“Dream Deferred” Essay Contest on Civil Rights in the Mideast

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HAMSA's annual contest comes from a 1951 Langston Hughes poem: What Happens to a Dream Deferred?. The poem helped propel the civil rights movement in the US. Today, it can inspire your dream deferred for the Middle East, which the UN calls the "world’s least free region." The contest has two parts: one for Middle Eastern youth and one for American youth. Write a brief essay addressing one of the questions below. Winning essays - selected by a panel of celebrity judges - receive $10,000 in prizes.

DEADLINE: March 30, 2008. Please read the rules section before writing your essay. Failure to meet the guidelines will disqualify your essay. Answer one of the questions below.

If you live in the Middle East...

If you live in United States...

1. Why are individual rights important to you? Explore the impact of repression in your society and in your own life. Describe a personal experience when civil rights restrictions prevented you from expressing yourself - for example, when you were afraid to speak out, when information you needed was censored, or when your identity made you a target for discrimination.

1. Why should Americans - like you - help civil rights reformers in the Middle East? Consider the new civil rights movement rising today in the Mideast, and make the case for why Americans should help reformers on the frontlines. Address the doubts and apathy some people feel towards the region, and explain why protecting individual rights is so important.

2. How can you as an individual support the struggle for civil rights? Share your own ideas for campaigns and programs to protect individual rights.Using new technologies, techniques of nonviolent conflict, and assistance from concerned Americans, outline a gameplan for your campaign.

2. How can you as an individual support the struggle for civil rights in the Middle East? Describe the tools at your disposal to help civil rights reformers and propose a campaign with specific actions that you can initiate in your community. Rather than wait for the government to act, outline a gameplan for your campaign.

3. What is your "dream deferred" - a vision of your society with civil rights for all people? Share your dream of a successful civil rights movement. Describe what is needed for this campaign to overcome key obstacles. If you like, answer the question by writing a mock newspaper article from the year 2012 reporting on a ground-breaking event or campaign.

3. What can the future look like if Americans - like you - partner with Middle Eastern reformers? Share your vision of a successful collaboration between Mideast and American activists. Describe how an effective joint campaign overcomes key obstacles. If you like, answer the question by writing a mock newspaper article from the year 2012 reporting on this new alliance.

Essay Contest Rules & Guidelines

Review the Rules - Then Click Here to Submit Your Essay

 
 
ESSAY CONTEST INFO
 
 

Deadline:
March 30, 2008 - now closed
Please read the rules section before writing your essay. Failure to meet the guidelines will disqualify your essay.

Links:

Prizes:
$10,000 in total prize money: One grand prize winner in the Middle East and one in the US will receive $2,000. One second place winner in the Middle East and one in the US will receive $1,500. Three runners up in the Middle East and three in the US will receive $500 each. 50 book prizes will be awarded to additional outstanding essays.

 






HAMSA is an initiative of the American Islamic Congress.
For more information, see www.aicongress.org.

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