by Kelly Campbell
With great pleasure, I announce the second annual Greenfield Peace Writing Contest, sponsored by Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility, and named for Del Greenfield, our first executive director. Any 11th or 12th grade student in Oregon may enter by submitting an original piece of fiction, poem, or essay (maximum 600 words) reflecting on the following question: In a world where we struggle with wars, injustice, violence in our communities and the threat of environmental devastation…what does peace mean to you?
Youth’s Role in Promoting Peace
We are the Oregon chapter of Physicians for Social Responsibility, the U.S. affiliate of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, the recipient of the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize. Part of our mission is to educate the public on the grave threats posed by the existence of nuclear weapons and the health effects of war. We are sponsoring this writing contest in order to encourage Oregon’s youth to consider their role in promoting peace, thus creating a safer world for us all.
Entry forms, a flyer, and all peace writing contest details can be found on our website www.oregonpsr.org. Submissions may be sent by email or U.S. mail and are due by March 1, 2010. A panel of judges consisting of noted writers and distinguished community members will select the three winning entries. The first prize winner will receive an award of $1000, the second $750 and the third $500. Oregon PSR will host an awards dinner on April 10th at the Oregon Zoo in Portland at which the three winners will be honored and the winning entry will be read. This awards ceremony will be part of our annual PSR celebration, featuring keynote speaker Dahr Jamail, a courageous independent journalist who has covered the Iraq war.
We appreciate your support in spreading the word by sharing this information with any teachers, high school students or youth workers you may know.
[Editor’s note: OPW is particularly happy to spread the word about this opportunity because we also revere the memory of Del Greenfield, a long time OPW supporter.] Φ
Kelly Campbell is Executive Director of Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility.