CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: YOUNG PEOPLE’S EXPO (VISUAL ART, DRAMA AND CREATIVE WRITING COMPETITION)

BACKGROUND

Today, there are more young people (constitute of 34% of the population) in Ghana than ever before, creating unprecedented engagement space. However, this space is yet to equip the youth with civic skills and training, comprehensive knowledge, tools and opportunities for their interactive participation and involvement in the development of their communities using civic initiatives and culture as entry points. To this end, the maiden edition of the Young People’s Expo, as part of the Civic Care project in Ghana under the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Youth Civic Engagement Initiative in West Africa, aims at giving the youth a space and opportunity to voice-out, step-up and take actions on pertinent issues in their society, through the creativity of visual art, literature and the use of culture to promote development.

The ‘Civic-Care’ is an opportunity for every young person to connect and engage through civic-skills acquisition, designated space, and the use of knowledge products, mobile phone, mobile apps and social media to interactively participate in the development of his/her community. The project is currently implemented by the Ulti-Leaf Foundation on behalf of the UNESO in 16 regions of Ghana.

The project is a groundbreaking youth initiative for young people (in-school and out-of-school) to voice-out, step-up and take civic actions in communities. In addition, participation of young people aged 15- 35 years and youth organizations in the aforementioned project is free. This current project won the maiden edition of the UNESCO Youth Civic Engagement Contest in Anglophone West Africa, 2019, which is suited within the UNESCO Operational Strategy on Youth (2014-2021) under the UNESCO Regional Office, Abuja and aligned to the National Youth Policy of Ghana, Africa Youth Charter, UN Youth Strategy (2030), Sustainable Development Goals, UN Resolution 2250 on Ulti-Leaf Foundation- Civic- Care Project, under UNESCO, 2020 Youth, Peace and Security, UN Security Council Resolution 2419 for Increasing Role of Youth in Negotiating, Implementing Peace Agreements among others.

The Ulti-Leaf Foundation (Ulti-Leaf) is a registered youth-led non-government body that supports Ghana’s developmental agenda through developing innovative solutions in urban and rural communities to empower youth. We also believe in connecting young-people to practical trainings and opportunities at the national and global levels for their personal development and contributions to community development based on their experiences, skills and situations as young-people.

 At Ulti-Leaf Foundation, we firmly believe and agree with the Former UN Secretary –General ; the Late Kofi Annan statement in 2013 at Skoll World Forum– “ Just Imagine what solutions might be found if young people are given the space and encouragement to participate and lead’’.

As a youth-led project, it is important to note that, ‘Civic-Care’ is for the youth of Ghana, Africa and the United Nations.

OBJECTIVES • To increase civic knowledge among the youth, visibility of civic initiatives and opportunities for youth involvement and participation in civic activities. • To develop youth civic specific knowledge products using culture TARGET AGE GROUPS This opportunity targets two age groups (15 -17 years and 18-35years) to participate and each target group would be required to submit their ideas and works through the Young Creatives’ Competition and the YP EXPO Call for submissions; A) Young Creatives Competition (Aged 15 – 17 years); shall comprise visual art and creative writing from Senior High School Students and other young people within the age bracket. B) YP EXPO Call for Submissions (18- 35 years); shall comprise visual art and creative writing from young people in-school and out-of-school in Ghana.

ELIGIBILITY OF PARTICIPANTS

 · Participants should be between the ages of 15-17 and 18- 35 years at the time of submission( in-school and out-of-school)

 · Participants should be Ghanaian or resident in Ghana.

 · Works submitted should be principally that of the participant.

· Participants who do not follow all guidelines would have their entries disqualified.

· Selected participants shall be required to give a signed consent for the use of their works

· Selected artists shall be required to provide proof of age, nationality or residency.

THEMES FOR SUBMISSION

Participants are required to submit their ideas or works relating to one or two of the following four themes below;

 · Using culture to promote One or more of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs) of the United Nations (http://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdgs http://17goals.org/explainer-videos/ http://sdgshelpdesk.unescap.org/learning-videos http://youtu.be/9-xdy1Jr2eg )

· UN Resolution 2250 on Youth, Peace and Security (including upcoming 2020 General Elections in Ghana) Information on UNR2250: http://unoy.org/en/2250-toolkit https://www.youth4peace.info/UNSCR2250/Introduction

 · Sanitation, Pollution and Climate Change

 · Inequalities related to;

1. Persons with Disabilities
2. Breaking Silence and Secrecy to prevent/end and report on violence and abuse against women, girls and boys, and promoting women’s rights in communities
3. Migrants and Refugees in Ghana.

CATERGORY OF WORKS

· Artworks eligible for submission include; Traditional visual arts (Painting, Pencil art, Sculpture, Mixed Media, other media); Installation art; Digital Visual Arts and Design (animated videos ;3 minutes or less); Photography

· Artworks should be made up of only non-perishable components and measure no more than 2 metres in their longest dimension.

 · Artists would be responsible for framing or special treatment of artworks where necessary.

· Eligible Literary works include; Poetry, Prose Poetry, Fiction and Non-Fiction Prose, Essays/articles.

 · Literary works submitted should be in the English language and no more than 750 words.

SUBMISSION OF WORKS

 Submission process is as outlined below;

 · Filling of an online form: Use form : https://forms.gle/8fdjpvKpycgQGRY4A

 · Submission of work to the email (info@ulti-leaf.org), title of email should include “YCS, category of competition being entered (art or creative writing) and surname of participant. Example; “YCS ART ENTRY, ARTHUR” “YCS CREATIVE WRITING ENTRY, TETTEH”

 · All submissions should have attached, a cover page with participant’s full name, age, address, telephone number and theme(s) chosen

· Literary works should be submitted in a Microsoft Word Doc. Format, with a standard serif or sans-serif font such as Times New Roman or Arial and with font size 12.

 · Pictures or scan of artworks may be submitted in a high-quality JPEG format with a description of artwork, materials or media used and how the work relates to the theme(s) chosen.

· Participants may submit works in both categories (art and creative writing), they may however, submit no more than 2 literary works and 3 artworks.

RECOGNITION AND EXPOUSRE

· Each participant upon submission of works would be given a certificate of appreciation and participation

· All selected works would be exhibited or displayed in full or in part at the Young People’s Expo in Ghana and in other countries.

· All selected and winners would be attached to mentors as per the category of works

· All winners would be commissioned as Young Ambassadors’ in their communities

 · Some selected works would be displayed on several platforms including Ulti-Leaf Foundation, UNESCO and associated publications, websites, and social media platforms, at national and global conferences.

 · All selected works and winning participants would receive special certificates

 DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION

A) Visual Arts : 10th March,2020

B) Creative Writing : 10th March, 2020

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

You may contact the following officials in case you need further information, question and assistance on the project and expo. Visit our Twitter page for more information: @UltiLeaf , Facebook page: Ulti-Leaf Foundation and website: www.ulti-leaf.org

Akwasi Sarpong

nanasarpong2005@yahoo.co.uk

+233-243833966

Victoria Owusu Achiaw

 maavicky6@outlook.com

 Samuel Owusu Achiaw;

samuelachiaw@yahoo.com