[Program] Children’s Map Competition

The Barbara Petchenik Award was created by the International Cartographic Association (ICA) in 1993 in memory of Barbara Petchenik, a former Vice-President of the ICA and cartographer who dedicated  her life to maps related to children. The aim of the contest is to promote children’s creative representation of the world in graphic form. The awards are presented  every two years during the ICA International Cartographic Conference, preferably at least one for each continent and only one award by country, with special consideration to the age of the child producing the drawing. The awarded drawings can be submitted to international organisations (UNICEF or others) for consideration as greeting cards or other publication. Participating nations are encouraged to report on the ways they have used for collecting drawing (video report, etc.) and to collect and archive maps for further research.

EVENT DETAILS DURING ICC2027

Theme: Maps in Everyday Life

Venue: Faculty of Geography and Regional Studies, University of Warsaw

Official opening ceremony: 19 July 2027

Exhibition dates: 19-23 July 2027

Who can participate?

• Children under 16
• Artworks will be awarded across the four age categories:
  • Under 6 years,
  • 6–8 years,
  • 9–12 years,
  • 13–15 years.
• Entries may be created by up to three children from the same age group.

Competition rules

• Original, handmade artwork only.
• Artwork should clearly relate to the theme.
• Include a recognizable map or part of the world.
• Political messages are strictly prohibited.
• Digital artwork, graphic software, AI-generated images or digital editing are not permitted.

Technical requirements

• Maximum size A3 (420 × 297 mm).
• Traditional art materials only (colour pencils, crayons, paint, collage, etc.).
• Do not laminate.
• Artwork must be flat.

Additional resources

General rules for the Barbara Petchenik Competition 2027

• Rules for the national coordinators
• Rules for teachers and parents
• Brief Teacher Guides

Parent permission form: the permission form that should be signed by parents or legal representatives

Author data form: an optional data form to be annexed to the drawings selected for the international competition

Deadline

Deadlines at national level are determined by each country, considering that the deadline for sending the drawings to the international coordinator is 30 April 2027.

Full Competition details

For detailed information about the competition, please visit: the Petchenik section on the International Cartographic Association website, the website of the Commission on Cartography and Children or Commission Facebook page.

Key contacts

ICA Commission on Cartography and Children Chair, Silvia Marinova, Dept. of Photogrammetry and Cartography at the University of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy, marinova_silvia@abv.bg

ICA Commission on Cartography and Children Vice-Chair, Jose Jesus Reyes Nunez, Institute of Cartography and Geoinformatics, Eötvös Loránd University, jesusreyes@ik.elte.hu

International Coordinator: Monika Kopecká, Institute of Geography at the Slovak Academy of Sciences in Bratislava, monika.kopecka@savba.sk

ICC 2027 Map Exhibition Local Organizer, Anna Markowska, Institute of Geodesy and Cartography, Warsaw, Poland, children_maps@icc2027.org
 
 

“ARCHIVE OF THE BARBARA PETCHENIK CHILDREN’S MAP COMPETITION” at Carleton University Library, Ottawa, Canada

All past competition entries are archived and can be viewed at https://childrensmaps.library.carleton.ca/