Act Now, GMD

Poetry Competition for 2021- Deadline extension

10 March 2021

NEW EXTENDED DEADLINE: 05 April 2021

Please note that due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the main prize may be postponed, changed or substituted for one chosen by the organisers.

The date for final submissions to the 2021 competition is 5^th April 2021. The rules, terms and conditions and further details are posted below.

The competition is open to anyone in the UK aged 11 to 18 at the time of entering.

The competition is held every year as part of GMD. Entrants are encouraged to reflect the theme of ‘protecting humanity from genocide’ in their poem. Poems should be respectful of the topic.

First Prize: Paid trip to Bosnia with an accompanying adult in July covering the date of the annual Srebrenica or other memorial. Includes flights, accommodation and meals. Winners will visit key sites in the war with a guide to the events that took place.

Second Prize: £50 IHRC Bookshop voucher.

Third Prize: £25 IHRC Bookshop Voucher.

All winners will be awarded a certificate of achievement.

In addition to or individual prizes, IHRC will be offering a prize to the school which has entered the most entries. The winners of the 2021 school prize are a screening of the IHRC documentary ‘Forgotten Genocide’ with a Question and Answer session with the film’s producer.

All entrants should read the Rules carefully before entering here. The Terms and Conditions for the competition and its prizes and can be found here.

JUDGES

Each year a panel comprising poets, artists, community figures and an IHRC officer judge the poems. Previous judges have included poets Narjis Khan, Sanasiino, Zainab Ali, Suhaiymah Manzoor-Khan, Mizan the Poet and Ibrahim Sincere and community figures like Bruce Kent. Each year’s judging panel will be announced after the judging has taken place.

PREVIOUS WINNERS:

A compilation of winning entries is available to buy and download as a PDF here or in hard copy here. A substantial schools discount is available for bulk orders. All profits from sales will be donated to the IHRCT Rohingya Fund.

Winners

Holocaust by Emily Gadd

The House by Poppy Crossland

Reminiscence by Aferdita Hasani

Stand by Anisha Mehta

Ship 1971 by Tarzina Khatun

Who Am I by Frano Vainio-Doiseul

Runners Up

Their Hate by Imad Ahmed-web

We’re not the Same by Athisham Husain-web

Genocide through History by Jasper Bardsley

The Calm Before the Storm by Elise Scotney