Noma Concours for Picture Book Illustrations

The Noma Concours for Picture Book Illustrations (Japanese: 野間国際絵本原画コンクール) was organised by Asia/Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO (ACCU) supported by the Noma International Book Development Fund from 1978 to 2008. It was an annual competition, ending in 2008.

Contents

• The 16th Noma Concours 2008
• The 15th Noma Concours 2007
• The 14th Noma Concours 2006
• The 13th Noma Concours 2002
• The 12th Noma Concours 2000
• The 11th Noma Concours 1998
• The 10th Noma Concours 1996
• The 9th Noma Concours 1994
• The 8th Noma Concours 1992
• The 7th Noma Concours 1990
• The 6th Noma Concours 1988
• The 5th Noma Concours 1986
• The 4th Noma Concours 1984
• The 3rd Noma Concours 1982
• The 2nd Noma Concours 1980
• The 1st Noma Concours 1978
• References

The prize was named after Shoichi Noma, the fourth president of the Japanese family-run publishing house Kodansha Ltd. At the 1963 Frankfurt Book Fair, he gave a speech entitled "Cultural Exchange in Publishing", in which he said “In order to advance and sustain world peace, it is most important to develop international mutual understanding by means of cross-cultural interchange through publishing.” In this spirit, several Noma Awards were set up: the Noma Award for Publishing in Africa, established in 1980; the Noma Literary Prize, also established in 1980; and the Noma Award for the Translation of Japanese Literature, established in 1980 to commemorate Kodansha’s 80th anniversary.

The aim of the competition was to discover up-and-coming illustrators, graphic designers and artists in Asia (except Japan), the Pacific, Africa, Arab States, and Latin America & the Caribbean, and to provide an opportunity at which they could present their works to offer incentives for their creative activities. Prizewinning works were displayed in exhibitions such as the International Library of Children's Literature in Ueno, Tokyo, and the Biennial of Illustration Bratislava in Slovakia.