ABA In Touch - 18 April 2005
Good Morning All,
In my previous message I overlooked giving you a local telephone number in case of queries. Please direct any queries in the first place to myself as the ABA Executive member with responsibility for co-ordinating Australia's participation in this contest.
Christine Simpson:
Phone: (03) 5795 2307
Email: cms.infoalt@bigpond.com
In this third issue of "ABA In Touch" Graeme Innes, Regional President of the Asia Pacific Region of World Blind Union invites Braille users to take part in the forthcoming 3rd Onkyo Braille Writing Essay Contest. Australia was very successful in the Contest last year so lets see if we can do well again this time.
If you would like to read about the competition last year and to see the winning entries, please visit the 2nd Onkyo Braille Essay Contest (International Section)
Please circulate this notice to as many Braille users as you can and encourage them to put "pen to Paper" or in this case … "Stylus to Slate".
Graeme's notice is attached as a word file and is also below in the body of this message.
Good Writing
Christine Simpson (on behalf of ABA Executive)
Phone: (03) 5795 2307
Email: cms.infoalt@bigpond.com
World Blind Union Asia Pacific Braille Writing Essay Competition
To blind or vision impaired Braille writers in Australia:
As Regional President of the World Blind Union Asia Pacific Region (WBU-AP) and an Australian delegate to WBU I am pleased to invite blind or vision impaired Australians to take part in a Braille essay writing competition sponsored by Japan in cooperation with the World Blind Union Asia Pacific Region.
The Onkyo Co. Ltd., The Mainichi Newspaper (The Braille Mainichi) and WBU-AP have announced the essay contest known as "The 3rd Onkyo Braille Essay Award" for persons with a vision impairment in the Asia Pacific Region.
Award objectives are:
- To evaluate the quality of life of persons with vision impairment in this Region
- To promote Braille literacy and to encourage the reading and writing culture
- To encourage persons with vision impairment to take advantage of the potential
- of writing as another means of earning some income
- To empower them to play active roles through their writings in changing public attitudes towards blindness and influencing the thinking of governments towards blind people
The terms and conditions and important dates are listed below and I encourage everyone to read these and consider participating in this 2nd regional essay writing competition.
Terms and Conditions
Topic
- The topic is "Braille In My Life"
- The essay should describe how you make use of Braille in your daily life to solve problems or to achieve success. It should be an account of your personal experiences
- Do not trace the history of Braille or describe its method of writing
Information on Participation
-
The contest is open to two age groups:
- Group One, 25 years and below
- Group Two, 26 years and above
- Essays must be original, one entry per contestant
- Essays must be submitted in Braille using a slate and stylus or brailler, computerised Braille will not be accepted
- Essay length (excluding personal details) must be between 500 and 750 words
Personal Information
Each contestant must provide the following information (on a separate page):
- Full name (as shown on Birth Certificate or Passport)
- Age (attach a signed statement by someone in authority confirming the information)
- Gender (send a photograph)
- Name of school enrolled in and its address; or, if not undertaking education reference Blind Citizens Australia
- Address of contestant
- Telephone, fax or email of contestant
All essays will be initially received and graded by the Australian Selection Committee as established by the Australian Braille Authority. A maximum of four essays in each age group are eligible to be sent to the Regional Selection Committee for consideration.
The closing date for receipt of entries is Wednesday, June 15 at 5.00pm.
The decision of the Sponsors and Selection Committees will be final and no correspondence will be entertained. Photographs and essays cannot be returned to contestants.
Prizes
Prizes will be awarded to the best seven entries received from both age groups from all countries in the region.
- The Ootsuki Prize: US $1,000.00 with a trophy valued at US $100.00. This first prize will be given to the best entry from either group
- Excellent Works: US $500.00 with a trophy valued at US $100.00. Two prizes will be given, one to each age group
- Fine Works Prize: US $200.00 with a trophy valued at US $50.00. Four prizes will be given, two to each age group
Procedure for Announcing Prizes
WBU-AP will announce the winners by 15 October 2005. Successful contestants will be advised as soon as possible after that date. All essays submitted by Australian contestants will be acknowledged and their authors will be advised if they are to be put forward for consideration by the Regional Selection Committee.
Completed entries should be marked "CONFIDENTIAL" and mailed to:
Braille Essay Contest
C/o Blind Citizens Australia
PO Box 24 SUNSHINE VIC 3020
Entries must be received by the close of business June 15 2005.
It is important to note that all entries should be sent by post as a flat parcel to minimise the damage to the document. A maximum of eight Australian entries (four from each age group) will be forwarded to the regional Selection Committee.
I do hope that Australia will again actively support this initiative and I look forward to some very interesting reading.
Graeme Innes
WBU-AP Regional Chairman and Australian delegate to WBU