16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence – International Essay Contest
Last Updated (Friday, 03 December 2021 14:56)
Gender Justice Program
International Essay Contest for Students, Youths & Young Adults
Campaign for 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence
November 25-December 10, 2021
Theme: “Towards a Better World for Women and Girls:
Gender Justice by 2030”
About APAY Gender Justice Program International Essay Contest
Essay writing contests are perfect opportunities for young minds to express and articulate their views, perspectives, creative imagination on diverse social issues and concerns. An avenue for young people to address the problems and dedication towards positive changes in society as responsible community members can make a difference in society. Several international essay competitions are organized worldwide, and many talented participants participate and get awarded every year.
Perhaps this is the first time the Gender Equity Committee (GEC) of the Asia and Pacific Alliance of YMCAs (APAY) is organizing an International Essay Contest through its Gender Justice Program. Annually the GEC observes the 16 days of activism against GBV through various programs and activities at national and regional levels. This year the GEC decided to organize the international essay contest to create awareness on 16 days of activism by mobilizing and engaging the youth through the essay contest. The international essay contest will engage the students, youth and young adults of the Asia and Pacific region. Despite the Covid-19 pandemic with Covid restrictions and protocols, the GEC would like to observe the 16 days of activism meaningfully.
The 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence (GBV) is an annual international campaign that begins on 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and Girls, and continues until 10 December, the Human Rights Day. It is used as an organizing strategy by individuals and organizations worldwide to call for the prevention and elimination of violence against women and girls. In support of this civil society initiative, the UN’s UNiTE campaign calls for global actions to End Violence against Women.
The theme for the Essay Contest is “Towards a Better World for Women and Girls: Gender Justice by 2030”
Commitment to Gender Justice remains an integral part of the Asia and Pacific Alliance of YMCAs (APAY). The Gender Equity Committee is faithfully working towards promoting Gender Equity at all levels with a community-specific approach is one of the objectives of APAY. With an affirmation to the quest to elimination and discrimination, sexual and gender-based violence for a better and inclusive society is a collective vision of the APAY. It requires a collaborative undertaking irrespective of sex and gender by creating awareness and policies that promote and reflect gender justice at all levels.
Moreover, achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls is one of the goals of the Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Contestants will imagine their world in 2030 from now.
Objectives
- To create awareness, mobilise and engage students, youth, young adults to participate in the 16 days of activism meaningfully
- To create awareness and engage in responding to the UN Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals towards an equal and just world
- To create an avenue for the students, youth and young adults of the APAY to inspire and encourage these young minds to express their creativity and participate in a particular cause in making a difference in society.
1. What are the Prizes and Benefits of the APAY Gender Justice Program International Essay Contest?
For Category A and Category B
- 1st Prize: Certificate & the prize of US $500(US Dollar Five Hundred)
- 2nd Prize: Certificate & the prize of US $300 (US Dollar Three Hundred)
- 3rd Prize: Certificate & the prize of US $200 (US Dollar Two Hundred)
- Digital Certificate to all the contestants
- Twenty selected essays will be published as a book
- Winners will be invited to a virtual webinar to speak as a panellist.
(Prize winners will be announced in the end of January 2022)
GUIDELINES
2. Who is Eligible for the APAY Gender Justice Program International Essay Competition?
To qualify for this essay writing competition, you must meet the following requirements:
- Essays may be submitted by the members of the YMCA of the Asia and Pacific Alliance of YMCAs (APAY) region and belong to the following age group:
Category A: Ages between 15-20
Category B: Ages between 21-30 - Essays must be written in English. If you prefer writing the Essay other than the English language, then you need to arrange to translate the essay into English before submitting it by the deadline
- You must follow all the criteria and requirements to participate in the International Essay Contest successfully
- Essays must be 2000 words in English for Category A (age:15-20) and 3000 words for Category B (age:21-30), excluding the cover page.
- The essays must be original and unpublished. Therefore, Plagiarized entries will be rejected.
- One person must write the essay; co-authored essays are not accepted.
- YMCA membership proof or an endorsement from a YMCA and age proof document must be submitted together with your essay
- The winners' essays and around 20-25 selected essays will be published as a book.
3. What are the Essay Guidelines for Writers?
- The essays are written based on the given theme/ topic
- Essays must be original and unpublished in print and or electronic media. Plagiarized entries will be rejected.
- Essays are written in English, and English is proper and acceptable in Asia and worldwide. For essays written in other languages, the writers must arrange to translate the essays into English before submitting them by the deadline
- Essays for Category A: Ages between 15-20 (2000 words in A4 size paper, Times New Roman font, 1.15 space, Normal margin, approximately 5-6 pages)
- Essays for Category B: Ages between 21-30(3000 words in A4 size paper, Times New Roman font, 1.15 space, Normal margin, approximately 7-8 pages)
- For footnotes/endnotes, follow the Chicago style guide
- Include a 50-word writer’s biodata on the cover page
4. Criteria for Judging
The following criteria are applied to judge the essays:
| Content Relevance to the theme – connection, the significance of the issue being discussed Comprehensiveness – how complete and detailed the writer’s exposition of the topic. Originality – uniqueness, novelty and authenticity of ideas Insights – a fresh way of looking at things, critical view of the subject |
50% |
| Organization Clarity of Thoughts – use of simple and appropriate words to convey ideas or issues. Creativity – thinking out of the box. Consistency – with the proper flow of the essay throughout |
30% |
| Language proficiency the correct use of vocabulary, punctuation, capitalization and grammar | 20% |
| TOTAL | 100% |
5. How to Apply for the APAY Gender Justice Program International Essay Competition?
Submission Guidelines
- Register online to submit your essay
- There will be no registration fee
- Your essay file must be in either DOC, DOCX or PDF format.
- Cover page: your name, category (age as of December 31, 2021), gender, country, nationality, name of your YMCA, e-mail, phone number, a 50-word biodata, your essay title and word count.
- Writers who prefer to submit handwritten essays are welcome as well. Provided the writers use black ink and readable handwriting. The complete essays must be scanned with clearly visible and readable before submitting by the deadline
- YMCA staff can assist their member writers in sending the essays by email
- Completed essays can be sent by email together with the documents of YMCA membership proof or an endorsement from a YMCA, and age proof copy to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
6. When is the Submission Deadline?
December 31, 2021 (23:59 your local time).
Gender Equity Committee – APAY
Address: Asia and Pacific Alliance of YMCAs (APAY)
6F, 23 Waterloo Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong
E-mail:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
www.asiapacificymca.org
(+852) 2780 8347 / (+852) 2770 3168