A new competition for school children for the summer holidays has been launched by Faiths United and a coalition of partners.
Faiths United is a temporary coalition of faith leaders and activists responding to the Covid-19 crisis. It was set up in March 2020, at the start of lockdown, to discuss how faith communities have been coping with the pandemic and to drive possible joint responses.
The “Connected Communities” competition is asking youngsters to use their imagination, and a range of media to answer the question: How has the Covid-19 crisis brought your community together?
Partners on “Connected Communities” include: Faiths United, Faiths United Youth Network, Church of England Newspaper, British Muslim TV, Asian Voice, Sikh Channel, Jewish News, Faiths Forum for London, Storytelling Schools and Ostro Fayre Share Foundation.
The competition is open to children/young adults aged 7-18, divided into three age categories (7-11; 12-15; 16-18). Entrants can respond to the question through either a written piece, a photo, or a video.
A prestigious judging panel will then decide on the winners, which will be announced in early September with various prizes.
Faiths United is working with a number of organisations, including partners from the Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Jewish and Sikh communities.
Maurice Ostro OBE, Chair of Faiths United, said, “From the time the pandemic started, we have brought together faith leaders and activists to respond to COVID-19, to share best practices and drive joint responses. Now we want to give young people the opportunity to share their stories of how the lockdown period, with all its difficulty and suffering, has also brought people together. We are working with a range of community partners, across the Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Jewish and Sikh communities and want to encourage entries from young people of all faiths and none.”
One of the Judges, Dame Helen Hyde DBE, said, “The past few months have been a challenging time for our young people. Schools have been closed and routines have been disrupted. Through this competition, we are inviting young people to use their creativity and imagination to produce some great content showing how communities have come together. We are excited to see what they come up with.”
For further information about the competition, see https://faithsunited.co.uk/competition.
