10th Children’s Drawing Contest BUILD BETTER BONES: TIPS in PICTURES
The results of the regional stage of the All-Russian Children's Drawing Contest "Build Better Bones: Tips in Pictures" were summarized in Yaroslavl. This is the tenth creative contest dedicated to osteoporosis prevention reflected in children's drawings.
The organizers are the All-Russian Patient Society "Osteorus" (headed by Professor Olga Ershova PhD) and the Russian Association on Osteoporosis (RAOP) (headed by Professor Olga Lesniak PhD).
The competition is held as part of the annual World Osteoporosis Day (October 20) announced by the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF).
In 2023, for the first time the event was timed to coincide with the Osteoporosis Prevention Week in Russia, which was formally announced by the Ministry of Health of Russia to be held from October 16 to 22 each year.
In the Yaroslavl Region, the contest was held with the assistance of the Yaroslavl Regional Branch of the All-Russian Public State Organization "Union of Women of Russia". Informational support for the contest throughout the entire period of its activity is provided by the Russian network edition "First National" (editor-in-chief Victoria Sotskova).
The drawings of the participants and winners were exhibited in the exposition hall of the Education and Catechesis Department of the Yaroslavl Metropolis and were available for everyone to visit. Every year the best works of the contest winners are used as illustrations in the publication of the calendar. It also contains recommendations on disease prevention and treatment from RAOP specialists. The calendars and the theme of the competition can be traced back to the themes of the World Osteoporosis Day announced by IOF.
On November 20, 2023, there was an exciting award ceremony for the winners - children and teachers of schools, children's creative studios, and municipal institutions of additional education. The exhibition was attended by numerous visitors.
Diplomas, certificates and prizes were awarded by Mikhail Krupin, Commissioner for Children's Rights in the Yaroslavl region, Olga Khitrova, deputy of the Yaroslavl Regional Duma and chairman of the Yaroslavl Regional Public Organization "Women's Union", Ksenia Belova, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Vice-President of the Russian Association on Osteoporosis, Head of the Department of Public Health and Health Care of the Yaroslavl State Medical University, Galina Evstifeeva, public figure in education and "Osteoporosis" volunteer. The representatives of the educational sphere, who promote the creativity of the children, were awarded the “Letters of Gratitude” from the Ministry of Education of the Government of the Yaroslavl region.
In their turn, the children gave creative crafts –bookmarks decorated with text and images to encourage a healthy way of life and good nutrition to the guests who were present at the ceremony.
One of the participants of the contest wrote a poem about Osteoporosis and created a poster.
Vladimir Reutov, a member of the Union of Artists of Russia and head of the Children's Art Gallery, expressed the hope that cooperation with the organizers of the contest will continue and new works of young artists will decorate the old walls.
Dr. Ksenia Belova, PhD in her address to the audience emphasized the importance of healthy lifestyle in the prevention of osteoporosis. She told the attendees about the annual publication of a calendar with children’s drawings which includes the winners’ works and doctors’ recommendations on osteoporosis prevention. This is how, through children and family, the All- Russian Patient Society "Osteorus" conducts educational work on the formation of a healthy lifestyle, culture of nutrition habits etc. useful for building strong bones among the citizens.
The first decade of the competition was celebrated in the circle of friends, activists, and volunteers. The next year will bring new creative pages and forms of work to enlighten society.
“Osteorus” is grateful to the IOF team for providing the valuable materials for WOD-2023 which are being widely and successfully used in different activities.
Contributed by Victoria Sotskova and Galina Evstifeeva
