Deadline for submission: September 12th, 2021
The University of Global Health Equity (UGHE) and Kigali Public Library (KPL) will jointly organize a short stories contest as part of the third edition of Hamwe Festival. UGHE is an accredited university in Rwanda and an initiative of PIH (Partners In Health) that trains the next generation of global leaders from around the world in health care delivery. With the Hamwe Festival, the university’s objectives are to create an enabling environment for strong collaboration between global health professionals and creative industries as well as to generate new insights into global health challenges and corresponding solutions, using the unique and complementary vantage points of artists and global health professionals. The first edition of the festival, Hamwe 2019, explored a diverse range of possible collaborations between creative industries and health sectors. The second edition of the festival took place online from November 11th to November 15th, 2020, and discussed Mental Health and Social Justice through the prism of the arts and art-based research, reaching more than 26,000 viewers from all over the world.
Kigali Public Library (KPL) was inaugurated officially by Her Excellency the First Lady of Rwanda, Mrs. Jeannette KAGAME on 5th October 2012 with a mission and mandate to inspire communities to read, discover and learn playing a crucial role in supporting educational institutions at all levels and give free access to the Library services for all the general public, foster literacy, creativity and innovation, disseminate cultural and inspirational materials in digital and physical formats.
For its third edition, Hamwe Festival organizes a short story contest in collaboration with Kigali Public Library (KPL). We will be seeking short stories written in English or in French, about life in the era of COVID-19. Writers from 18 to 30 years old from all countries are invited to participate.
With this contest, we wish to highlight stories that showcase how health equity and other areas of social justice have been exacerbated during this global crisis and how the current pandemic has affected the lives of individuals and communities. The contestants may choose from a range of topics including social justice, access to care, the impact of isolation, age as a social determinant of health, the pandemic consequences on communities’ social fabrics, gender disparities, education, inter-species relationships, social movements, and conflict management etc.
Visit https://ughe.org/hamwe-festival-2021-short-stories-contest/ for more information on the eligibility criteria and contest rules.
