The Dhahan Prize 2019 Youth Award for Creative Writing submissions are now open. In partnership with L.A. Matheson Secondary, Surrey School District and Coast Capital Savings, the Dhahan Prize is excited to launch another year for the Youth Award, encouraging Grade 11 and 12 students in BC who are enrolled in Punjabi classes to pursue the literary arts by submitting short stories written in both Punjabi and English. Please click for the submission requirements.
Objectives
The Youth Award is an initiative created by the Dhahan Prize in partnership with BC secondary schools, in particular, L.A. Matheson, Surrey School District. The purpose of this unique creative writing prize is to encourage the youth of B.C. to embrace the language and the rich Punjabi culture of the generations of families who have immigrated to Canada, specifically British Columbia, through creative writing in the Punjabi language.
Through the writings of the participants, in Punjabi and English, a greater understanding will be created among the youth of British Columbia; thus building bridges between people and communities of various ethnicities.
The Dhahan Prize Youth Award will award 8 youth who are currently enrolled in Grade 11 or 12 Punjabi language classes each with a $500 cash prize. There will be two classifications for the Youth Award: (I) Intermediate Skill and (II) Advanced Skill.
Sponsoring Partner
The Dhahan Prize Youth Award has been fortunate to have been embraced by several partners. Our presenting sponsor, Coast Capital Savings www.coastcapitalsavings.com, has funded the project since its inauguration in 2017. Coast Capital Savings is committed to building a richer future for the youth of British Columbia and as such, have made this wonderful commitment to support the Dhahan Prize Youth Award.
Eligibility Guidelines
The following are the eligibility requirements for the Dhahan Prize Youth Award participants:
- Participant must be a student currently attending high school in British Columbia
- Participant is currently in grade 11 or 12
- Participant is currently enrolled in, and is attending, a Punjabi language program in either a public or private school
- Participant must have a teacher sponsor who will sign application and will also sign-off on work submitted
- Participant must sign an affidavit attesting that the work they submit is their own original creation.
The following are the eligibility requirements for Dhahan Prize Youth Award creative writing work submitted:
- Work must be original written in Gurmukhi or Shahmukhi
- Work must be a short story of 800-1000 words in Punjabi
- Work must be translated into English; the student author must do the translation
- Both Punjabi & English works to be submitted in pdf document format
- Works must be submitted between March 14th and May 31st, 2019
- Works to be submitted via email to submissions@dhahanprize.com with the subject line “DHAHAN PRIZE YOUTH AWARD SUBMISSION”
