All students in years 10 and 11 in England and Wales (Key Stage 4) and all Secondary 3 and 4 students in Scotland are eligible.
When we listen to music on the radio, watch the television, read news online, pick up a magazine or go to the cinema we are taking part in this freedom. It is one of the most important guarantees of our democracy. But imagine for a second living in other parts of the world where writing newspaper articles critical of the government could lead to you being thrown into jail, where certain types of music and books are banned, and where just speaking your mind in public could lead to your arrest by the police.
Our lesson plans and background information allows the competition to be used in a variety of ways both in and out of the classroom. In addition the London Network will also be offering a limited number of workshops to eligible school classes to support their work for the competition.
A distinguished panel of judges will consider the submissions and select winners in the following categories:
A piece of artwork can be submitted to accompany any of the entries.
The best entries will be published in an anthology in the spring of 2012. Judges announced to date:
Teachers: Go to our dedicated teachers section for ideas on how to use the Right Words competition in your school.
Students: You may want to find out more about freedom of expression Fact Sheet. Afterwards, visit our Writing page for some tips on how to get started.
The last two Right Words competitions we received many accomplished and inspiring entries from students around the country, the best of which were collected and published:
To download Right Words 2009-2010 Child Soldiers Anthology click here (once downloaded click on the pages to turn the pages of the anthology).
If you have any queries about the 2011 competition, or would like details of past winners or how to obtain previous anthologies then please email: rightwords@englishpen.org
The Human Rights Watch London Network was established in 2006. It is a group of young people from all backgrounds with a common belief in the fundamental principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. They are dedicated to promoting the protection of human rights to their friends and colleagues by becoming informed about human rights issues and raising the profile of Human Rights Watch.
Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organisation dedicated to protecting the human rights of people around the world. It stands with victims and activists to prevent discrimination, to uphold political freedom, to protect people from inhumane conduct in wartime and to bring offenders to justice. www.hrw.org.
English PEN works to protect the freedom to write and the freedom to read in the UK and internationally. Founded in 1921, English PEN helped set up an international writers association which now has 144 PEN centres in 102 countries. Programmes include Writers in Prison (protecting threatened writers around the world), Writers in Translation (promoting the best international writing), Readers & Writers (improving life chances for refugees and prisoners through literature), Writers in Public (programming a year round festival of literature events) and UK Campaigns (including libel reform, criminal memoirs and writers' visas). www.englishpen.org