The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has launched a 10-day Mural-Photography competition on Facebook under the theme “Preparedness Saves Lives”. This competition marks the end of the 2019 Hurricane Season and intends to help broaden the discussion about preparedness beyond the hurricane season.
Earlier this year, IOM partnered with USAID, the Waitukubuli Artist Association (WAA) and the Ministry of Education, to design sketches and get student artists to participate in painting murals on the walls of 5 secondary schools, namely the Saint Mary’s Academy, Dominica Grammar School, Pierre Charles Secondary School, Portsmouth Secondary School and Isaiah Thomas Secondary School under the theme “Preparedness Saves Lives”. Each mural highlighted a different natural hazard – flooding, landslides, earthquakes, tsunamis and storms; and shared key disaster preparedness messages with the students and the wider public. Now that the hurricane season is over, IOM continues to promote the message of preparedness.
Community Engagement Officer for IOM Maxine Alleyne-Esprit explains:
“The competition, which ends on December 9, encourages people to capture the murals and their messages and to share them on via the IOM Dominica Facebook page. The person who posts the mural-photo following the rules, and who gets the most LIKES and SHARES before midnight on 9 December 2019 will win $300!! The artist who composed the mural will also win $200!! This is the final activity under the USAID Support Emergency Preparedness project, meant to highlight that we must be prepared at all times, not just during the hurricane season. We want to thank the Ministry of Education, the school administrations and the Waitukubuli Artist Association for partnering with us in this initiative.”
The rules of the competition are as follows:
- like and share the IOM Dominica and Waitukubuli Artist Association Facebook pages @IOM Dominica and @Waitukubuli Artist Association
- Take one or more photos at any of the IOM-USAID-WAA murals at the following schools: Saint Mary´s Academy (SMA), Dominica Grammar School (DGS), Pierre Charles Secondary School (PCSS), Portsmouth Secondary School (PSS) and Isaiah Thomas Secondary School (ITSS)
- Post photos taken at any of the 5 murals to the IOM Dominica Facebook page, using the hashtags #IOM #USAID #PreparednessSavesLives, and
- Like and share the photos from the IOM Dominica page and encourage your networks to like and share
The person who takes the photo that racks up the most total likes and shares will win a cash prize of $300. Staff of IOM and members of the WAA are not eligible to win the cash prize, but they can participate for the fun of it! The “Preparedness Saves Lives” photo competition closes on 9 December 2019.
