Wed | Jan 21, 2026

Schools’ SDG competition deadline pushed to January 30

Published:Saturday | January 10, 2026 | 12:08 AM
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Jesse Allison participated in an art workshop on December 22 held by the PIOJ Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Secretariat to provide guidance for children in grades 4 to 13 on entering artwork for the Jamaica Young Voices Sustainable Development Goals
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Jesse Allison participated in an art workshop on December 22 held by the PIOJ Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Secretariat to provide guidance for children in grades 4 to 13 on entering artwork for the Jamaica Young Voices Sustainable Development Goals Creative Expression Competition.
Student of Pre-U Polytech, Basil Davidson, participated in an art workshop on December 22 held by the PIOJ Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Secretariat.
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Student of Pre-U Polytech, Basil Davidson, participated in an art workshop on December 22 held by the PIOJ Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Secretariat.
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The Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) has pushed back the deadline for its schools’ art and creative writing competition to January 30, giving students more time to imagine Jamaica’s future.

On its website, the PIOJ cast the initiative as a means of resilience after Hurricane Melissa, calling it “a meaningful avenue for healing, allowing students to safely express their thoughts, connect with peers, and be recognised for their insight and imagination”.

The institute also recently staged a workshop at its Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Secretariat to raise the profile of the contest among children.

The PIOJ, in partnership with e-Learning Jamaica Company Limited (e-LJAM) and the Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information, launched Jamaica’s Young Voices: SDGs Creative Expression Competition early October last year.

Programme director and SDG Focal Point at the PIOJ, Latoya Clarke, explained during the launch at that the competition is designed to engage students in imagining the Jamaica they want to see in the future.

“This creative expression competition is a nationwide initiative … we invite students to submit artwork, stories, poems, and other creative expressions that reflect their vision for Jamaica,” she said.

The competition is not merely a domestic exercise. Selected works will be showcased internationally, including in Jamaica’s 2026 Voluntary National Review to the United Nations, which documents the country’s progress on the SDGs.

Clarke emphasised that all entries, not just winning ones, will be considered for international display: “Persons’ work will be showcased internationally, and that is not only for the winners. We will be taking into consideration all the entries that are submitted to us, so every student has the opportunity to have their vision seen.”

The contest is divided into three categories: grades four to six, grades seven to nine, and grades 10 to 13. Prizes include laptops, tablets, book vouchers and gift baskets, with teachers also eligible for awards.