Leonardo 4 Children 2026 Art & Science Awards:
Teenagers aged 13-18
Teenagers are invited to create an original work integrating Art & Science to address one or more of the topics “Climate”, “Equality”, “Peace”, interpreting the problem, providing a meaningful message and possibly proposing a solution.
The teenagers will use multi-disciplinary skills – creativity, thinking, analysis, intuition, STEAM skills – to create an original work, possibly in teamwork.
Timetable
- Open from 15 September 2025 until 30 April 2026
- Announcement of winners: 1 June 2026
- Workshop, Concert & Award ceremony: 9 October 2026 in Brussels
Winners Art & Science 2026
Top 10 Winner: “What would you do?”
Topic: Peace
Authors: Cirla, Jiang, Luongo, Pizzolato & Ravelli
Teacher: Margherita Mesirca
School: Liceo Scientifico Statale “Galileo Ferraris” – Varese
Country: Italy

Top 10 Winner: “In-between the Roar and the Silence”
Topic: Peace
Authors: Matteo Gallorini, Giacomo Macchi, Miriam Madjid Mekkalaf, Giulio Scibilia
Teacher: Margherita Mesirca
School: Liceo Scientifico Statale “Galileo Ferraris” – Varese
Country: Italy

Top 10 Winner: “Roots of Harmony”
Topic: Climate, Equality, Peace
Author: Patricha Dede
Teacher: Eda Shehu
School: New York High School – Tirana
Country: Albania

Top 10 Winner: “The Plasticene Orchard”
Topic: Climate
Author: Ilinca David
Teacher: Isabela Ciurea
School: Liceul tehnologic Constantin Cantacuzino – Baicoi
Country: Romania

Top 10 Winner: “Trapped beneath plastic”
Topic: Climate
Author: Andrei Oprea Sara
Teacher: Isabela Ciurea
School: Liceul Constantin Cantacuzino – Baicoi
Country: Romania

Top 10 Winner: “Our wrinkled blue”
Topic: Climate
Author: Gabriela Presnova
Teacher: Natalja Zareckaja
School: MENO HARMONIJA – Vilnius
Country: Lithuania

Top 10 Winner: “25.02.2036”
Topic: Climate
Author: ANASTASIA GEORGIANA PANCOVICI
Teachers: ENE TINA ELENA, NICOLAE ROZINA BEATRICE
School: ȘCOALA GIMNAZIALĂ „SFÂNTA VINERI” MUNICIPIUL PLOIEȘTI
Country: Romania

Top 10 Winner: “Breath of Earth”
Topic: Climate, Peace
Author: Patricha Dede
Parent: Eda Shehu
School: New York High School – Tirana
Country: Albania

Top 10 Winner: “The Whale”
Topic: Climate
Author: Andrea Focarelli
Teacher: Silvia Calzolari
School: Scuola per l’Europa di Parma (SEP)
Country: Italy

Top 10 Winner: “Il mare soffocato”
Topic: Climate
Authors: ALLOUANI YASMINE, HERNANDEZ JIMENEZ LEO
Teacher: Silvia Calzolari
School: Scuola per l’Europa di Parma (SEP)
Country: Italy

Special Awards
Special Award Cybersecurity AXA: “Beyond the screen: finding real connections”

Authors: Giulia Crespi, Carola Maculan, Emma Strambi, Matilde Friedrich
Teacher: Alberto Colombo
School: Liceo scientifico statale G. Ferraris – Varese
Country: Italy

Special Award Artificial Intelligence EY: “The last color”

Author: Lara Radošević
Teacher: Mirela Radošević
School: Primary School “Petar Zrinski” Čabar, branch Tršće
Country: Croatia

Special Award Galileo Museum: “A telescope on ocean acidification”

Authors: Omar Eddary, Luca Talamona, Keivin Xhafaj
Teacher: Margherita Mesirca
School: Liceo Scientifico Statale “Galileo Ferraris” – Varese

Special Award IIC: “Climate and memory of Varese”

Authors: Samuele Frattini, Emanuele Longhi
Teacher: Margherita Mesirca
School: Liceo Scientifico Statale “Galileo Ferraris” – Varese

Special Award Cinema/Audiovisual: “They changed the world, you can too”

Authors: Miroslav Kačírek (American Academy), Karolína Kopřivová (Square), Zbyněk Babák (American Academy), Stella Zavadilová (American Academy), Josef Musil (Square), Antonín Kořán (Square), Yusif Ashumov (Square), Viktor Grygar (Square), Mína Hejdová (Square), Matyáš Hlavička (Square), Lola Horníková (Square), Arjun Chatterjee (Square), Matyas Křížek (Square)
Emma Mia Pajdiaková (Square), Luisa Slavíková (Square), Marek Vašica (Square), Stella Morton (Square)
Teacher: Anna Strusková
School: Zakladni skola Square s.r.o., American Academy Prague

Special Award Fabrizio Ragni / Ambrosiana Library: “From Reality to Possibility: Bridging Leonardo Da Vinci for the Future”

Authors: Leonardo Carabelli, Matteo Ferrigato, Samuele Nipote, Lorenzo Riboni
Teacher: Margherita Mesirca
School: Liceo Scientifico Statale “Galileo Ferraris” – Varese

Prizes
The announcement of winners will be made by 1 June 2026, and the award ceremony will take place on 9 October 2026 in Brussels.
The authors of the Top 10 works will be invited to present their work to the jury at the hybrid workshop, which is held before the Award ceremony in October in Brussels. The jury will then make a final decision on the Top 3 winners (1 winner on climate, 1 winner on equality, 1 winner on peace).
The 10 works with the best scoring – including the winners of the Special Awards – will receive the following prizes:
Talent Development programme
– € 500 budget for each Top 3 winner
– € 200 budget for the remaining Top 10 winning works
The budget can be used to develop the artistic and scientific skills of winners, subject to the approval of the foundation.
– presentation at workshop and award ceremony;
– promotion on website, social media and promotional material, at public events, institutions or public places including museums, and during concerts and events;
– publication in the “Leonardo 4 Children” booklet;
– award certificate “Leonardo 4 Children”;
Leonardo 4 Children partners and/or the Jury may decide to assign “Honorable Mentions” to specific valuable works with special features and of particular interest.
Special Awards
Special Awards include challenges on specific topics and the winners will receive Special Awards and specific “Talent Development” opportunities offered by partners.
- Artificial Intelligence (AI) applied to Climate, Equality and Peace – partner EY
- Design of Vespa motorbike – partner Piaggio Museum
- Cinema and audio-visual
- Cybersecurity and Internet and social media safety – partner AXA
- La Pace label design
- Galileo Museum Florence
- Leonardo da Vinci – Ambrosiana Library Milan
- Diderot project
- Special Award Marina Calamai
- Italian Institute of Culture Brussels
- Projects inspired by Leonardo – in honour to Fabrizio Ragni