Children's Art and Literary Contests
International contests connecting children of Croatian descent across continents.
Toys at Heart Contest — Natječaj Igračka u srcu (2018)
"Igračka u srcu" ("Toys at Heart") International Art and Writing Contest 2018, organized by the Croatian Heritage Foundation (Zagreb, Croatia), the Croatian School of Boston (USA) and the Croatian Studies Foundation (Sydney, Australia).
Children's Art and Literary Contest 2017
Results of the Children's Art and Literary Contest with the theme "My Family on Two Continents", announced May 15, 2017.
The panel of judges:
- Irena Stanić Rašin — director of Croatian School of Boston, head of contest, author, translator and language instructor, irenastanicrasin.com
- Jelena Erceg — teacher at Croatian School of Boston, graduate teacher of Croatian language
- Jadranka Delač-Klepac — math teacher, award-winning children's writer, jadrankaklepac.com
- Lana Ducharme — teacher at Croatian School of Boston, graphic and web designer, designwithcharm.com
- Tomislav Torjanac — award-winning illustrator and painter, torjanac.com
- Dr. Aida Vidan — president of Association for Croatian Studies and lecturer at Harvard University, scholar.harvard.edu/vidan
- Ariana Zelić — treasurer of New England Friends of Croatia, sites.google.com/site/nefcroatia
Congratulations to the winners and many thanks to all who have participated in the contest!
Children's Art and Literary Contest 2016
With the aim of bringing together and connecting children of Croatian descent from the United States of America and Canada with the children in Croatia who have family members in the United States and Canada, we invited all interested children to enter our second annual Children's Art and Literary Contest with the theme "My Family on Two Continents", organized by the Croatian School of Boston.
The contest was open to children of Croatian descent from 3–18 years of age who reside in the United States of America and Canada, and to children residing in Croatia who have family members on the North American continent.
Categories:
- Writing Piece (in the Croatian language or dialect) — prose and poetry, 3 age groups each: 7–10, 11–14, 15–18 years
- Art Work — 4 age groups: 3–6, 7–10, 11–14, 15–18 years
- Comic Strip (in the Croatian language or dialect) — 2 age groups: 11–14, 15–18 years
- Photography — 2 age groups: 11–14, 15–18 years
- Audio/Video Clip (in the Croatian language or dialect) — 2 age groups: 11–14, 15–18 years
The theme centered around the ties between family members living in the USA and/or Canada and family members living in Croatia: visits to relatives, family stories and anecdotes, heirlooms, or any other positive influence or experience the children associate with the connection between the family on the North American continent and the family in Croatia.
The contest ran from March 3 to April 23, 2017. Winners were announced on May 15, 2017 (International Day of Families). The first prize in each category and age group was a Croatia-related prize; all participants received a certificate of participation.
Prizes:
- 3–6 years — Ogledalce, picture book written by Grigor Vitez and illustrated by Tomislav Torjanac
- 7–10 years — Naše kolo veliko, The Most Beautiful Croatian Children's Folk Songs CD, by Goran Knežević
- 11–14 years — A da se to dogodi tebi: Priručnik za odrastanje, book by Irena Stanić Rašin and Latinka Basara
- 15–18 years — Stepenice do neba, book by Ivana Adlešić Pervan
The submissions were evaluated by a panel of judges:
- Irena Stanić Rašin — director of Croatian School of Boston, head of contest, author and translator, irenastanicrasin.com
- Jelena Erceg — teacher at Croatian School of Boston, graduate teacher of Croatian language
- Jadranka Delač-Klepac — award-winning children's writer, jadrankaklepac.com
- Lana Ducharme — teacher at Croatian School of Boston, graphic and web designer, designwithcharm.com
- Lada Kanajet Šimić — head of the Department for Education, Science and Sport at the Croatian Heritage Foundation, matis.hr
- Tomislav Torjanac — award-winning illustrator and painter, torjanac.com
- Dr. Aida Vidan — president of Association for Croatian Studies and lecturer at Harvard University, scholar.harvard.edu/vidan
- Ariana Zelić — NEFC treasurer, sites.google.com/site/nefcroatia