Released by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
July 5, 2001
Washington, DC

Ten middle and high school students from across the United States have won the first annual World Refugee Day poster contest, sponsored by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the National Park Service (NPS), UNHCR announced today. Their artwork will be on display throughout the summer at the Statue of Liberty, where each student’s poster is showcased for one week. Posters are already on display at Ellis Island, where all winning posters are part of a special exhibit from June 20 to September 30, 2001. The winning posters will later be sent to refugee camps overseas to share the U.S. students’ messages with refugees themselves.

"The National Park Service is honored to showcase the winning posters at the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island where so many refugees began new lives in America," stated Marie Rust, Regional Director of the NPS Northeast Region. "We congratulate the winners of this important educational program," she said.

The contest theme was "Hope for the World’s Refugees." It formed part of a worldwide commemoration of the first ever World Refugee Day.

"The artwork sent in by young people across the United States offers a wonderful message of hope and welcome for refugees," said Ms. Guenet Guebre Christos, the Regional Representative for UNHCR in Washington, D.C. "These children -- future leaders and opinion makers -- have shown through their drawings great empathy and understanding for the plight of refugees all around the world."

The contest winners are:

Grades 4 through 6 -- First Place Sara Rahmani, Edmonds Cyberschool, Edmonds, Washington; Second Place Ryan Smith, Indian Trail Middle School, Johnson City, Tennessee; Third Place Emily Oliver, Washington Middle School, Cairo, Georgia.

Grades 7 through 8 -- First Place Anna Connolly, Westside Village Magnet School at Kingston, Bend, Oregon; Second Place Tyree Shaw, Plantation Middle School, Plantation, Florida; Third Place Dana Tomaselli, Plantation Middle School, Plantation, Florida.

Grades 9 through 10 -- First Place Samantha Avila, Communication Arts High School, San Antonio, Texas; Second Place Soyuen Lee, First Colonial High School, Virginia Beach, Virginia; Third Place (tie) Nicholas Rister, First Colonial High School, Virginia Beach, Virginia and Jaime Niuicela, Abraham Lincoln High School, Minneapolis, Minnesota.

This year marked the first ever World Refugee Day, designated by the United Nations General Assembly as June 20. The Day is an opportunity to recognize the plight of refugees worldwide and to promote understanding and respect for these persecuted individuals. Today, over 21 million people displaced by war and/or persecution fall under the responsibility of the UN refugee agency. Eighty percent of the world refugees are women and children.