This winter more than 3000 children from all over Kazakhstan submitted their entries to the first ever national “Saiga – a symbol of the Kazakh steppe” contest. The competition was run by the Association for the Conservation of Biodiversity of Kazakhstan (ACBK) together with the Ministry of Education and Science, with support from Fauna and Flora International and ‘Haileybury Almaty’ school.
Kazakh children between 6 – 15 years of age submitted poems, drawings, research papers and videos about saiga, promoting a caring and responsible attitude towards this unique antelope and its habitat.
The most popular category, with over 1500 applications was the ‘Images of Saiga’ group, and judges had a tough time choosing the winners from the high standard of entries. Winning works will be used by the ACBK in their new environmental education and awareness campaigns. The ACBK will also be compiling and releasing a collection of the best poems and drawings.
The best 25 entries all received a prize and a further 100 were awarded runners-up prizes. Each entrant received a letter of thanks, comics and posters about Saiga and saiga-badges.
The ACBK would like to thank all the teachers and parents who supported their pupils and children in taking part in “Saiga – a symbol of the Kazakh steppe”!