Introduction

Over 400 million tons of hazardous wastes are presently being generated all over the world. Most of these wastes contain increasingly complex chemical compounds, reflected in greater difficulties in treatment and disposal and also greater impact on the environment and health.

Among the commitments of the United Nations Basel Convention is the protection of human health and the environment against noxious effects that may arise from generation, transport and management of hazardous wastes and other wastes as well as their movements across borders. In this context Centers for Training and Transfer of Technology on Hazardous Wastes have been set up in different regions of the world. For the Latin American and Caribbean region, a Network of Centres has been established, with a Coordinating Centre in Uruguay and three sub-regional Centres in Argentina, Trinidad & Tobago and El Salvador.

So far, most actions carried out are linked to national authorities, designated for the implementation of the Convention. Because of these, there is a need to actively integrate municipalities, as they are key stakeholders, directly involved in the management of wastes.

The Regional Coordinating Centre located in Uruguay, with the Canadian International Development Research Center (IDRC) are jointly organizing the present competition in order to disseminate the subject of the Basel Convention and the relevance of hazardous wastes in the context of the public’s right to knowledge.

SUBJECT: "No hazardous wastes in Latin America and the Caribbean in the new millennium. A responsibility for us all "

By means of a poster, candidates are invited to transmit in a positive way, the Basel Convention commitments.

The poster selected will be presented at the Fifth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention, to take place in December 1999 in Basel (Switzerland), to mark the tenth anniversary of the signature of the Convention. Following the Meeting this poster will also be widely disseminated.

Criteria for selection

A Qualification Tribunal will assess posters submitted. Those posters, which, in the opinion of the Tribunal, best combine visual impact and technical skills in illustrating the subject, will be selected as first and second prize winners. All the posters submitted will be exhibited electronically in the Coordinating Centre’s Web page (http://www.rcctt-lac.org.uy)

Qualification tribunal

The Qualification tribunal will comprise representatives of the Regional Coordinating Centre, the IDRC, the Ministry of Education and Culture and the Environmental Unit of the University of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay and the Buquebus Cultural Foundation.

Candidates:

Candidates will be individuals or groups of individuals from the Latin American and Caribbean region, linked to Non-Governmental Organizations or Study Centres and having the backing of the Municipality to which they belong.

General conditions:

The poster, 40 x 60 cm large, will be in color and may combine various graphic resources in order to transmit the following message clearly:

"No hazardous wastes in Latin America and the Caribbean in the new millennium. A responsibility for us all"

Two identical versions should be presented one in Spanish and the other in English.

Each candidate should own the copyright of all the components involved in the poster. The prize winners shall relinquish their copyrights to the Regional Coordinating Centre in Uruguay, so that the poster may be used to promote wide dissemination of the subject.

General information on the Basel Convention may be found in the Coordinating Centre’s Web page (http://www.rcctt-lac.org.uy).

Submission of posters

Each institution may submit a maximum of two posters.

Each poster shall be submitted in electronic format and sent to the Coordinating Centre, Rincón 422, 1er piso CEP 11000, Montevideo, Uruguay. It should be accompanied by a note containing information on the candidate(s), the institution they are linked to, intellectual property of all the components of the poster, a declaration relinquishing copyright to the Coordinating Centre and a note containing the backing of the Municipality to which they belong.

The name of the author, institution to which he/she belongs and the corresponding municipality will appear on the bottom corner of the poster.

Deadlines

The Competition will be declared open on 1^st November 1999 and posters may be submitted until 22 November 1999. No posters will be accepted after that date.

Results

The prizewinners will be notified directly of the Tribunal’s decision which will be electronically transmitted to participants.

Prizes

First prize: 1 digital camera and one thousand american dollars for the candidate and 1 Computer for the institution involved.

Second prize: 1 digital camera for the candidate and 1 Computer for the institution involved (less sophisticated models).

Prize-giving

Prizes will be given to the candidates and institutions involved through the corresponding Municipalities.

For more information, please contact: