Children, youth, educators, local partners, and community representatives in the Republic of Moldova gathered for the award ceremony of the 2025 edition of the basin-wide creativity contest "Colours of the Dniester" in Molovata Nouă on 31 May 2026. Organized as part of the Dniester Day Festival, the event highlighted the importance of environmental awareness, youth engagement, and transboundary co-operation for the protection of the shared Dniester River.
Award ceremonies in Ukraine took place on 27 and 28 May 2026 across several locations in the Ukrainian part of the Dniester River basin, including Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv, Chernivtsi, Ternopil, Khmelnytskyi, Mohyliv-Podilskyi, Odesa, and Ovidiopol.
Together, the events brought youth, educators, local co-ordinators and partners from both countries around a shared message: protecting the Dniester requires awareness, responsibility, and co-operation across borders and communities.
A basin-wide contest for a shared river
Organized annually in the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine, "Colours of the Dniester" encourages children, youth, educators, and water users to learn about the Dniester River, reflect on its importance and express their vision for its protection through creative works.
For more than 17 years, the contest has been one of the most visible public awareness initiatives dedicated to the shared river. Since its launch, it has engaged more than 25,000 participants and recognized more than 1,800 winners and awardees across the Dniester River basin.
The 2025 edition, held under the motto "Colours of the Dniester - a shared art of protecting the river," received 1,160 creative works from pupils, students, educators, and water users across the basin. Following an assessment by an independent jury, 132 winning works were selected across all contest categories, including drawing, photography, video, articles, poems, essays, and community events.
"From an OSCE perspective, environmental-related challenges have long been recognised as opportunities for dialogue and co-operation. Long-standing activities such as this basin-wide contest create space for communication beyond formal processes, reinforcing trust and shared responsibility at the local and transboundary level," said Ambassador Bakyt Dzhusupov, Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities.
As in previous years, the OSCE supported a number of awareness-raising activities in the Dniester basin, including the "Colours of the Dniester" creativity contest, as part of broader efforts to reinforce the importance of co-operation for a more resilient and sustainable Dniester River basin.
Young people as agents of change
The award ceremonies recognized not only the creativity of children and young people, but also the contributions of teachers, mentors, local co-ordinators, jury members, volunteers, and partner organizations that continue to support environmental education and public engagement across the basin.
Through their creative works, young people demonstrated that they are not only observers of environmental change, but also important voices for awareness, responsibility, and action. By taking part in the contest, they help keep the Dniester in the public eye and inspire families, schools, and communities to care for the river.
Why the Dniester matters
The Dniester is one of Europe's major transboundary rivers and the ninth largest river on the continent. It stretches approximately 1,350 kilometres across a basin covering more than 72,000 km² shared by the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine.
More than 8 million people depend on the river. It provides drinking water and supports livelihoods, agriculture, biodiversity, and local economies, while facing shared pressures such as climate change, floods, droughts, pollution, and competing water uses.
Addressing these challenges requires continued co-operation between Moldova and Ukraine, including through the Dniester River Basin Commission.
