Art Program

“Wash Your Hands"

To celebrate Global Handwashing Day on October 15th the World Bank is organizing an art exhibition of artworks created by students from Shaed educational Campus, J.O. Wilson Elementary, Stuart Hobson Middle School and the children of the World Bank Children’s Center (WBCC).

“The age of the participants ranges from 3 to 11 years old” says World Bank art curator Marina Galvani. “It’s important to teach these life skills to young people, so that they can protect themselves and help others for the rest of their lives”.

DC Public Schools’ children from 4th to 8th grades were invited to participate in the “Wash Your Hands!” contest which closed September 21st . The children of the World Bank Children’s Center learned about germs from the partners of the Spark!Lab from the Lemelson Center at the National Museum of American History during an art workshop on October 2nd.

These educational programs are organized by the Art Program and the Community Outreach Program, the Water and Sanitation Program of the World Bank in collaboration with the Public-Private Partnership for Handwashing and in partnership with local museums. 

D.C. Public Schools’ first, second and third prizes winners and twenty honorable mentions in each grade level will receive prizes from laptop computers to special museum tours, to art kits and “Global Handwashing Day” T-shirts.

The awards ceremony will take place at the World Bank (600, 19th Street, NW) for the Global Handwashing Day on October 15th 2009, at the presence of the students and teachers from the winning D.C Public Schools. The artworks will be on display until

January 31st 2010 in the World Bank Campus. Several organizations, including the Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, have expressed interest in hosting the “Wash Your Hands!” exhibition in the future.

The “Wash Your Hands!” art contest is part of the Global Handwashing Day (GHD) initiative supported by UNICEF, the World Bank Group, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Unilever, P&G, Colgate-Palmolive, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other organizations. This collaborative effort is aimed at schoolchildren and currently involves 70 countries in 6 continents. Through educational and creative activities Global Handwashing Day emphasizes hand washing as the first line of defense against the spread of infectious diseases, such as intestinal and respiratory infections. Washington, DC is participating in this event for the first time this year.