The international jury consisted of seven experts:Dr. Varsha Das, Joint Director and Chief Editor of National Book Trust India; Mr. Donald Long, editor for Learning Media Ltd. (New Zealand); Mr. Mohamed Yusof Ismail, a picture book author and artist (Malaysia); Mr. Hammo Sugiura, an illustrator and graphic designer (Japan); Mr. Osamu Tsukasa, a painter and author (Japan); Ms. Sawako Noma, representative of the Noma International Book Development Fund; and Mr. Muneharu Kusaba, Director-General of the Asia/Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO.

The Jury Meeting was held on March 1 and 2 at the Japan Publishing Building in Tokyo and 99 of the 308 works were selected at the first screening on March 1. This number was narrowed down to the 34 prize-winners at the second screening, which was held on the following day, and at the third screening, 13 of these were selected as candidates for the Runner-up, Second Prize and Grand Prize categories with the remaining 21 automatically becoming recipients of the Encouragement Prize. Selection of the Grand Prize and two Second Prize winners from these finalists aroused much debate, with discussion centering on the concept of "children's books." Each work consisted of a set of illustrations and the criteria for selection were not only artistic and technical excellence and originality, but also their appeal for children when produced in book form. All thirteen works exhibited originality and distinctive approaches certain to spark the creative imaginations of young readers and most jurists agreed that this made it extremely difficult to rank them.

In the end, the work of Ms. Nasrin Khosravi from Iran was selected as the Grand Prize winner for its technical quality, which surpassed that of the others, and for its mysterious allure which could draw children into the realm of fantasy. The jurists were somewhat divided in their opinions, however, with some feeling that the illusory quality of Khosravi's work would be difficult for children to understand as opposed to Mr. Jainal Amambing's work, which won high praise for its lucidness and unusual approach. Ms. Lee Hye Kyung's work, which was selected as a Second Prize winner, aroused similar controversy. Some jurists feared that her distinctive mode of expression might frighten small children while others felt that the very impact of these images would inspire children to read the book again and again.

The other prize-winning works also exhibited tremendous variety in content and technique, ranging from recreations of native traditions to completely original works, and all of them were captivating. The world-class level of submissions demonstrates the degree of international recognition achieved by the Noma Concours.

All of the prize-winners were presented with a medal designed by Mr.Yutaka Sugita. In addition, cash prizes were awarded to those in the Runner-up category and above, and the Grand Prize winner received an invitation to the Awards Ceremony in Tokyo. Prize-winning works were displayed at the Tokyo Seibu Art Forum (Ikebukuro Seibu) in Tokyo and is subsequently at the Biennale of Illustrations Bratislava in Slovakia.

The next Concours is scheduled for 2002. We look forward to the participation of many illustrators and particularly of new artists who have not yet had the opportunity to participate.