José Jesús Reyes Nuñez, Carla Cristina R. G. de Sena, Necla Uluğtekin, and Pilar Sánchez-Ortiz Rodríguez, editors

Readers may find our assessment “immodest,” but we consider this book a very special volume in our Children Map the World series of map books. Each book published within the series is special because it lets us admire particular map selections that are part of the greater body of work named by member countries as entries to the International Cartographic Association (ICA) international competition for children. Moreover, because each country can be represented by a maximum of only six drawings, the final selections are even more exceptional. Choosing entries for the map book is a difficult task for the national juries, which have to evaluate hundreds of drawings sent by schools and parents before win-ners are picked.

This book is special for another reason; it is dedicated to the International Map Year (IMY), an event started in August 2015 during the 27th International Cartographic Conference in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), which is celebrated throughout 2016 and will be officially closed in July 2017, when the 28th Interna-tional Cartographic Conference begins in Washington, D.C.

The organization of the International Map Year developed from the efforts of the international car-tographic community headed by the ICA, and this results in a worldwide celebration of maps and their unique role in our world1. The idea for International Map Year was proposed by Bengt Rystedt, ICA former president (Sweden), and Ferjan-Ormeling, ex-secretary general (the Netherlands) in 2011. The idea was discussed and unanimously approved by the ICA General Assembly in Paris that year. Follow-ing the approval, the Executive Committee created a working group led by Rystedt as chairperson and

Introduction

1 Textual citation from the presentation at the ICA Opening Session (24/08/2015), available at http://mapyear.org/ wp-content/uploads/2015/08/IMY_Presentation_Rio.pdf.

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Ormeling as vice-chair. The main task of the group was to coordinate previous organizational activities related to this event: developing guidelines for national activities and establishing national contacts, involving ICA commissions, looking for sponsors among ICA affiliate members, contacting the United Nations and other international organizations for their support, and creating an international text-book on cartography and geographic information (later titled The World of Maps) for schools and the public in general. A website was also created to show all the information involving the activities and materials related to the International Map Year (http://mapyear.org).

Once the International Map Year started, specialists collaborating in the organization of the Barbara Petchenik World Map Competition and in the making of materials related to this competition asked themselves a question: How could the competition be more directly involved in the International Map Year? We met with Rystedt personally in November 2015, and our conversation had two concrete out-comes. The first result was to adopt the motto of the International Map Year (We Love Maps) as the theme of the next competition, which started in September 2016, announcing the winners during the international conference in Washington, DC, in July 2017. The second result was to celebrate the International Map Year in this book that you are now reading.

This decision was followed by a subsequent challenge: How to make this book “different” from the previous volumes? Which new element could the editors include that had not been part of the preced-ing books? How could the present book be a truly decorative and honorary issue commemorating the International Map Year?

After some consultations, we decided that the best tribute to the International Map Year is the inclu-sion of an atlas comprised of maps made by children. This atlas is the second part of the book and can be considered a separate unit from the rest of the book. We selected entries that perhaps were not picked as winners in previous years (because the actual theme of the competition was not reflected faithfully on the map) but could be considered very good maps, with just some graphic solutions that were used to represent information or data. The main condition for the selection of drawings was that the cartographic aspects of the entry had to be worked out with more detail and better emphasized than the graphic ones. Our intention was to create a relatively simple atlas (containing physical, politi-cal, and thematic maps, along with a fourth category that mixed mapping with graphical and other illustrations) organized not by years of the competition, countries, or age groups, but according to the type of map that may be similar to, or typical of, atlases created by professional mapmakers.

About the Barbara Petchenik CompetitionThe Barbara Petchenik Children’s World Map Competition has been held every two years since 1993 by the International Cartographic Association (ICA), honoring Barbara Bartz Petchenik (1939 -1992), a cartographer and researcher who made significant contributions to research on the themes of maps related to the education of children. She also was the first woman vice-president of the association (1991-1992).

The 2015 competition maintained the same theme that was used in the previous competition (“My Place in Today’s World”). Altogether, 189 drawings from 38 countries were selected for the final judg-ing in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; these numbers demonstrate an increase in participation compared to

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numbers from the previous competition: 30 countries participated with 155 drawings in Dresden, Germany, in 2013.

