“The World at my Fingertips – Remains a Puzzle” by Hayden Livingstone, New Zealand, age 15. Winner in the age group 12–15 years in 2011.

Dear Colleagues,

On behalf of the International Cartographic Association and the Commission on Cartography and Children, it is our pleasure to invite you to participate in the Barbara Petchenik Map Competition 2013, an event created with the aim of promoting the creative representation of the world in graphic form by children.

In 2013, the ICA will commemorate the “first” 20 years of the competition with some changes made in interest of improving the development of this biannual international award. The new theme for the 2013 competition is “My place in today’s world” and for the first time the entries can be nominated in four age groups: under 6 years, 6–8 years, 9–12 years and 13–15 years. Winning entries selected at national level will be displayed in the International Exhibition to be held during the 26th ICC in Dresden, Germany from 25–30 August 2013. An international jury will select the best entries by each age group. There will also be a public vote open to all participants for a dedicated public prize.

For more detailed information about the competition, please visit the website of the Commission on Cartography and Children.

Yours sincerely,
Georg Gartner (President of the ICA)
José Jesús Reyes Nunez (Chair of the Commission on Cartography and Children)

Updates as of 22 January 2013:

• Documents for this year’s competition can be found in the document section: Invitation 2013, National organizers 2013, Rules 2013
• Winning entries of the past 10 competitions can be found on the website “Children Map their World” by the Carleton University Library
• National Geographic created a blog entry dedicated to the Barbara Petchenik Competition