Do you enjoy writing, film or photography?
Interested in the world around you?
Are you creative?Enter the Royal Commonwealth Society,s Young Commonwealth Competitions!These prestigious awards, open to anybody under the age of 30 living in a Commonwealth country, encourage creative responses to global challenges and offer a unique international platform for young talent.
Over 60,000 young people enter our Competitions every year. But our winners are often those picking up a camera or putting pen to paper for the very first time. Don,t be put off! We,re not looking for perfection. We,re looking for a creative spark, a unique insight, a new idea...
Enter one of our Competitions and you could: Take part in expert workshops with leading figures in your creative field Meet famous authors, film directors, and photographers at a Gala
Awards Ceremony held in Central London’s Commonwealth Club Visit the BBC’s global headquarters, Buckingham Palace, the Commonwealth
Secretariat and other high-profile venues in the UK’s capital city See your work exhibited in different locations around London and
featured in the press worldwide Attend a show in London’s West End and take part in drama workshops Win cash prizes and camera equipment Meet other young people from around the world who share your interests
Through our Competitions we aim to: Nurture the creative talent of young people Encourage young people to respond to current international issues Enable young people to share their thoughts with peers around the world Give young people a safe, creative forum for their ideas and a global
platform for their talent Promote the use of the English language
The Young Commonwealth Competitions take a different theme each year. In 2010, the focus is on Science, Technology and Society. We want to encourage you to think about the role that science and technology can play in helping to tackle challenges faced by your own community, or those living in another part of the world.
Keep reading to find out how you can enter our Essay, Film or Photography Competitions...
Commonwealth Essay Competition
Run by the RCS for over 100 years, this is the world’s oldest and largest schools’ writing competition. Choose from a list of ten topics which all aim to fire your imagination on the theme Science, Technology and Society. Write us an essay or go creative and compose a story, a poem, a film script, a play… the possibilities are endless! We ask only that your entry must be your own original work. Send us your entry by 1 May 2010.
For full details, please visit: www.thercs.org/youth/essaycompetition
Commonwealth Photographic Awards
One powerful image can often say more than many pages of writing. If you want to make your response to the Science, Technology and Society theme an image, then start snapping! Whether you use a digital, analogue, or disposable camera – or even a mobile phone – we want to see your pictures. Send them in by 1 June 2010 and you’ll be in line for some fantastic prizes.
For full details, please visit: www.thercs.org/youth/photoawards
Commonwealth Vision Awards
Aspiring young filmmakers are invited to make a 30-90 second film responding to the Science, Technology and Society theme. Submit your storyboard ideas, in written, picture or film format, by 1 March 2010 and you could win a seed grant of up to £1,000. Alternatively, submit your fully-made film via YouTube or post a hard copy before the closing date of 1 July 2010.
For full details, please visit: www.thercs.org/youth/visionawards
For the Essay Competition please choose ONE of the following topics:
What technological invention(s) would most improve life in your community?
The mad scientist.
What positive steps can you or I start to take to tackle climate change?
The day the computer started misbehaving.
“Science never solves a problem without creating ten more.”
(George Bernard Shaw)
An adventure in space.
What is knowledge? Who owns it? How can it best be taught or transmitted?
A ‘eureka’ moment.
Is your generation wiser than your grandparents’ generation?
Welcome to my Utopia!
We will be accepting entries to all the Competitions from 8 March 2010.
In the interests of limiting our carbon footprint, we would prefer you to make all entries online. However, we do understand that this won’t be possible for everyone, so postal entries can be sent to:
The Competitions Manager Royal Commonwealth Society
25 Northumberland Avenue London WC2N 5AP United Kingdom
Please note that all applicants must fill in an application form or their entry will not be processed.
These forms, as well rules and deadlines, can be found on our website:
www.thercs.org/youth/competitions.
If you have a query, please email us at competitions@thercs.org or call us on +44 (0)207 766 9204.
So,... join in and let,s get creative!
Friday, June 11, 2010
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
The RED card campaign
Victims and survivors of apartheid era gross human rights abuses were red carded by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and by the South African government — especially former President Thabo Mbeki, former Minister of Justice Penuell Maduna, and the officials in the TRC unit in the Department of Justice.
The promise made to victims and survivors was, that by testifying at the TRC and thereby participating in the process which led to the perpetrators receiving amnesty, they would receive reparations. These promises were only partly kept. The TRC’s recommendations for reparations were not accepted by the South African government — in fact only about a sixth of the amount recommended was finally (after five years) granted to those victims who testified at the TRC. But many perpetrators received amnesty and continued to receive it after the TRC officially closed its books.
Victims of apartheid crimes who did not make it to the TRC are to this day not recognised but simply ignored. The South Africa we live in today owes an enormous amount to the victims and survivors of the struggle. Some of these were heroes who have ended up in plush and cushy government jobs — but most have literally been red carded from society and stay out of sight and out of the mind of the South African peoples. Even their comrades have forgotten them.
The victims and survivors were directly and indirectly damaged by the actions of companies supporting the security forces and policies of the apartheid government — such as Daimler, Ford, General Motors, IBM, Rheinmetall and others: including banks and oil companies.
But who should continue to be red carded? The victims? Or the businesses who profitted (hugely) from apartheid?
UNICEF voices youth:Call for Contributors
 Source: Youth Section and the Adolescent Development and Participation (ADAP) Unit of UNICEF On behalf of UNICEF we are inviting you to contribute to our new Voices of Youth blog. In the Youth Section and the Adolescent Development and Participation (ADAP) Unit of UNICEF we are working on the relaunch of the Voices of Youth blog which is a complement of our website. Voices of Youth is a platform where young people can Explore, Speak Out and Take Action! Thanks to Voices of Youth, children and young people can discuss and partner on issues related to human rights and social change, as well as develop their awareness, leadership, community building, and critical thinking skills through active and substantive participation with their peers and with decision makers globally. We at the Youth Section and the ADAP Unit of UNICEF are extremely excited about Voices of Youth relaunch. The new Voices of Youth blog will report on different projects of Unicef. Once or twice a month we would like to publish new articles written by contributors from the projects or by us. That is why we need you. We are looking for young and dynamic contributors who could send us articles, pictures and/or videos about current projects. Mainly we are focused on UNICEF projects. If you are interested, and would like to join the Voices of Youth relaunch as a contributor, we would appreciate it if you would contact Katharina at the Youth Section of UNICEF: Please do not hesitate to contact us for further information or guidance on how you can contribute and make a lasting impact here at the Youth Section and the ADAP Unit of UNICEF on our relaunch of Voices of Youth website. |
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