1 (the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation) to October 4 (the feast day of Saint Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals, nature, and ecology). This season invites Christians to express gratitude to the Creator, undergo a conversion in their attitude toward the environment, and embrace shared responsibility for our common home.
The Carpathians are part of this Creation gifted to us. Their forests, waters, mountains, plants, and animals possess an intrinsic value that we are called to respect and preserve. Preserving the Carpathians is not merely a matter of environmental protection; it is also an expression of gratitude to God for the created world and an acknowledgment of our responsibility before Him for what has been entrusted to us.
We invite children and young people to share their vision of the Carpathians as a gift from God—through drawings, words, videos, and their own environmental initiatives—and to reflect on what it means for each of us to treat Creation responsibly.
Competition Categories and Requirements for Entries
1. Drawing “The Carpathians – Our Common Home”
Artwork in A3 format, created using any technique.
The artwork should reflect the beauty of the Carpathian nature, the relationship between people and the environment, responsible attitudes toward forests, bodies of water, plants and wildlife, and the protection of the region’s natural heritage.
2. Literary Work “Responsibility for Creation”
Original works: essays, reflections, short stories, fairy tales, poems, or prayers about humanity’s responsibility for the world created by God, the beauty of the Carpathians, environmental challenges, and ways to address them.
Formatting requirements: up to 2 pages in A4 format; Times New Roman, 14-point font, 1.15 line spacing.
3. Video “Let’s Save the Carpathians Together”
Original videos in the format of an environmental public service announcement, report, video address, interview, short story, or video blog that encourage practical environmental protection measures or demonstrate examples of caring for nature.
Video duration: up to 3 minutes.
4. Environmental Initiative “Responsibility Begins with Me”
A description of the participant’s own idea, project, or already implemented environmental initiative in their parish, Sunday school, general education school, community, village, or city (such as greening projects, cleaning and improving public areas, protecting forests and rivers, environmental education, waste reduction, etc.).
The description must include:
- the title;
- a brief description of the environmental problem;
- the proposed or already implemented solution;
- the expected result.
Length: up to 2 pages in A4 format. Photos may be added to descriptions of projects that have already been implemented.
Participation Conditions and General Requirements
Participants: students of general education schools, children attending Sunday schools, parish communities, and extracurricular education institutions, aged 8 to 13.
Format: individual original works. Each participant may submit no more than two works in different categories.
Academic Integrity: works must be created personally by the participant, without plagiarism and without the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. If AI is used, the work will be disqualified.
Ethics: works must not contain elements of violence, hate speech, discrimination, or any other inappropriate content.
Label: all works submitted to the competition must have a label containing information about the work, the author, and the mentor (see Appendix).
https://ircef.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/dodatok.docx
Submission Procedure and Deadlines
Format: The competition will be conducted remotely.
Submission period: from September 11 through October 16, 2026, inclusive.
Submission Methods
The Drawing “The Carpathians – Our Common Home” category accepts physical entries at the following address:
1 Budyteliv Street, Uzhhorod, 88000, Ukraine
Entries may also be delivered by Nova Poshta or Ukrposhta with courier delivery.
Entries in the “Literary Work,” “Video,” and “Environmental Initiative” categories should be submitted by email to the Competition Commission: mailto: [email protected]
Evaluation, Jury, and Awards
Jury: The jury consists of experts and specialists in the fields of theology, ecology, biology, and art.
Evaluation Criteria
Each criterion is worth a maximum of 10 points:
- Relevance to the competition theme — up to 10 points.
- Environmental content — up to 10 points.
- Presentation of the idea of spiritual responsibility for Creation — up to 10 points.
- Emotional impact and ability to encourage a caring attitude toward nature — up to 10 points.
For the Environmental Initiative category, the jury will additionally consider the practical value, feasibility, and sustainability of the proposed actions.
Awards
Winners in each category will receive certificates and valuable prizes. Mentors will receive letters of appreciation.
Results
The competition results will be published by October 30, 2026, on the websites and social media resources of:
- the Commission for Environmental Affairs of the Mukachevo Greek Catholic Eparchy (MGCE): https://www.facebook.com/ecokomissija
- IRCEF: https://ircef.com/uk/
- Municipal Institution of Extracurricular Education “PADIUN”: http://padiun.net/
All copyrights remain with the authors. The organizers may display and publish the works on a non-commercial basis for educational purposes. The best works will be included in a thematic exhibition.
Contact Information
For further information:
Phone: 066 443 7546 — Oksana Kremin
Email: [email protected]
The competition is held as part of the project “Environmental Catechesis: ‘How Wonderful Are Your Works, O Lord’.”
