Indonesian Student Wins World Food Day Poster Contest

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - An Indonesian high school student from Mojokerto, East Java, Muhammad Awalu Fatah (16), won first prize in a global Student Poster Contest for the 2019 World Food Day. The contest, organized by the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO), was launched under the theme: ”Our Actions Are Our Future. Healthy Diets For A #Zerohunger World”. Fatah’s painting won first prize in the 16 – 19 category among 3,844 participants in total from 54 countries.  

The painting describes a globe split into half and revealing two kind of foods, namely healthy foods and junk foods. People in the junk food area of the globe looked sick and unhealthy, meanwhile people in  healthy food area of the globe look happy, active and healthy. The split globe had two surfaces. Yellow for junk food area, and green for healthy food area.

“Junk food will have bad impact on the people and environment, it is obvious. Meanwhile, healthy food produced by a green environment and makes people healthy, “ Fatah explained his panting. As a prize winner, Fatah’s painting was exhibited at FAO headquarters in Rome during the celebration of World Food Day 2019 in Italy.

Fatah is the second Indonesian student to win first prize in the FAO Global Poster Competition. In 2015, Bunga Gifti Adiyanti from Bogor won first prize the category for 5 – 9 years old, and in 2017 and 2018, students from Lombok, Yogyakarta, and Jakarta won second and third prize in various categories.

“We are proud that Indonesian students continue to be part of the global movement to end hunger. And they have great art potential as was shown by Indonesia so often being awarded prizes in the World Food Day competition. Their interest is evidence that these concerns have reached the young generation, and they are in the frontline in the battle against hunger”, FAO Representative in Indonesia, Stephen Rudgard said.

The international competition highlights the importance of healthy diets in achieving zero hunger as one of SDG goals and ensuring food security for all. 

FAO | Tempo