Namibia-Wales ‘Stories for Children’ Competition 2021 now taking contestants
Working, once more, in collaboration under the banner of the Phoenix Project, the University of Namibia and Cardiff University in Wales (UK) launched the second Writing Competition on Monday, 09 November.
The two universities are once again asking up-and-coming, as well as experienced authors, to submit short stories, written in English, suitable for children aged between 7 and 15 years.
The competition is the dream-child of Professor Jairos Kangira (Dean: Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at UNAM), himself an author of children’s stories, Mr Tim Davies (Cardiff University), a widely published author of short stories and plays and Professor Judith Hall, Cardiff University’s Lead for the Phoenix Project.
The Phoenix Project is a partnership between Cardiff University and the University of Namibia.
Professor Kangira said: “Writing stories for children promotes a reading culture at an early stage in both countries. We want to catch them young so that they grow up reading books.”
“Reading books helps children to learn about the world around them and beyond. The intercultural dimension of this writing competition is of great importance for Namibia and Wales.”
Mr Davies said: “last year’s competition went tremendously well, and we look forward to an even more successful event in 2021.”
Why not take pen to paper (or sit down at your computer!) and get involved? This time too, the organisers are hoping to receive interesting and exciting new stories to inspire our children.
The Short Fiction for Children Competition 2021 is an open competition for anyone resident in Namibia and Wales, and will be open to entries from 09 November to 30 April 2021. There are rigorous sets of rules, which authors must adhere to, and organisers are clear that plagiarism is a crime. It will be checked for, and will not be tolerated.
The Phoenix Project will offer three small monetary prizes. The first round of the competition that ended in April 2020, saw four winners being awarded prizes, namely; Nabeelah Suleman, Mel Kelly and Mundia Mercy Mubuyaeta from Namibia, as well as Karen Pierce from Wales.
Professor Hall said: “last year’s stories are already providing a legacy of reading; the stories were warm and funny but also challenging for children. We are building this legacy of tales where we can learn through the power of our stories. Roll on the Second Competition.”
Reflecting on the importance of reading for the children of Namibia and Wales, Professor Kenneth Matengu, Vice Chancellor of the University of Namibia said: “In both countries, children learn in multiple languages, this gives them a wonderful start in life, however the language of focus here is the Language of the Imagination. Let use see more of this!”
More information about the competition can be found here: www.bmc.wales/short-stories-for-children-comp
