Deadline: 30 JUNE 2012
(Note: The contest is aimed at youths between 18 and 30 who are citizens of one of the 42 countries of the Euro-Mediterranean space. The 42 Euro-Mediterranean Partnership Countries are: Albania, Algeria, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Mauritania, Monaco, Montenegro, Morocco, Netherlands, Palestine, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Tunisia, Turkey, United Kingdom.)
SEA OF WORDS
The contest "A Sea of Words", in its 2012 call, is being held again with theaim of contributing to the encouragement of dialogue between peoples, and exchange of knowledge and experiences between different local and international traditions. However, in the framework of the European Year for Solidarity between Generations, this year’s theme will be aimed at promoting the vision and expectations of young people about their future and the contact between different generations of Euro-Mediterranean societies.
The contest is aimed at the production of short stories whose content is related to the creation and/or consolidation of dynamics aiming to reinforce volunteering activities, one of the active citizenship elements to promote intergenerational solidarity, the evolution of values and societies, and the expression of different sensitivities and realities of young people in the region.
Literary production is a fundamental means for the expression and description of facts, ideas and emotions that can be directly transmitted to and by young people all over the Euro-Mediterranean region. From this point of view, the object is to obtain literary stories – based on reality and purely fictional – that describe different experiences of children, parents and grandparents facing the future.
CALL AND CONDITIONS
The Anna Lindh Foundation and the European Institute of the Mediterranean are calling the fourth year of the international short story contest “A Sea of Words” aimed at young people from the 42 countries of the Euro-Mediterranean space. The contest is aimed at the production of short stories focusing on the issues of children, parents and grandparents facing the future, with the objective of showing the different sensitivities and realities in the Euro-Mediterranean region, from the point of view of the youths who live there.
Participation Requisites
The contest is aimed at youths between 18 and 30 who are citizens of one of the 42 countries of the Euro-Mediterranean space.
Story Format
The short stories cannot exceed a length of 2,500 words and can be written in any of the official languages of the participant countries. They must be original and unpublished works. The short stories must address issues related to intercultural dialogue, mainly of a political, socio-cultural, economic and environmental nature.
Deadline and Place of Submission of the Stories
All the short stories must be sent to the following e-mail address: concurso@iemed.org
The authors must attach their personal details (names and surnames, place of birth, nationality, postal address and e-mail) to the submitted short stories.
The short stories can be sent by e-mail until:
12 midnight on 30th June 2012.
Participation in the contest implies the surrendering to the IEMed and the Anna Lindh Foundation of the copyright of the contestant’s short story. The Anna Lindh Foundation and the IEMed reserve the right to publish and use the short stories received for their future activities.
SELECTION PROCESS
National Selections
The national networks of the Anna Lindh Foundation will make a prior selection of the five best short stories of each country and will provide their translation into English. These short stories will be sent to the international jury.
International Selection
The Anna Lindh Foundation and the IEMed will constitute an international jury, whose composition will be made public at the appropriate time on the contest website. The international jury will be constituted by five distinguished figures from the literary and academic worlds and journalism from the countries in the Euro-Mediterranean area.
The international jury will have a maximum period of 30 days, from 1st August, to select the best short stories from those pre-selected by the national networks of the Anna Lindh Foundation. The jury will reward 20 short stories depending on their overall quality.
AWARDS
The authors of the 20 best short stories will be awarded with the publication of their short stories and participation in the following activities:
Awards Presentation in Barcelona
The authors of the best short stories will be invited to the awards presentation ceremony in Barcelona on 5th and 6th November 2012.
Cultural Programme in Barcelona and Gerona
During the days following the awards presentation, the winners of the contest will be invited to participate in a programme of cultural visits and activities in the cities of Barcelona and Gerona.
The travel, accommodation and meal costs, both in Barcelona and Gerona, will be covered by the organisers.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
For inquiries: concurso@iemed.org
For submissions: All the short stories must be sent to the following e-mail address concurso@iemed.org
Website: http://www.iemed.org