Children’s maps are submitted in four age groups: under 6 years (11 submissions for the 2015 com-petition); 6 to 8 years (42 submissions); 9 to 12 years (70 submissions); and 13 to 15 years (66 submis-sions). The entries were evaluated by the International Judging Commission composed of colleagues from Argentina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Spain, Turkey, and the United States. The commission selected three winners in each age group (a total of 12). The winning drawings are identi-fied with an icon of a small gold ribbon. Additionally, visitors to the Barbara Petchenik International Exhibition (organized during the 27th International Cartographic Conference in Rio de Janeiro in August 2015) voted a Public Award to Pan Sin Yi, 15, of Malaysia, for the map, “The World in Our Hands.” (page 54).

As in the previous editions, the participating entries are characterized by the diversity and original-ity of the solutions used by children. Some of them are “recurrent” representations of the world that can be found in earlier competitions, but always with personal and refreshing brushstrokes: children around a world map (“World of Us” by İlham Bahar Bilici , 14, of Turkey, on page 50), the world within a human face (an untitled drawing by Aisha Ali Marzouq Mehmal Samha Al-Ahbabi, 15, of United Arab Emirates, on page 57), or the world framed by flags (“My World in its Pages,” by Sofía Ariadna Lauscher, 12, of Argentina, on page 32). Featured also are examples of artistic and romantic versions of maps: one is “Music Gives Soul to the World, Wings to Your Mind, Flight to Your Imagination, and Life to Everything” by Emma Tapp, 13, of New Zealand (page 44). “The Greek Goddess Hera Protecting our Planet” (page 43) by Maria Maridaki, 13, of Greece, is also a little master painting that stands out. New technolo-gies are also represented on a drawing called “Phoneworld” (page 29), made by Armi Wargh, Helen Hasanen, and Lumia Miekkala, ages 11, from Finland.

Two lovely details should be noted: Špela Guček, 14, of Slovenia, paid tribute to the memory of Barbara Petchenik by representing her on a drawing titled “We Will Paint the Future” (page 49). In 22 years, this map is the first drawing that includes the image of the notable cartographer who inspired the competition. Romania was represented by only one entry, drawn by Ada Maria Ciontu, 11, from Bucharest. Her name may sound familiar to some readers because she is the only contestant in the history of the competition whose work was published in two consecutive editions of this book series (resulting from her participation in two consecutive competitions); she won two awards in the same age group: in 2013 she obtained the first prize, and in 2015 she won third prize in the 9 to 12 years age group. The map she made in 2013 was also selected as the cover of the previous volume of this series for the anniversary edition. And her map “Building Bridges of Peace across the World” (page 30) was chosen for this volume’s cover.

An Atlas Made by ChildrenThe first part of the book features 50 drawings selected from the 2015 competition. The second part of the book features 50 additional selections chosen from the 2,066 drawings sent to the competi-tions from 1993 to 2013, which are stored on the Archive of the Barbara Petchenik Children’s Map Competition website (https://childrensmaps.library.carleton.ca/) at the Carleton University Library in Canada.

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The simple structure of the atlas is divided into four parts: physical, political, and thematic maps, and also a grouping we call “Mixing maps and graphics.” The number of selected physical and political maps was relatively small (10 and 6 maps, respectively). A total of 21 thematic maps was also included, as well as 13 maps that for different reasons cannot be easily assigned to one of the previous three categories. The inclusion of a map to one of the mentioned four categories was not always obvious because in some cases authors may have combined different solutions to express their ideas; for example, the use of a graphic solution (not a cartographic method of representation) such as figures of animals or humans belonging to a specific geographical area.

During the selection of physical maps, the editors could not avoid including one particular drawing. The map shows the world with the continents placed as usual on maps made mainly in Asia, with a visualization different from the European or American perspective. This map was made for the compe-tition in 2005 by a 15-year-old Indonesian child (Nicholas William, page 65) and not only won a prize in its category but also was used as the cover of the second volume of the current series.

Among the physical maps, readers can find more traditional (“The Physical Map of the World,” by Attila Megyesi, 14, of Hungary, page 62) or surprising solutions, such as the map representing the Earth on medallions (“World Medal,” by Jennifer Crowhurst, 11, of the United Kingdom, on page 66), or on a dish (“I Love Traveling around the World,” by Snegina Yvanova Nikolova, 14, of Bulgaria, on page 67). The selections were not limited to world maps. This section also includes three examples of physical maps representing continents (Australia, South America, and Antarctica) as well as a map representing the Arctic region.

