The Korea Nuclear Energy Promotion Agency and the 2012 Seoul Nuclear Security Summit Preparatory Secretariat will co-host the International Children’s Peace Art Festival in celebration of the summit forum in Seoul early next year, KONEPA officials said Wednesday.

The event will be held on the sidelines of the global summit in March and it is expected to raise the next generation’s awareness of the peaceful use of nuclear energy, the officials said.

Participants will be creating paintings on given topics: “Peaceful Use of Nuclear Energy” or “Safe and Peaceful World.”

The organizing panel will pick eight successful candidates among Korean applicants after conducting a thorough review on the 138 submitted artworks that passed the first round.

The panel said it will also receive two artwork pieces each from the 49 foreign countries, which will attend the summit, with the help of Korean embassies.

The officials also said that KONEPA plans to display the submitted artworks in public areas, including subway stations, after the summit ends.

All national and international applicants should send their artworks and applications to the KONEPA office by Jan. 13, 2012.

The 2012 nuclear summit is expected to bring 50 heads of state to Seoul to discuss ways to enhance global collaboration on preventing terrorists from acquiring nuclear materials.

By Monica Suk (monicasuk@heraldcorp.com)