Deadline: 30 July 2011
The US Embassy cultural affairs section is pleased to announce an Arabic language essay contest for young Egyptian people beginning July 8th.
This I Believe, is an international organization engaging people in writing and sharing essays describing the core values that guide their daily lives. More than 90.000 of these essays, written by people from all walks of life, are archived on this link, heard on public radio, chronicled through books, and featured in weekly podcasts. The project is based on the popular 1950s radio series of the same name hosted by Edward R. Murrow.
Beyond reflecting on and developing one’s own beliefs, This I Believe encourages “people to begin the . . . difficult task of developing respect for beliefs different from their own.” Example essays include: “I Believe in the Power to Forget”, “I Believe in Laughter”, and “I Believe in Being Cool to the Pizza Delivery Dude”.
We invite you to write you own "This I Believe" essay in Arabic. We will be holding a contest for the This I Believe essays. We hope you will consider writing your own personal belief statement!
Overview:
Are you interested in participating?
The contest will begin July 8th and end July 30th.
Write a short essay in Arabic (350-500 words). Reflect on the values and beliefs that drive you in your daily life. We encourage you to avoiding an opinion piece on a public issue and look beyond religion and politics in writing your essays. The essay should tell a story that ties to the forming of you core beliefs and the guiding principles by which you live.
Submission: Please submit your essay to this address on our webpage thisIbelieve@state.gov
All contest entries must be in written form and must adhere to the essay-writing guidelines. Please include your date of birth, education and profession.
Examples: For examples of essays, please see "This I Believe" examples page here.
Contest Winners: Contest winners will be invited to present their essays at a This I Believe event night at three different places:
- Diwan Heliopolis on August 7 No age limit
- Sawy Cultural Wheel on August 8 No age limit
- Maadi Public Library from 13:00 to 15:00 on August 9 for writers aged 13-18
The Embassy will contact the winners to notify them with the details of the event.
Essay Guidelines
We invite you to contribute to this project by writing and submitting your own statement of personal belief. We understand how challenging this is—it requires such intimacy that no one else can do it for you. To guide you through this process, we offer these suggestions:
Tell a story: Be specific. Take your belief out of the ether and ground it in the events of your life. Consider moments when belief was formed or tested or changed. Think of your own experience, work, and family, and tell of the things you know that no one else does. Your story need not be heart-warming or gut-wrenching—it can even be funny—but it should be real. Make sure your story ties to the essence of your daily life philosophy and the shaping of your beliefs.
Be brief: Your statement should be between 350 and 500 words. That’s about three minutes when read aloud at your natural pace.
Name your belief: If you can’t name it in a sentence or two, your essay might not be about belief. Also, rather than writing a list, consider focusing on one core belief, because three minutes is a very short time.
Be positive: Please avoid preaching or editorializing. Tell us what you do believe, not what you don’t believe. Make your essay about you; speak in the first person.
Be personal: Write in words and phrases that are comfortable for you to speak. We recommend you read your essay aloud to yourself several times, and each time edit it and simplify it until you find the words, tone, and story that truly echo your belief and the way you speak.”
All contest entries must be in written form and must adhere to the following guidelines:
· Limit your essay to approximately 500 words.
· Tell a story that illustrates how your personal belief was shaped.
· Refrain from writing a political/religious opinion piece or an editorial on a current event.
· Please no hate speech or discriminatory language in your essay.
· Tell us what you do believe, not what you don’t believe.
· Read and follow our essay-writing guidelines (link to the Essay Guidelines page).
· Proofread your essay carefully before submitting it.
By submitting an essay you affirm that this essay is original to you and that the essay does not violate the rights, copyrights, or privacy of any third party.
Contact Information:
For inquiries: lindsay.anglin@provost.gatech.edu or dana.hartley@carnegie.gatech.edu
For submissions: click here (submissions to open July 8th)
Website: http://www.thisibelieve.gatech.edu