The criterion to select the political maps was similar to the one followed for the selection of the physical world maps, with the goal to present at least two continents and a region. Of special note, one political map shows a dynamic perspective created using computer-based effects (“Surpassing Countries,” by Tamás Csikós, 14, of Hungary, on page 76).

The most exciting task was the selection of maps for the thematic category and the mixing maps and graphics category. Because of space limitations, editors had to leave out some maps that deserved to be in the atlas. Diverse themes were represented by the children, beginning from more traditional themes such as precipitation, climate, and population, to “unique” themes that cannot be found in a traditional atlas and are typically imagined by children: “Favourable and Non-Favourable Regions of the World,” by Matthew Lowry, 14, of South Africa (page 98) and “Games around the World,” by Kari Bohar, 12, of Canada (page 111). One method of representation is worth a special mention: editors never expected to find cartograms among maps designed by children. Surprisingly, two topics (popu-lation and world land use) were represented using this less-usual method. These maps include “Our World: What It’s Become,” by Nicole Rubachara, 14, of Canada, on page 89, and “World Land Use: Forest and Woodland,” by Sky Choe, 15, of the United States, on page 87.

The clarity of a (carto)graphic message is also evident when readers can understand the idea of a map without having to read an explanation written in any language (as in the case of maps that need legends). For this reason, some drawings with legends and text written in languages other than English were also included. Two examples include “Stop the Nuclear Power Plant! Save Our Earth from

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Radioactivity!!!,” made by Kouta Igarashi, 15, from Japan (page 97), and “The Olympic Spirit Unites Peo-ple” by Emmanouil Kopanezos, 11, from Greece (page 110).

The International Cartographic Association and the editors (representing colleagues and teachers organizing competitions in their respective countries) trust that this map book offers at least a colorful and cartographic overview of the work developed by children in the last competition and the previous 20-plus years. The Barbara Petchenik International Competition has played an important role in intro-ducing the art of making maps for younger generations since 1993, awakening and encouraging their interest in cartography. All colleagues working in this field are confident that its success will continue for the next 20 years and more.

Part 1Selections from the 2015 competition

Ages 8 and under

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Children Map the WorldCommemorating the International Map Year

The Animals of the WorldAleksandra Garkova5Bulgaria2015

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I Live HereAdam Paketur 5Lithuania2015

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Children Map the WorldCommemorating the International Map Year

We’ll Fix the Pieces to Bring PeaceRuwindya Indraratne5Sri Lanka2015

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A Skyscraper of LitterBram De Hoop6Belgium2015

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Children Map the WorldCommemorating the International Map Year

See the World, See ChinaYang Xinyue6China2015

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Many Roads Going from VaraždinMihael Peček6Croatia2015

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Children Map the WorldCommemorating the International Map Year

The WorldEmma Vittorio 7Italy(Italian family living in Norway)2015

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Sweden Is My Home Ani-Ajuwa Toluwani(I am a refugee from Ethiopia. The red represents war in other countries. The blue is water surrounding Sweden. In Sweden are my school and my family. They are very important to me.)7Sweden2015

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Children Map the WorldCommemorating the International Map Year

Earth’s an Education CenterAmelia Muller8Australia2015

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The Map of My WorldZsófia Katalin Albert8Hungary2015

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Children Map the WorldCommemorating the International Map Year

Our Earth and PollutionAdristi Hita Andani8Indonesia2015

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We Are Part of AllLuka Huerta del Avellano and Luana Noemi Salazar Harder 8Mexico2015

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Children Map the WorldCommemorating the International Map Year

Earth Weeping: I Don’t Want the Blood of Innocent People, Stop TerrorismHina Kaleem8Pakistan2015

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The Whole World Is on the Same BoatAndraž Umek8Slovenia2015

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Children Map the WorldCommemorating the International Map Year

My Place in Today’s World Is to Be Part of a Home and a FamilyLienke (Ngixi) Erasmus8South Africa2015

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World in My Heart under the Sun and MoonNalindu Indraratne 8Sri Lanka2015