Calling all young artists!
IFAW is excited to announce the 2026 World Wildlife Day (WWD) International Youth Art Contest.
Wild animals and plants are a vital part of the intricate web of life, sustaining ecosystems and natural processes that we depend on to survive and thrive. Through the transformational power of art, contestants will raise awareness for wildlife conservation and share the benefits we receive from wild plants and animals.
This year’s World Wildlife Day is celebrated under the theme of “Medicinal and Aromatic Plants: Conserving Health, Heritage and Livelihoods.” Tens of thousands of medicinal and aromatic plants are harvested around the world and are vital to human health and well-being. Thousands of these critical species are at risk of extinction due to many factors, including habitat loss, overharvesting, and illegal trade—similar activities that put many threatened and endangered wildlife species in peril as well. Plants are critical to the globe’s biodiversity and to healthy habitats for living beings. To pay tribute to the 2026 theme, we encourage artists to include plants in their wildlife entries this year—there is even evidence that many animals also use plants for medicinal and aromatic purposes. As this year’s theme focuses on plants (an important part of the critical work done by CITES), only wildlife entries with plants in the image will be considered for final judging.
The International Youth Art contest is held in partnership with the Secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Contestants can enter with traditional art mediums (hand drawn using markers, crayons, colored pencils and/or paint). The contest is open to youth artists aged 4-18.
All contestants have until February 1, 2026 to submit their work. All entries must be submitted electronically via uploading on IFAW’s website. The finalists and winning entries will be presented at the official WWD event on March 3rd, 2026.
In 2013, the 68th session of the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed March 3rd as World Wildlife Day, an annual celebration to raise awareness of the world’s wild fauna and flora.