Excitement builds up as voting begins to select winners of ‘Celebrate Together’

MUSCAT, 16 July 2010 – Excitement of the ‘Celebrate Together’ national initiative by BankMuscat and Omantel in commemoration of the 40th Renaissance anniversary has intensified with the public joining the voting process to select the best 40 paintings out of over 41,000 done by children across the Sultanate.

Online voting on the dedicated website celebratetogether.net started on Thursday and is open till Monday, 19 July, 12:00 pm. The website displays 100 paintings selected by an expert panel out of over 8,000 paintings chosen for exhibitions in different regions of Oman.

The public can post comments about the competition on the website as well as participate in the voting process to decide the winners. Voting can also be done through SMS to 90004. The 40 winners will be honoured at the concluding ceremony on 20 July in which the winning paintings will be announced. Attractive cash prizes will be presented to the winners.

Meanwhile, the series of exhibition organised as part of the ‘Celebrate Together’ national initiative concluded in Salalah under the auspices of H.E. Ahmed Bin Mubarak Al Shammas, Adviser at the office of the Minister of State and Governor of Dhofar. Citizens of Dhofar region turned out in large numbers to the exhibition showcasing paintings and drawings by children from the region. The ceremony was attended by dignitaries, parents, senior BankMuscat and Omantel officials.

Abdullah Al Mashani, Regional Manager – Dhofar, BankMuscat, said: “The ‘Celebrate Together’ initiative has succeeded in capturing the essence of the Sultanate - a nation proud of its achievements during the past 40 years under the leadership of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos. We are immensely pleased that the campaign has evoked phenomenal response across the Sultanate and generated numerous art works par excellence. The selection of 100 paintings to choose the final 40 winners was done by an expert panel and the public is involved in the voting process to ensure the highest level of transparency. We encourage everyone to visit the dedicated website celebratetogether.net and select the paintings to choose the winners.”

The ‘Celebrate Together’ initiative achieved remarkable success as over 41,000 children across the Sultanate responded with paintings depicting a vibrant Oman. The technical committees in association with art teachers from the Ministry of Education selected about 8000 paintings which were displayed in exhibitions across the Sultanate.

Recalling the remarkable progress and development achieved by the Sultanate under the enlightened leadership of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos, the ‘Celebrate Together’ initiative offered a unique opportunity to give expression to the perspective of a modern nation through the eyes of children. The theme of the campaign focused on the Sultanate’s achievements in the economic, social, health and educational fields and the role of the Omani citizen as the main objective of all such development. The campaign united the nation as one family to express love, admiration and appreciation to His Majesty Sultan Qaboos, who has been responsible for the progress and development of Oman.


The voting starts from Thursday 15th July and its open till Monday 19th July -12:00 pm
The voting started for the 40 best paintings out of 100 paintings. The 40 paintings will be a gift from the children of Oman to their beloved leader
Voting can be done through the website and through the SMS
The announcement of the winners will take place on Tuesday 20th July

رسومات جميلة من أطفال عمان
www.celebratetogether.net
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وشكرا للمنظمين هذه المبادرة الطيبة
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