Publicity drive: The anti-drug mural will be displayed at the Hong Kong Jockey Club Drug InfoCentre in Admiralty.

About 150 secondary and primary school students have painted a mural carrying anti-drug messages at the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups Building.

The activity marks the finale of the "Anti-drug Heroes" design competition. The contest was held in three phases from June 2009 to March 2010.

Participants could choose to take part in any contest phase and submitted their artwork according to the phases' design themes. They also had to describe the ideas behind their designs in words.

The design competition received an enthusiastic response, with more than 700 creative and imaginative entries. Submissions were assessed by a judging panel while people could also vote online for their favourite design. A professional designer was invited to incorporate the winning designs into the mural that the students painted today.

Action Committee Against Narcotics Sub-committee on Preventive Education & Publicity Chairperson Scarlett Pong said she was pleased to see youths actively participating in the design competition.

They had demonstrated their creativity through the Internet to design their dream anti-drug heroes and helped promote anti-drug messages, she said. She hoped young people joining the design competition could gain a better understanding of the harmful effects of drugs through the competition website or the offline sharing activities, and would know how to say "No" to drugs.

The mural will be displayed at the Hong Kong Jockey Club Drug InfoCentre in Admiralty.