Calls for submissions! [JPN]
3rd Essay Contest on a “Nuclear Weapons Free Future”
The Research Center for Nuclear Weapons Abolition, Nagasaki University (RECNA), with the support of the Nagasaki Shimbun, invites youth between the ages of 16 and 29 to submit an essay on a “Nuclear Weapons Free Future.”
The conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza show no signs of abating, and the specter of nuclear war persists in various regions. Against this backdrop, the year 2024 has emerged as an international “election year” with potentially significant implications for nuclear policy. The presidential elections in the United States and Russia are the most prominent, but Japan is also grappling with the prospect of a general election.
If you were to send a letter to a single leader of one nuclear weapons state, or the leaders of several or all of the nuclear weapons states, considering the worsening situation surrounding nuclear weapons, what would you ask them to do? We would like you to compose such a message, that you may address to the leader of one nuclear weapons state, or a state under the nuclear umbrella of a nucler weapons state, like Japan, or the leaders of all or some of the nuclear weapons states (*1) and umbrella states (*2).
Entries will be divided into two groups: youth aged 16 to 19 (Under 20) and youth aged 20 to 29 (Under 30). Awards will be given to outstanding essays and there will be one grand prize winner for each age group. The two winning essays will be published in the Nagasaki Shimbun newspaper and the winning authors will be invited to participate in the award ceremony in Nagasaki on Saturday, September 21st, 2024. If the winner resides in Japan, she/he will be invited to Nagasaki to participate in person. If the winner resides overseas, he/she will be invited to participate in the award ceremony online.
*1: Russia, United States, China, France, United Kingdom, Pakistan, India, Israel and North Korea
*2: Japan, South Korea, Australia, NATO non-nuclear weapon states (Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Türkiye, Greece, Germany, Spain, Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Romania, Albania, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Finland, Sweden), and Belarus (Following the invasion of Ukraine, Russia has declared that it is also extending a nuclear umbrella to Belarus, where Russia has deployed nuclear weapons. Consequently, Belarus is now also considered to be included in this category.)
| ELIGIBILITY |
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| • Under-20 (Ages between 16 and 19), Under-30 (Ages between 20 and 29) as of July 31, 2024. |
| • Any residence or nationality is welcome. |
| APPLICATION |
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| Please submit the following documents in PDF format by e-mail to opinion@ml.nagasaki-u.ac.jp |
| 1. Application [form] * For download |
| 2. Your Essay (Essays should be about 1000 words, in English, and must be original and unpublished. Your essay should be in the form of a letter/message to the leader(s) of a “nuclear armed states” or a country under the “nuclear umbrella. Make it clear in the title or in the text which leader(s) the message is addressed to.) |
| SUBMISSION DEADLINE |
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| July 31, 2024 |
| You will receive a notice of receipt approximately one week after submission. If you do not receive a notice please contact us at the contact information below. |
| * Please note that applications will not be accepted at the contact e-mail address. |
| ABOUT THE PRIZE |
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| For Youth Under-30: |
| • The grand prize winner will receive a commemorative plaque, prize money of 50,000 yen, and, for a winner who resides in Japan, an invitation to the award ceremony in Nagasaki. (A winner who resides outside Japan will be invited to participate online.) |
| • The second prize winner will receive a commemorative plaque and prize money of 30,000 yen. |
| For Youth Under-20: |
| • The grand prize winner will receive a commemorative plaque, prize money of 30,000 yen, and, for a winner who resides in Japan, an invitation to the award ceremony in Nagasaki. (A winner who resides outside Japan will be invited to participate online.) |
| • The second prize winner will receive a commemorative plaque and prize money of 10,000 yen. |
| AWARD SELECTION AND ANNOUNCEMENT |
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| Two grand prize winners and two second prize winners will be selected after strict screening by the selection committee. The committee members are: |
| • Yuichi SEIRAI, Akutagawa Award-winning author (Chair) |
| • Gregory KULACKI, Visiting Fellow of RECNA (Chair of the English Review Subcommittee) |
| • Yoshiki YAMADA, Editorial Director, Nagasaki Shimbun newspaper, visiting professor of RECNA (Vice chair) |
| • Keiko NAKAMURA, Associate Professor of RECNA (Vice chair) |
| • Tatsujiro SUZUKI, Professor of RECNA, |
| • Suzuka NAKAMURA, Co-president of KNOW NUKES TOKYO |
| • Sumiko HATAKEYAMA, Co-president of Peace Boat |
| • Ayane MURAKAMI , 9th member of Nagasaki Youth Delegation |
| SCREENING CRITERIA |
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| Your Essay will be evaluated on the following criteria: |
| (1) Clarity and Logical consistency, (2) Factual content, (3) Creativity and originality, (4) Expressiveness |
| ANNOUCEMENT |
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| The results will be announced in the Award Ceremony. |
| Time and Date: Saturday, September 21, 2024, 1-2 p.m. |
| Venue: Nagasaki University (https://www.nagasaki-u.ac.jp/en/) |
| The Grand Prize-winning essays will be published in full in the Nagasaki Shimbun newspaper at a later date. All winning essays will be published on the RECNA website. |
| * The copyright of the submitted essays belongs to entrant, but the organizer (RECNA) holds secondary use (publication online or paper format, etc.) right of the winning essays. |
| Sponsored by: the Research Center for Nuclear Weapons Abolition, Nagasaki University (RECNA) |
| Supported by: Nagasaki Shimbun Newspaper |
| Nominal support organizations: Nagasaki Prefecture, Nagasaki City, NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) Nagasaki, KTN (Television Nagasaki Co.,Ltd.), NBC (Nagasaki Broadcasting Company), NCC（Nagasaki Culture Telecasting Corporation）, NIB (Nagasaki International Television Broadcasting, Inc.) |
* This project is funded by a donation for the Research Center for Nuclear Weapons Abolition, Nagasaki University (RECNA).
| Contact |
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| Research Center for Nuclear Weapons Abolition, Nagasaki University (RECNA) TEL: +81-95-819-2164 E-mail: recna_staff@ml.nagasaki-u.ac.jp Website: https://www.recna.nagasaki-u.ac.jp/recna/en-top |
