In 2020, the world came to a standstill because of the pandemic. Covid-19 changed many things for all of us. Those who went to work were now staying home. Children who should have been in school were also confined to their homes. Everyone was stuck in the same small space.
I had weekly classes for children and teens. They lamented at being bored and having nothing to do. They couldn’t play sports with friends, go for clubs and society meetings, or even celebrate their birthdays outside. I wanted to give my students something to do and to get them excited about a writing competition. Instead of just opening it to my students, I decided to allow all youngsters in that age group to enter the competition.
Knowing that many competitions in the country are only for Malaysians, I wanted to allow non-Malaysians living here to also take part. After all, if they’re living here, chances are they can’t enter competitions in their homeland. So, why not let them enter this writing competition? While giving everyone the same opportunity to win a prize, it also allows Malaysians to compete with people of other nationalities, thus exposing them to the global platform they will one day work in.
I also opened it to refugees and those who are disadvantaged in any way. Nobody should be left out.
This competition helped me mine talents who might be suitable for my Junior Writers Programme which I launched in 2018. The champion of the competition gets an automatic seat in the programme. (Fees still need to be paid though.) The other participants who are good are usually encouraged to apply for JWP too.
Another reason I wanted to organise this competition is to give kids a chance to write and explore their creativity and do it using themes that expound good values. Themes like community, teamwork, freedom, self-confidence resonate with me. These are values I hope to inculcate in the younger generation. Often when there are writing competitions sponsored by big companies, they end up being non-fiction and the themes are sometimes concepts that kids find hard to grasp such as sustainability and energy in the future.
Ultimately, I want to give kids an opportunity to do something I would have loved to participate in at their age. I would have loved to enter a writing competition that gives me book vouchers as a prize.
Organiser/Writer/Editor/Trainer, Brigitte Rozario
My portfolio website: www.brigitterozario.com