Maryland Judiciary announces 2020 Annual Conflict Resolution Day Bookmark Art Contest

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Maryland Judiciary’s Mediation and Conflict Resolution Office (MACRO) is inviting students to help promote peacemaking by submitting artwork for the 15th annual Conflict Resolution Day Bookmark Art Contest. The contest is open to all Maryland students in kindergarten through eighth grade to help celebrate national Conflict Resolution Month. Entries are due by Friday, November 13.

Students are asked to create bookmarks with the theme of resolving or preventing conflicts. Topics include peer mediation, apologizing, respecting differences, talking things out, solving problems together, listening, tolerance, diversity, inclusion, building peace, and alternatives to violence. The contest allows for teachers, parents, and students to discuss ways to resolve conflicts peacefully.

“We have received more than 10,000 entries since the Conflict Resolution Day Bookmark Art Contest began fifteen years ago. Participating in the annual bookmark contest helps to inspire thousands of students to resolve conflicts peacefully, learning both through the art project and the related discussions with their teachers and peers,” said Mary Ellen Barbera, Chief Judge of the Maryland Court of Appeals. “Creating art about preventing violence can help students develop awareness, empathy, and understanding of the effects their actions have on others – and upon themselves.”

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and in an effort to allow for more student participation, the Maryland Judiciary is giving students the opportunity to submit entries both through the mail and online. Winning students and their families will be invited to a virtual awards ceremony to be held in January 2021 via Zoom, where Maryland Court of Appeals Chief Judge Mary Ellen Barbera will announce the awards.

Submissions will be judged on both artistic merit and their conflict resolution or prevention message. Student originality is welcomed. Prizes will be awarded for first, second, and third place in three age groups: grades K-2, 3-5, and 6-8. For each age group, the prize awards will be $100 for first place, $75 for second place, and $50 for third place. A selection of winning entries will be printed and distributed throughout Maryland to promote conflict resolution. Winners whose bookmarks are selected for printing will receive copies of their own printed entry.

Visit MACRO’s bookmark contest web page, mdcourts.gov/macro/eventsconflictresolutionday, for more information, including a template, instructions, and delivery information, or watch the bookmark contest video to learn more.

The contest is sponsored by the Maryland Judiciary’s Mediation and Conflict Resolution Office (MACRO).

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