Background:
The Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Foundation focuses on researching and educating the public on civil liberties themes. In 2008, the Foundation established the High School Civil Liberties Award to coincide with the 75th anniversary of one of the 20th century’s greatest violations of civil liberties – the Famine-Genocide in Ukraine known as the Holodomor. Meanwhile, the year 2014 will mark the 100th anniversary of the commencement of Canada’s first national internment operations of 1914-1920, during which thousands of Ukrainian Canadians were labeled “enemy aliens” and were interned throughout the country. Finally, the 21st century has been characterized by an alarming increase in the activity of the human trafficking industry, with hundreds of thousands around the world falling victim to this form of modern-day slavery every year. The Foundation offers an annual award to commemorate the many victims of such mass civil liberties violations. In so doing, the Foundation seeks to encourage high school students who are actively engaged in research essay writing and / or coursework related to civil liberties themes.
Value:
$500
Conditions:
The award is open to all high school students aged 13-18. The award will be presented for a paper focusing a civil liberties theme. Student submissions must be in English-language essay format (double-spaced, one-inch margins, 12-point font) of up to 1500 words. Proper referencing of source material is required. Students may choose the format with which they are most comfortable (e.g., in-text citations, footnotes, endnotes). Incomplete essays or work submitted in other formats (e.g., short story, poetry, etc.) will be considered ineligible. Only one entry per applicant may be submitted per writing competition. The essay must be the original work of the student-author only.
Application
Eligible student applications must include the following two items:
A completed High School Civil Liberties Award application form
A completed English language essay with references.
Student submissions must be mailed and emailed in order to be considered.
The mailing address for hard copy is as follows: Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Foundation Award 48 Wood Crest Close SW Calgary, Alberta T2W 3P9
The name of the award recipient will be made public. The Foundation reserves the right to publish themajor Ukrainian Canadian newspapers (e.g., Ukrainian News).
Determining award recipient
An award selection committee, comprising Foundation members and academic volunteers, will determine the recipient of the award. Scoring of the essays will be based solely on the quality of the essay and its content. The decision of the committee will be final.
The name of the award recipient will be made public. The Foundation reserves the right to publish the winning essay in major Ukrainian Canadian newspapers (e.g., Ukrainian News) and/or other media (e.g., websites).