The Barbara Petchenik Competition is a biennial map drawing competition for children. It was created by the International Cartographic Association (ICA) in 1993 as a memorial to Barbara Petchenik, a past Vice president of the ICA and a cartographer, who had a lifelong interest in maps for children. The aim of the contest is to promote the creative representation of the world in graphic form by children. 

The competition is run first at the national level. The national winners then compete in the international round, which takes place the following year during the International Cartographic Conference. The maps are exhibited during the conference, and the international winners are selected.

After the completion of the final round, the maps are sent to Carleton University Library where they are processed for digital and physical archiving. All of the entries are then made publicly available at this website.

Contact Us

To contact us about maps in the archive, email us gis@carleton.ca

For more information about the competition and to participate, please see the following:

• ICA Barbara Petchenik Children’s World Map Drawing Competition
• ICA Commission on Cartography and Children
• Facebook page of ICA Commission on Cartography and Children

Competitions

2019 competition The them for the 2019 competition, held in Tokyo, Japan, was "We Love Maps". There were a total of 188 drawings from 33 countries.

2017 Competition The theme for the 2017 competition, held in Washington, D.C., was "We Love Maps". There wer a total of 193 entries from 34 countries.

2015 Competition The theme for the 2015 competition, held in Rio De Janeiro, was "My Place in Today's World." There were a total of 189 entries from 38 countries.

Peter van der Krogt and his brother René photographed all of the 2015 entries of the international competition. All of the Canadian entries will be scanned by staff at Carleton University Library.

2013 Competition
The theme for the 2013 competition, held in Dresden, was "My Place in Today's World." There were a total of 155 entries from 30 countries.

Peter van der Krogt and his brother René photographed all of the 2013 entries of the international competition. All of the Canadian entries were scanned by staff at Carleton University Library.

2011 Competition
The theme for the 2011 competition, held in Paris, was "Living in a Globalized World."  There were a total of 186 entries from 31 countries.

Peter van der Krogt and his brother René photographed all of the 2011 entries of the international competition. All of the Canadian entries were scanned by staff at Carleton University Library.

2009 Competition
The theme for the 2009 competition, held in Santiago, Chile, was "Living in a Globalized World."  There were a total of 154 entries from 27 countries. Six entries were disqualified because they did not meet the size criteria as stated in the rules of the competition.

Peter van der Krogt and his brother René photographed all of the 2009 entries of the international competition. All of the Canadian entries were scanned by staff at Carleton University Library.

2007 Competition
The theme for the 2007 competition, held in Moscow, was "Many Nations One World."  There were a total of 174 entries from 36 countries. 

Peter van der Krogt, University of Utrecht, Netherlands provided the images of the 2007 entries of the international competition. All of the Canadian entries were scanned by staff at Carleton University Library.

2005 Competition
The theme for the 2005 competition, held in A Coruña, Spain, was "Many Nations One World."

Peter van der Krogt, University of Utrecht, Netherlands provided the images of the 2005 entries of the international competition. All of the Canadian entries were scanned by staff at Carleton University Library.

2003 Competition
The theme for the 2003 competition, held in Durban, was "Making a better world for children." There were a total of 315 entries from 31 countries.The 2003 diploma winners are also included in the winners list.  They were chosen by popular vote at the ICA Conference.

Peter van der Krogt, University of Utrecht, Netherlands and Alberta Auringer Wood, Memorial University, Canada provided the images of the 2003 entries of the international competition. All of the Canadian entries were scanned by staff at Carleton University Library.

2001 Competition
The theme for the 2001 competition was "Save the Earth." There were a total of 282 entries from 25 countries. 

Peter van der Krogt, University of Utrecht, Netherlands provided the images of the 2001 entries of the international competition. All of the Canadian entries were scanned by staff at Carleton University Library.