The International Windship Association, in partnership with Nantes Saint Nazaire Développement and Association Wind Ship, have launched a new youth poster design contest with the theme ‘Wind Ship – The Future’ which encourages young artists to create a poster or a short, animated video that should transport the judges to a future where all commercial ships are powered by the wind.

The competition is free to enter and is open to budding artists worldwide aged between two and seventeen years old across four separate age categories: 2-5 years, 6-11 years, 12-15 years and 16-17 years. Twelve winners will be chosen in total in three rounds of judging by a jury of maritime and environmental leaders, a public vote and by IWSA members.

The deadline for entries is May 12, 2023. Each participant can submit up to two entries. Digital entries can be submitted, as a scanned or digital image of the artwork, to poster@wind-ship.org.

All submissions should be accompanied by a title and a short caption (maximum 30 words) describing the artwork. The original title and caption can be submitted in any language. However, for non-English language titles and captions, a translation in English must be provided.

Winners will be announced during a hybrid in-person/virtual event at the Wind for Goods conference in Saint Nazaire, France on June 01-02, 2023. All submitted entries will be permanently hosted in a virtual gallery. Winning and runners-up artwork will be displayed at IWSA events all around the world.

“Using wind to power ships is a powerful beacon of clean, green and sustainable pathways to living in harmony with our planet and we would love to see the ideas, creativity, inspiration and dreams that the younger generation have for these ships of the future. I implore parents, grandparents, aunties and uncles working in any industry connected to the marine environment to take notice of this fun contest and help children to get their ideas flowing onto paper (or screen).” said Gavin Allwright, IWSA Secretary General.

“We are running this contest in celebration of the ‘Decade of Wind Propulsion 2021-2030’, a campaign which is currently in its third year. Innovation in the wind-powered shipping arena is endemic and we recognise that capturing the ideas of the younger generation and sparking their interest in how cargo or people can be transported by greener ships is massively important for the future of our industry,” he he concluded.

Lise Detrimont said, “On behalf of the Association Wind Ship and Nantes Saint Nazaire Développement, we are delighted to host this special event dedicated to the young during the Wind for Good event, as the journey to support the development of a cleaner shipping is really focused on the next generation and we usually work in a very professional environment. This poster contest is a unique occasion to gather the young people and raise their awareness on the future of maritime shipping as well as their parents“.