Today, Sister Cities International (SCI) announced that the theme for the 2016 Young Artists and Authors Showcase (YAAS) will be “Peace through People.” For the first time, the organization will also include two new categories as part of their 29 year old initiative which strives to engage young people around the power of art in diplomacy. These new categories will include a digital Photography Challenge and a more robust Film Challenge, which will be open to young people around the world ages 13-22. For nearly three decades, YAAS has given youth from around the globe the opportunity to express their vision for a more unified, peaceful world through original artwork, literature, and film.

Using their creativity and passion for world peace, the 2016 YAAS encourages students to submit entries inspired by the theme “Peace through People.” “Youth from around the globe have been submitting their moving work to the Showcase for 29 years. Last year we incorporated film, and this year we’re eager to see what youth submit for the Photography Challenge for our monumental 60th Anniversary,” said Mary D. Kane, Sister Cities International’s President and CEO.

In honor of SCI’s 60th Anniversary in 2016, YAAS’s Sister Cities Photography Challenge and Sister Cities Film Challenge are expanding to include a larger demographic of youth, ages 13-22, and encourages submissions from a wider network of students. More information including entry forms and guidelines are available on the SCI website at http://sistercities.org/YAAS.

The Grand Prize winners in the art, literature, photography, and film categories will each receive a $1,000 cash prize. The winners’ and finalists' work will also be on display at Sister Cities International’s 60th Annual Conference in Washington, DC July 13-16. Following the Conference, the artwork will go on a tour to several cities across the U.S. YAAS is made possible by the generous support of the Carvey Family.

President Eisenhower founded Sister Cities International in 1956.

Photo: last year's U.S. Grand Prize Winner, "Red Thread" by Kianna Vallarde from Hampton, Virginia. Photo courtesy and copyright Kianna Vallarde