José Rodriguez (12) of Saba’s Sacred Heart School is the winner of Multiple District 60 in the annual Lions Clubs International Peace Poster Contest. José’s entry has been forwarded to compete in the finals on an international level.

José has the honor of being the first youngster from Saba to reach this far in the peace poster contest. This is the first time that an entry from Saba won in the Lions Club Multiple District 60. Saba and a range of other islands in the North Eastern Caribbean resort under Sub-District 60B.

In January 2021, the Saba Lions Club, the sponsor of the local contest, was informed that its submission was selected as the winner of Sub-District 60B, and in March during the Sub-District 60Bs Council of Governors Meeting it was announced that the poster entry from Sub-District 60B was selected as the overall winner for Multiple District 60.

From the 600 plus art works from Lions Clubs all over the world, 24 top works will be selected, of which one will win the big prize. The winner will be presented during the Lions International annual convention at the end of June, which will be held in a virtual setting due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This is the 33rd time that the Lions international peace poster contest is held. This year’s theme was “Peace through service.”

“I focused on peace, nature, and I thought about agriculture, about the sea, the air and the environment. I thought about the world,” said José about his poster that he titled “Peace of nature and humanity.” It took him some seven hours to finish it. He worked on his art piece at his home in the Windwardside during a weekend.

“I looked at the works of all peace poster winners and they were really talented. I was curious if I could win. I was curious to know my potential and to see how I could help Saba, how I could help the world.”

Saba-born José entered his piece in October last year, and in December 2020 he heard that he was selected as the winner of the four entries from Saba. In March 2020, he was told that he was the district winner. “I felt really excited, and I got a lot of positive reactions.”

This was the first time that José had entered a poster contest. He used watercolor, pencils, pens and markers for his artwork. In addition to his artwork, José also submitted a peace poem titled “What does peace mean to me.” He said he would like to participate in the future again.

José is an avid reader of scientific articles for grown-ups. His favorite subject at school is science and later, he wants to study science, in combination with other studies like physical engineering and philosophy.