IAAB’s Essay Contest For High School Students

IAAB is proud to announce the 2nd annual Essay Contest for high school students!

~ open to submissions until April 15th 2008 ~

 

The Essay Contest aims to encourage writers and readers alike to think about issues that are important to hyphenated Iranians as individuals, as members of the diaspora community and as members of the global community at large. It is an opportunity for reflection and exchange: a chance for diaspora communities to learn about what matters to their youth and for the youth to develop and articulate their own ideas about the issues that affect them.

The contest is open to high school-aged students of any background—Iranian or non-Iranian—who wish to share their responses to one of three questions:

Prompts:

1. When asked where you are from, what do you say? Is your response always the same? Please explain.
2. Do you think it is important for members of the diaspora to remain connected to their countries of origin? Have you found a need to explore your heritage?
3. Do relations between the United States and Iran ever effect the way you represent your Iranian heritage? Please explain.

Details and Requirements

Submissions will be judged by a panel of five distinguished judges from the diaspora community: Mr. Maz Jobrani, Ms. Shabnam Rezaei, Ms. Tara Bahrampour, Dr. Persis Karim and Ms. Kamin Mohammadi. IAAB will award the first place winner a full scholarship to the 2008 Iranian-American Leadership Camp (valued at $550), or $400 in cash, if preferred. The author of the second place essay will receive $250, and $100 will be awarded for third place.

Additionally, the top three essay writers will receive Dr. Persis Karim's A World Between: Poems, Short Stories, and Essays by Iranian Americans, and the top ten writers will receive both Persis Karim’s Let Me Tell You Where I’ve Been: New Writing By Women of the Iranian Diaspora and a DVD of Maz Jobrani's Axis of Evil Comedy Tour. The top ten essays will also be published in an e-Book by IAAB in June 2008.

Essays must be received by April 15th, 2008.

Each essay must be the original work of the high school aged student submitting it, and must be 1-4 pages single-spaced, titled, and in English. All essays must include a cover page with the student's name, grade level, home address, email address, and phone number.

Prizes-in-Brief First place: Full scholarship to Camp Ayandeh, or, if preferred, $400 Second place: $250 Third place: $100 Top three winners receive Persis Karim's A World Between: Poems, Short Stories, and Essays by Iranian Americans Top ten winners receive a DVD of Maz Jobrani's Axis of Evil Comedy Tour and a copy of Persis Karim’s Let Me Tell You Where I’ve Been: New Writing By Women of the Iranian Diaspora Top ten essays will also be published in an e-Book by IAAB in June 2008

To submit your essay online:

 

To submit your essay electronically, please upload your essay below.  Upon submitting your essay you will be sent an email notification that your essay has been successfully received.

 

To submit your essay via postal delivery:

 

Essays submitted by mail must be post-marked by March 15th, 2008 and should be sent to:

 

Iranian Alliances Across Borders

7764 Brandeis Way

Springfield, VA 22153

 

 

Questions about submitting your essay? Feel free to send an email to mina [at] iranianalliances.org.

 

IAAB's Second Annual Essay Contest is made possible by the following sponsors: