Right Words 2011
| Home
| Instructions
| Background
| Writing
| Photos
| Resources
| Teachers
| Contact Us
Human Rights Watch

"I really hope as many 14–16 year olds as possible have a go at writing something for Right Words, particularly given Freedom of Expression is so important now, possibly more than ever. I'm interested in the rights we have under Free Speech, but also the responsibilities that come with that. Competitions like this can help get new voices and ideas out there, which is important because we can never rely simply on what we've got. Write a story, change the world – it's as simple as that!"
Monica Ali

Right Words - Freedom of Expression

Competition Instructions

Submitting Entries

Download entry form here.

Please send entries with entry form to:

Right Words
Development and Outreach
Human Rights Watch
First Floor, Audrey House
16–20 Ely Place
London
EC1N 6SN

Or email them to: rightwords@englishpen.org

Closing date: Monday 26th March 2012

Individuals can enter without going through their school.

Entries must be identified with:

If applying through a school:

If applying as an individual:

Please note: If the individual entrant speaks English as a second language, if happy to do so, please note this on the submission.

Rules

  1. To enter this competition you need to write one of the following: a newspaper article, poem, fictional story, short dialogue / monologue, or a song (music and lyrics) inspired by the subject of freedom of expression.
  2. A piece of artwork to accompany any of the entries can be submitted, but please note that artwork is not a separate category.
  3. Songs can be submitted via email / MP3. Lyrics to the songs need to be submitted in a separate word document.
  4. To enter this competition you must be a Key Stage 4 level student attending a school in England or Wales, or a Secondary 3 or 4 student attending a school in Scotland, however you do not have to apply through your school.
  5. Your entry can be handwritten or typed. Entries will not be returned, so please keep copies.
  6. Your entry can be emailed to us or sent in the post.
  7. Deadline for entry Monday 26th March 2012.
  8. Winners will be selected by a panel of judges. The panel's decisions are final and no correspondence will be entered into.
  9. Winners contacts will be notified by telephone, letter or email during the spring.
  10. Please make sure that you read the Agreement below before you send us your entry.

Winners

A distinguished panel of writers, journalists, and other human rights experts will judge the entries. These are listed on the homepage. This list will be updated in September. The winning entries in each category will be published in a Human Rights Watch London Network anthology in spring 2012.

Agreement

If you enter this competition you will allow Right Words, Human Rights Watch and English PEN to publish your work in an anthology, on the internet or perform their work at Right Words, Human Rights Watch and PEN events

Entries must be your original work and not defame any person or corporate body nor infringe or breach copyright.

Human Rights Watch and English PEN will only ever use your personal details for the purposes of administering this competition, and will not publish them or provide them to anyone without your permission.

This competition is not open to employees or contractors of Human Rights Watch and English PEN, any person directly or indirectly involved in Human Rights Watch or the running of the competition, or their direct family members.

These rules are governed by the laws of the United Kingdom.

This competition is administered by members of the Human Rights Watch London Network and English PEN and they reserve the right to cancel it or amend the rules at any stage.

A competition poster and leaflet can be downloaded here.

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 2012 competition, or would like details of previous winners or how to obtain the anthology of previous entries, please e–mail: rightwords@englishpen.org

 


The Right Words competition is being run by members of the Human Rights Watch London Network and Philip Cowell (English PEN Readers & Writers Programme Manager) in support of English PEN and Human Rights Watch. The site has been designed by Kate Gallé and developed by Tom Warren.