Columban missionaries in Britain and Ireland are to launch their next annual media competition for schools, “Building Peaceful Futures” on World Peace Day, 21 September.
Students aged 13-18 have five months to submit an original piece of writing or an original image on the theme. Columbans seek articles and images that demonstrate an awareness of conflict in the world today and spotlight people, communities or organisations trying to build peaceful futures. The two judging panels will include journalists such as Ruth Gledhill of The Tablet and Columban priests Fr Kurt Zion Pala and Fr Pat Cunningham who work for peace in Myanmar and South Korea. Columbans internationally are members of Pax Christi International, the Catholic Church’s peace organisation.
In preparation, students and their teachers or parents are asked to reflect: Is conflict inevitable? Where and how is peace-building taking place? What role can faith play in peacemaking? If they’re inspired by Pope Francis, for example, they might create an image showing how he is promoting peace. Or they might write an article about building peaceful futures in their own communities. “We want to ascertain young people’s understanding of peacebuilding, how and where it’s taking place and how faith can play a part in peacemaking,” says Columban Justice and Peace Education Worker, James Trewby.
Material is available for students, teachers and parents. A section on the website on Catholic Social Teaching includes thoughts on the encyclicals of Pope Francis, Laudato Si’ and Fratelli Tutti, and quotes from his World Peace Day messages. His message in 2017 said: “All of us want peace. Many people build it day by day through small gestures and acts; many of them are suffering, yet patiently persevere in their efforts to be peacemakers.”
Two separate competitions will be held, one for students in Ireland and one in Britain (England, Scotland, Wales). This is the sixth annual competition and each has taken a theme that chimes with Columban mission, such as Migration, Climate Change and ‘Throwaway Culture’. Last year’s competition attracted 260 entries from nearly 50 schools. They were judged by panels of media experts separately in Britain and Ireland.
Full details and submission information are at the dedicated website: https://www.columbancompetition.com/
The deadline for submission of article and images is 10 February 2023. Winners will be announced on 13 March 2023.
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