Every year, hundreds of thousands of young people between the ages of 11 and 13 pick up brushes, colored pencils, and digital tools to answer a single question posed by Lions Clubs International: what does peace mean to you? The Lions International Peace Poster Contest is one of the world's largest youth art contests, engaging students in over 70 countries and producing artwork that is at once personal and universal. When a local Lions Club sponsors a student whose artwork rises to the top, at the local level, the zone, the district, or all the way to the international finals, a certificate is the tangible acknowledgment of that creative achievement.
This guide covers the Peace Poster Contest from the club perspective: how the judging structure works, what certificates are appropriate at each level, what they should include, wording samples for local through international recognition, and how digital badges from IssueBadge.com can give young artists a professional credential they can carry into high school and college portfolios.
Understanding the multi-level structure helps clubs know what certificates are appropriate at each stage:
| Level | Sponsor | Outcome | Certificate Appropriate? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Club Level | Sponsoring Lions Club | Club selects one entry to advance | Yes, all participants deserve a certificate; winner gets special recognition |
| Zone Level | Zone Chairs or Zone Contest Committee | One entry advances to district | Yes, zone-level winner certificate |
| District Level | District Governor's office | One entry advances to multiple district | Yes, district winner certificate, typically presented at District Convention |
| Multiple District Level | MD Council | One entry advances to international | Yes, MD winner certificate |
| International Level | Lions International | International winner selected; $5,000 prize | LCI issues official international certificate |
All participants deserve recognition. Many clubs issue a participation certificate to every student who submits an entry, not just the winner. This is strongly encouraged. A student who enters the Peace Poster Contest has engaged with a serious question about global values and expressed it through art. That deserves acknowledgment regardless of judging outcome.
Lions International announces a new Peace Poster Contest theme each year. Past themes have included "Journey of Peace," "Kindness Matters," and "We Are All Connected." The current year's theme should appear on the club-level certificate, it anchors the recognition to the specific creative challenge the student responded to.
Including the theme on the certificate also means that years from now, when the student (now an adult) finds the certificate in a box, they can remember exactly which contest it was. A generic "Peace Poster Contest" certificate loses that context; a certificate that includes "2025–2026 Theme: [Theme Name]" preserves it.
"This certificate is presented to [Student Name], Grade [X], [School Name], in recognition of participation in the [Year] Lions International Peace Poster Contest, theme '[Theme Name],' sponsored by [Club Name] Lions Club, District [XX]. Your vision of peace through art represents the best of what young people can offer to our world."
"This certificate is presented to [Student Name], Grade [X], [School Name], as the [Year] Club-Level Winner of the Lions International Peace Poster Contest, theme '[Theme Name],' sponsored by [Club Name] Lions Club, District [XX]. [His/Her/Their] artwork has been selected to advance to zone-level judging. Congratulations on this outstanding creative achievement."
"With great pride, this certificate is presented to [Student Name] as the District [XX] Winner of the [Year] Lions International Peace Poster Contest, theme '[Theme Name].' Selected from entries across [X] clubs in our district, [his/her/their] artwork will advance to multiple district judging for consideration as a finalist at the international level. Lions District [XX] is proud to sponsor this exceptional young artist."
"[Club Name] Lions Club is honored to recognize [Student Name], District [XX] representative in the [Year] Lions International Peace Poster Contest, whose artwork was selected as an international finalist from among entries submitted by students in over 70 countries. This remarkable achievement brings honor to our club, our district, and our community."
Peace Poster Contest certificate presentations should be calibrated for an 11–13-year-old recipient, not for an adult Lions member receiving a service award. A few guidelines:
Clubs sometimes overlook the obvious: the artwork that went with the certificate is also a recognition artifact. Consider:
A digital badge from IssueBadge.com for a Peace Poster Contest winner is a credential that can travel into college applications, art school portfolios, and LinkedIn profiles in later years:
For younger recipients, offer the digital badge to the parent or guardian who can hold it until the student is ready to use it professionally. A fourteen-year-old may not have LinkedIn, but a twenty-year-old applying to art school or a design program will find a verifiable credential from an international competition meaningful.
The Lions International Peace Poster Contest is open to students ages 11–13 worldwide. Students must submit their artwork through a sponsoring Lions Club. Each Lions Club may sponsor one entry per contest year. The contest is annual, with new themes announced each year by Lions International.
Lions Clubs sponsor individual entries and select a local winner, whose poster advances to zone-level judging, then district-level, then multiple district-level, and finally to Lions International's global judging panel. The international winner receives a $5,000 award. Certificates are appropriate at every judging level.
A local Peace Poster Contest certificate should include the student's full name, school and grade, contest year, Lions year theme, the club name and district, an acknowledgment that the entry advances to the next judging level, the Lions International emblem, and the signature of the club president or contest chair.
Yes. A digital badge from IssueBadge.com for a Peace Poster Contest winner is especially meaningful for a student building a portfolio for high school or college applications. The badge metadata can include the contest level won, the theme, and the year.
Best practice is to present at a regular Lions Club meeting, inviting the student winner and their family. This gives the student a chance to experience a Lions meeting and potentially sparks interest in Leo Club membership. Include display of the winning artwork and remarks about the contest theme.