Maryland Judiciary celebrates the 20th Anniversary of the Annual Conflict Resolution Day Bookmark Art Contest
2025 contest is now open for submissions

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Maryland Judiciary’s Mediation and Conflict Resolution Office (MACRO) is inviting students to help promote peacemaking by submitting artwork for the 20th anniversary Annual Conflict Resolution Day Bookmark Art Contest. The contest is open to all Maryland students in kindergarten through eighth grade to help celebrate national Conflict Resolution Month in October and International Conflict Resolution Day on October 16, 2025, which is also the entry deadline.

“Learning to resolve conflicts peacefully is a critical life skill that students can carry with them throughout their lives,” said Maryland Supreme Court Chief Justice Matthew J. Fader. “For 20 years, the Maryland Judiciary has been committed to providing a platform to spotlight students and their creativity through the annual bookmark contest, fostering discussions and learning opportunities about conflict resolution and prevention among thousands of Maryland students, their peers, and teachers.”

Since 2005, thousands of Maryland students and educators have engaged in dedicated curricula about peaceful conflict resolution, culminating with students expressing what they have learned through art. Each year, students are asked to create bookmarks with the theme of resolving or preventing conflicts. Topics include peer mediation, apologizing, respecting differences, talking things out, solving problems together, listening, tolerance, diversity, inclusion, building peace, and alternatives to violence. The contest, which has grown from less than 100 artwork submissions in 2005 to nearly 4,000 entries annually in recent years, allows for teachers, parents, and students to discuss ways to resolve conflicts peacefully.

Submissions will be judged on both artistic merit and their conflict resolution or prevention message. Student originality is welcomed. Prizes will be awarded for first, second, and third place in three age groups: grades K-2, 3-5, and 6-8. For each age group, the prize awards will be $100 for first place, $75 for second place, and $50 for third place. Winners will be notified on November 18-19, 2025. Students whose bookmarks are selected for printing will receive copies of their own printed entry and a selection of winning entries will be printed and distributed throughout communities and schools statewide to promote conflict resolution. Additionally, honorable mention winners will receive certificates and be invited to the awards ceremony.

Contest winners and their families will be invited to an awards ceremony on Monday, December 15, 2025, from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., at the Administrative Office of the Courts, Maryland Judicial Center, in Annapolis, Maryland, where hundreds of entries will be displayed for staff and visitors.

For more information, including the bookmark template, submission instructions, and delivery information, or to watch the bookmark contest video to see how educators can use the contest as a teaching tool, visit https://www.mdcourts.gov/macro/eventsconflictresolutionday2025.