May 24, 2006
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Croatia’s First Lady Joins ICAF’s Honorary Board

Mrs. Milka Mesic, First Lady of the Republic of Croatia joined the Honorary Board of the International Child Art Foundation. The Honorary Board is comprised of current and former first ladies and dignitaries from several countries who have shown their untiring commitment to promote children’s creative development and arts education in school systems.

The Ministry of Education of Croatia in collaboration with the Croatian National Commission of UNESCO and the Croatian National Olympic Committee organized the Croatian Arts Olympiad earlier this year. A jury selected 52 art works and these children were invited to a national celebration organized under the patronage of Mrs. Milka Mesic at Bjelolasica (Croatian Sports Centre) on March 24-25, 2006. Mrs. Mesic presented awards to the children in a special ceremony and emphasized to them the importance of their art and creativity. Isabell Claus, ICAF eV Board Member, represented ICAF at the event.

A delegation from Croatia will be attending the First European Festival of Children’s Art & Creativity hosted in Munich by ICAF on May 27-31, 2006. Croatian children also participated in the First International Cultural Figurines and Children’s Puppets Exhibition. The exhibition will open at Galeria Kaufhof at Marienplatz in Munich on May 26th and will continue until June 14, 2006.

“We are delighted by the First Lady’s decision to join ICAF’s Honorary Board,” said Dr. Ashfaq Ishaq, ICAF’s Executive Director. “We expect that Her Excellency and the Republic of Croatia will play an important role in the World Children’s Festival to be held on the National Mall in Washington, DC in the summer of 2007.”

The International Child Art Foundation (ICAF) employs the arts to heal, inspire and unify children and peoples across the globe.