Indonesian wins UN stamp design award

NEW YORK (Antara): A 6-year-old Indonesian boy was presented with the United Nations stamp design award at the UN headquarters in New York on Wednesday.

Bryan Jevoncia was one of six children whose designs were selected for a 2008 series of UN stamps in a design contest titled "We Can Overcome Poverty", which was held in conjunction with International Poverty Eradication Day. Around 12,000 children aged 6 to 15 from 124 countries took part in the contest.

The awards were presented during a ceremony in a park near the UN building and was attended by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Indonesian special representative to the UN Marty Natalegawa and several other foreign representatives.

"Bryan's dedication to his work is really admirable, because he is the only Indonesian boy elected among thousands of participants as the winner of the contest," Marty Natalegawa said.

He said Bryan`s work showed Indonesian youths were able to create good work, to build solidarity and to have sensitivity toward poverty issues.

Bryan's design shows children returning from school to help their mothers earn enough money to support the family.

Born in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, on Dec. 16, 2000, Bryan is in the second grade.

He was accompanied to New York by his mother Rosiana Fardimin and his teacher Rosa de Lima.

Bryan said he was delighted with his work and eager to meet the President after returning to Indonesia from New York.

"I want to meet `Pak` President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to show him the present I get from the United Nations," he said.  (The Jakarta Post)