September 30, 2006

The Global Youth Fund invites all young people, from 13 to 25 years old, from around the world, to submit short essays about their personal philosophies and the core values and beliefs that guide them day-to-day. All about what young people have to say about the world’s most critical challenges. The essays can be written in English, French, Spanish, or Chinese. A committee of judges will select 25 of the best essays to record for GYF’s podcast and to distribute through other media outlets.

This is an ongoing project so there is no deadline. But you are encouraged to submit your essays as soon as possible.

The Global Youth Fund is a project of the Creative Visions Foundation; its “This I Believe project” is based on the 1950s radio program by the same name.

Overview

Mission of Essay Project: To promote free and respectful exchange of ideas, independent and critical thinking, and peer-to-peer learning among youth.

We are pleased to launch Global Youth Fund’s This I Believe, a new international essay project for youth.

This September, we invite young people (ages 13-25) from around the world to begin submitting short essays about their personal philosophies and the core values and beliefs that guide them day-to-day. We’re especially interested in what they have to say about our world’s most critical challenges.

Global Youth Fund’s essay project is based on “This I Believe,” a program currently on National Public Radio (U.S.) that is inspired by the 1950s radio program by the same name. Hosted by journalist Edward R. Murrow, the original This I Believe invited Americans from all walks of life to express their beliefs – in order to resist the “cloud of fear” that was beginning to envelop them in an “age of confusion.”

Today’s youth live in equally challenging times.

All around them, national, religious, and cultural barriers are breaking down. Identities and beliefs are constantly being tested. Now more than ever, we need to ask ourselves, “What do I believe?”

Global Youth Fund invites submissions from all youth (between ages 13 and 25), regardless of race, ethnicity, creed, or sexual orientation. The essays can be written in English, French, Spanish or Chinese.

All essays meeting our guidelines will be made available on this website.

A committee of judges will also select 25 of the best essays to record for GYF’s podcast and to distribute through other media outlets.

This is an ongoing project so there is no deadline. But we encourage you to submit your essays as soon as possible.

Global Youth Fund’s essay project is inspired by the current This I Believe series on National Public Radio. As such, we intend to follow the same guidelines they give to their writers.

If you would like to submit something that doesn’t adhere to these guidelines (i.e. spoken word performance, video essays, etc.), write to us first.

Here are the five guiding principles:

*Tell a story Humans love stories. We love to tell and re-tell them. Stories don’t have to be epic adventures. They can be about a conversation with someone, a chance meeting that made a deep impression, a dream you had. They can be funny or serious. Think of a moment or story in your life that had great impact on you. Tell it to us – from beginning to middle to end – and tell us how it shaped or tested your belief. It will likely make for a powerful and memorable story. We also encourage young people to write about the global challenges that we face (i.e. extreme poverty, AIDS, sustainability) and the solutions you believe will help us through them. However, we’re not looking for pure opinion pieces. Connect your solution to real life stories that led you to your belief. *Be brief 350 to 500 words, or three minutes when read out loud. *Name your belief You should be able to summarize your belief in a phrase or sentence. If you can’t, you might not be writing about belief. Also, focus on one core belief rather than list a whole bunch. *Be positive Tell us what you believe, not what you don’t believe. You don’t have to love all mankind but don’t devote an entire essay to criticizing someone, some group, or some thing. *Be personal Read your essay out loud and make sure you are writing in an intimate, conversational style. Ask yourself, is this the way I talk? If not, try to make your writing more conversational. Lastly, speak for yourself, not for some collective “we.”

We also suggest that you read the original producer’s invitation to those who wrote essays in the 1950s.

http://infolomba.blogsome.com/2006/09/30/this-i-believe-essay-project-global-youth-fund/