The Maryland Judiciary’s Mediation and Conflict Resolution Office (MACRO) has opened its 21st annual Conflict Resolution Day Bookmark Art Contest, inviting students in kindergarten through eighth grade to design original bookmarks centered on peacemaking. Entries are due Oct. 15, which is also Conflict Resolution Day and falls during Conflict Resolution Month.
The contest, running since 2005, asks students to illustrate ideas like positive communication, empathy, respect, inclusion, and understanding different perspectives. It’s open to all Maryland K-8 students — public, private, and homeschooled alike — with entries judged in three grade bands: K-2, 3-5, and 6-8. First-, second-, and third-place winners in each category receive cash prizes, 15 additional students receive honorable mentions, and a selection of winning designs are printed and distributed across the state to promote conflict resolution. Winners will be notified in November and honored, along with their families, at a Dec. 3 awards ceremony at the Administrative Office of the Courts in Annapolis, where hundreds of student entries will be on display.
“This contest gives Maryland’s youngest residents a meaningful way to think about how they can prevent and resolve conflict in their everyday lives,” said Supreme Court of Maryland Chief Justice Matthew J. Fader. “Art is a powerful tool for helping children to learn the value of peaceful problem-solving, which is a critical life skill that students can carry with them into adulthood.”
The contest has grown substantially over two decades. Last year’s 20th-anniversary edition drew 4,143 entries — 722 more than 2024 — from 54 public schools, three private schools, and one art studio across nine Maryland counties, up from roughly 300 entries in its early years. Southern Maryland students have placed in past contests; in 2023, then-second-grader Avery Boarman of Walter J. Mitchell Elementary School took second place in the K-2 category.
Contest guidelines, templates, and submission instructions are available at mdcourts.gov/macro/eventsconflictresolutionday2026 or through MACRO’s website.
