Mr Craig (52), who receives the $500 first prize in the national contest, said he appreciated the prize and it was ''nice to be recognised''.
He is also a freelance graphic designer.
The centre is at the University of Otago.
Over the past 30 years Mr Craig has spent about a year overall, undertaking Christian mission work to help the poor in several developing countries, including Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Bolivia, for between a month to six months at a time.
This work had given him a deeper sense of peace and conflict issues, and in his cartoons, on the contest theme ''Power to the Peaceful'', he had been keen to avoid visual cliches, including those involving doves, he said.
Adjudicator Garrick Tremain complimented him on his technical skill and the originality of thought shown in his three entries.
Austin Milne, a pupil at Kapiti College, won the secondary section and its $300 prize.
Competition co-ordinator Rosemary McBryde was pleased with the quality of the entries, received from throughout the country.
