12 August 2022--Five young Cagayanon artists and authors from the city’s public and private schools were hailed as winners in the 2022 Young Artists and Authors Showcase (YAAS) organized by Sister Cities International (SCI).
SCI is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization of sister cities, counties, and states across the United States, which maintains sister city partnerships in more than 140 countries, including Cagayan de Oro, which twinned with Norfolk City, Virginia in 2008.
This year’s theme for the annual YAAS international competition is "Generation Rescue: Sustainable Water for All".
The announcement was made at 12:00 p.m. US and Canada, Eastern Time (12:00 midnight Philippine time) in virtual ceremonies, celebrating International Youth Day during the Youth Leadership Summit 2022 attended by various sister cities organizations via Zoom.
Joining for the very first time, Cagayan de Oro was invited to participate in the competition by the sister city of Norfolk, Virginia through the Norfolk Sister City Association.
In partnership with the Local School Board (LSB), the Cagayan de Oro Trade and Investment Promotions Center (Oro-TIPC), which takes charge of nurturing Cagayan de Oro’s sister city relations, organized a city-level YAAS participated in by a total of 192 students from 12 private and 12 public schools.
The 30 top entries--five for each category, namely poetry, creative writing or essay writing, digital art, classic art, music, and photography--from the city-level leg were forwarded to the international stage.
Cagayan de Oro went on to win the grand prize in music, second place in creative writing, and third place in digital art, classic art, and photography.
Here is the list of winners in the 2022 Young Artists and Authors Showcase (international level):