It is a true joy to see smiles on the children’s faces and emotion reflected in the eyes of their mothers.

A year ago, Angelika Jarosławska Sapieha had the pleasure of lending my patronage to the British edition of this wonderful competition. This year, together with the esteemed and dear-to-my-heart Barbara Kaczmarowska-Hamilton—a celebrated artist known for her portraits of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and Pope John Paul II, and a portraitist of the Royal Family— they had the honour of jointly supporting the Polish edition.

Years ago, just as now, the Polish edition was brought to life with great care and heartfelt dedication by Alicja Kotlicka, who continues to organise this initiative in Poland with admirable devotion to the youngest generation.

Barbara Kaczmarowska-Hamilton also led an inspiring art workshop for children, showing them how to work with pastels and nurturing their creativity.

One particularly touching moment for Angelika Jarosławska Sapieha was the opportunity to present my personal award to a young girl whose work she had chosen. She was deeply moved to learn that young artist aspires to dedicate her future to art.

It is Angelika Jarosławska Sapieha’s sincere hope that moments such as these will remain a beautiful memory and a source of lasting inspiration for the youngest among us.

The aim of the competition is to discover and nurture the artistic talents of children, while inspiring them to express emotions creatively. Through art, we hope children will develop greater emotional intelligence, learn to better understand and articulate their feelings, and strengthen the bonds within their families.