Students from Sister City win in the categories of art and poetry

At this year’s Sister City International Young Artists and Authors (YAAS) Showcase, two students from Tacoma’s sister city of Fuzhou, China, won awards, each taking third place, one in the Digital Art category (Xiwen Pan) and one in the Poetry category (Sarah Huang), whose winning poem is shown below.

With a rich legacy spanning decades, YAAS continues to provide a platform for young people around the world to bring their visions of a more connected and harmonious world to life through original artistic creations and literary expressions.

This year’s showcase theme, “ClimateScape: Resilient Cities for Tomorrow’s Climate,” enjoyed a remarkable response, attracting the participation of 325 students. This global community of young artists and writers brought their unique perspectives to the competition and demonstrated a deep commitment to interpreting the theme. Their works explore in depth the critical issue of climate change and its impact on cities.

“We are incredibly proud of the passion and innovation of this year’s showcase participants. Their extraordinary work has truly set a new standard for excellence,” said Ricki Garrett, President and CEO of Sister Cities International. “Their contributions align with the important issue of climate change and resilient cities and reflect our organization’s mission to promote sustainable development in citizen diplomacy. We are excited to recognize the efforts of the next generation and showcase their work on our global impact platform.”

Resilient cities for tomorrow’s climate

Under the changing gaze of the climate

Cities emerge, a tapestry of days

We weave in sustainable threads

Resilience, our guiding principle

Sunlight dances, a warm embrace

The wind whispers through the mighty grace

Green oases, life in its purest form

In cities, nature returns to its normal state

Traffic is green, pollution is a thing of the past

Recycle, reuse, nature is great

Green structures, the embrace of nature

In harmony, the sweet grace of life

The plan of the city, the hand of nature in play

Ecosystems thrive day by day

Stand up, act now, for the sake of the future

Resilience makes the future

Let us build cities of strength and power

Where nature and man live in the light of unity

Sustainable, beautiful, a shining lighthouse

Lead us into a real future