MILLENNIAL INDIAN WRITERS PAN INDIA ONLINE ESSAY CONTEST

MILLENNIAL INDIAN WRITERS PAN INDIA ONLINE ESSAY CONTEST

About MILLENNIAL INDIAN WRITERS PAN INDIA ONLINE ESSAY CONTEST

 

1. Introduction

 

Words are power. Wielded thoughtfully, words and ideas have a very real potential to bring about change. But are today’s millennials able to use written words effectively? Can they communicate original ideas forcefully, and construct meaningful, informative and thought-provoking pieces of writing?

 

In order to give Indian millennials a platform to demonstrate their critical thinking and writing skills, Takhte1 and the UNESCO2 New Delhi Cluster Office are launching the first ever pan India online essay contest for children (aged 13–15 years) and youth (aged 16–18 years). The contest is titled ‘Millennial Indian Writers’, and the 100 winning essays will be published as a book entitled Inside the Millennial Mind: Essays by 100 Young Indians.

 

2. Contest Categories, Essay Topics and Submission Guidelines

 

2.1. Contest Categories

 

The essay contest has separate categories for children (aged 13–15 years as of 31 Aug 2019) and youth (aged 16–18 years as of 31 Aug 2019) respectively. The five essay topics for participants in each of these categories are as follows:

 

A. Essay topics for children

 

* How can schools address the challenge of bullying?

* Can children strengthen local efforts to fight climate change?

* Does participation in sports contribute to all-round personal growth?

* How can history and cultural heritage be brought alive for children?

* Has our need for instant news affected the quality of journalism?

 

B. Essay topics for youth

 

* Why is global citizenship education important?

* Is protecting our natural environment a priority?

* Are internal migrants an asset or a burden for local economies?

* What role could culture play in sustainable development?

* How democratic are citizens’ discussions on social media?

 

2.2. Contest Guidelines

 

All participants in the essay contest must be Indian nationals, residing in India as of 31 August 2019. All essays must be written in English.

 

i. Age group and essay category for children: As indicated above, children who are between 13 and 15 years of age as of 31 August 2019 must select and write an essay on a topic from Category A.

 

Title and word count: The essay title should correspond exactly to one of the topics provided. Do not change the title. The word count of the essay should not exceed 600 words. (A word count of 570 – 600 words would be ideal.)

 

ii. Age group and essay category for youth: As indicated above, youth who are between 16 and 18 years of age as of 31 August 2019 must select and write an essay on a topic from Category B.

 

Title and word count: The essay title should correspond exactly to one of the topics provided. Do not change the title. The word count of the essay should not exceed 700 words. (A word count of 670 – 700 words would be ideal.)

 

2.3. Submission Guidelines

 

i. Participants can visit the link for the contest on the websites of Takhte (http://www.takhte.in/contest.php) and UNESCO New Delhi (http://www.unesco.org/new/en/newdelhi/home), where the details of the contest will be available. The contest details will also be available on Takhte and UNESCO New Delhi’s Facebook and Instagram pages.

 

ii. Participants must complete and submit the required online form. All fields (both for the participant’s personal details and for entering the complete text of the essay) must be carefully completed.

 

iii. Once the above details have been entered, an Entry Fee (of INR 200 + GST) must be paid through the given secure payment gateway.

 

3. Review of Entries and Jury Process

 

A screening committee will review all submitted essays and eliminate entries that do not meet basic minimum criteria in terms of quality or completeness of details. The essays that qualify following this initial round of screening will then be evaluated by a distinguished jury convened by Takhte and UNESCO. The jury will consist of individuals with expertise in one or the other of UNESCO’s fields of competence (i.e. education, the natural or social and human sciences, culture, and communication and information). The members of the jury will be announced on Takhte and UNESCO New Delhi’s social media platforms. The jury will evaluate all submitted essays according to the following criteria and will identify the 100 best essays.

 

* Comprehensiveness and clarity

* Interpretation of the given topic

* The depth of research and relevance of arguments

* Creativity

* Language and style

* Structure and flow

* Communication of key ideas

* Originality (plagiarism will result in disqualification of essays)

 

UNESCO New Delhi reserves the right to decide on the final selection of the 100 essays to be published. The process of evaluation and announcement of winners will take three months from the closure of the submission period on 15 June 2019.

 

4. Awards and Outcomes

 

i. The winners of the essay contest will be announced on the websites and Facebook pages of Takhte and UNESCO New Delhi.

ii. The writers of the 100 winning essays will receive Certificates of Recognition from Takhte and UNESCO New Delhi.

iii. The essays will be published in the form of a book entitled Inside the Millennial Mind: Essays by 100 Young Indians. The book will credit the contributor of each essay as well as the judges involved with the process of assessment and evaluation.

iv. The book of essays will be launched at a ceremony at UNESCO New Delhi, and will subsequently be promoted extensively both offline and online by Takhte and UNESCO in order to maximise its visibility and outreach.

 

About Takhte & UNESCO

 

1. Takhte (www.takhte.in) offers professional writing services. In the last four years, Takhte has successfully set a series of benchmarks in relation to book writing, among the most recent being its production of the book Artists of India: Modern and Contemporary Art, which has been acknowledged by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India. Takhte promotes creativity in a range of art forms. In 2019, the organization aims to build an innovative platform for young Indian writers to express their views about key contemporary subjects.

 

2. UNESCO (https://en.unesco.org/) is a specialized UN agency with a mandate to build peace through international cooperation in the fields of education, the sciences, culture, and communication and information. UNESCO’s programmes contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals defined in Agenda 2030, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2015. The UNESCO New Delhi Cluster Office is mandated to cover six South Asian countries — Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

 

Schools registering for a group of students can contact the organisers of Takhte Team at #9811007776

 

For more details and Contest Form please refer the Official Website

 

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