Badil Launches Fourth Annual Al-Awda Award

 

We are from there...We are Alive and Will Continue to Live... and the Dream Lives On
 
Bethlehem, Palestine, 13 October 2009 – The Badil Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights has announced the launch of the 2010 Annual Al-Awda Awards competition, now in its fourth consecutive year. The Award is an initiative of Badil which aims to provide a platform for the use of creative expression to promote Palestinian cultural identity and Palestinian refugee rights, foremost among them the right to return.
 
The categories of the 2010 al-Awda Award are:
  1. Al-Awda Award for Best Caricature (depicting an aspect of the Ongoing Palestinian Nakba);
  2. Best Nakba Commemoration Poster
  3. Best Research Essay
  4. Best Article (Written Journalism)
  5. Best Photograph (Photographer under 18)
 
 
Rules and Regulations: General
 
  • Participants must adhere to the rules and regulations for the competition category in which they wish to participate;
  • Submissions must be original and previously unpublished;
  • Participants can only participate with only ONE SUBMISSION PER COMPETITION CATEGORY, but may participate in more than one competition category;
  • Prizes will be awarded to the inners in each competition category at the Awards Ceremony to be held in My 2010;
  • Badil commits to publishing the winning submissions as separate publications or as part of Badil's regular publications as specified for each competition category;
  • Winners are selected by independent juries which include specialists in each field. Badil adheres to the decisions of these juries;
  • Badil reserves the right to use, edit and publish all submissions at its discretion, while respecting the participants' intellectual property rights;
  • The May 2010 Awards Ceremony will include exhibits of the top submissions from the caricature, poster, and photograph categories;
  • Members of Badil's staff, board of directors, oversight committee, or juries are excluded from participation;
  • The deadline for participants to send their submissions to Badil is 15 March 2010.
 
 
Rules and Regulations: Competition Categories
 
1. Al-Awda Award for Best Caricature (depicting an aspect of the Ongoing Palestinian Nakba)
 
Topic
 
The caricature is to deal with an aspect of the Palestinian refugee experience, the ongoing forced displacement of Palestinians, and/or Palestinian refugee rights. It can also deal with the official and/or popular, Palestinian and/or non-Palestinian political positions and attitudes with regards to the Palestinian right of return.
 
Specific Rules and Regulations
 
  1. The competition is open to all cartoonists/caricature artists regardless of nationality, place of residence or age;
  2. The submission must be on A4 canvas size (210mm X 297mm); submitted as a .jpg file; quality 300 DPI;
  3. Use of computers and image editing software is permitted;
  4. Hand drawn submissions (ink/water-colors/oil on paper, etc. - i.e. Those not prepared digitally), we prefer that the originals be mailed to Badil to ensure the highest quality for scanning and storing;
  5. Submissions may be black and white or in color;
  6. The jury will place special emphasis on two elements: the quality, clarity and significance of the caricature's message, and the quality of the artistic execution;
  7. Participants should also submit a separate document that includes a brief description of the artist, postal address, phone number, and email address.
 
Award
 
The top three winners will receive:
First prize: $1,000 US
Second Prize: $600 US
Third Prize: $400 US
 
Badil will also:
 
  • Award up to ten honorable mentions based on the decisions of the jury, and which will also be distributed at the May 2010 Awards Ceremony.
  • Organize an exhibit of the best caricatures chosen by the jury
 
Jury members
Imad Hajjaj, Nehad Boqai', Umaya Juha, Mohammed Sabaneh, Nasser al-Ja'fari
 
 
 
2. Best Nakba Commemoration Poster
 
Topic
 
The poster is to deal with the commemoration of the Palestinian Nakba. In this vein, the artwork is to draw on the themes of the 1948 Nakba, the ongoing nature of the Nakba, forced displacement, the resistance to ongoing forced displacement, and Palestinians' connection to the land.
 
Specific Rules and Regulations
 
  1. The competition is open to all poster artists regardless of nationality, place of residence or age;
  2. The poster is not required to include written text, if the poster design does include written text, the Arabic language is to be the main language used;
  3. The poster must be original and previously unpublished, with a clear and original message;
  4. Posters submitted in previous Al-Awda award contests will not be accepted;
  5. For submissions prepared with the use of computers and image editing software, please use CMYK 6 for color printing settings. Submissions will not be returned to the artists;
  6. The submission must be on A3 canvas size (300mm X 420mm) in high resolution (at least 250-300 DPI) and saved as a .gif or a .jpg file.
  7. Participants should also submit a separate document that includes a brief description of the artist, postal address, phone number, and email address.
 
Award
 
The top three winners will receive:
First prize: $1,000 US
Second Prize: $600 US
Third Prize: $400 US
 
Badil will also:
 
  • Print 40,000 copies of the poster that wins the first prize, which will be distributed throughout historic Palestine and to all countries participating in the Nakba-62 commemorations;
  • Award up to ten honorable mentions based on the decisions of the jury, and which will also be distributed at the May 2010 Awards Ceremony.
  • Organize an exhibit of the best caricatures chosen by the jury
 
Jury members
Suleiman Mansour, Yusif Katalo, Makbula Nassar, Mohammad Elayan, Omar Assaf
 
 
3. Best Research Paper
 
Topic
 
The privatization and sale of Palestinian refugee property and the right of return
 
Submissions should look at all or some of the following aspects of the topic:
Types of property; estimates of size and value of refugee property; the fate of "absentee property," the legal aspects of privatization, the legality of Israel's privatization under international law, the effect of the property privatization on the right of return, what action can be taken by Palestinians in response to the privatization.
 
Specific Rules and Regulations
 
  1. The length of the research paper must be between 4,000 and 5,000 words;
  2. The submission must be in Modern Standard Arabic;
  3. Participants must follow sound academic practices, with proper referencing of source material;
  4. Submissions must be original pieces of research that exhibit creativity, independent thought and academic rigor. Previously published papers will not be accepted;
  5. Participants should avoid sloganeering and bravado;
  6. Participants from previous Al-Awda Award contests have the right to participate;
  7. Winning submissions are subject to an editorial process by experts at Badil before their publication.
  8. Participants should submit their research papers as Word files (.doc) including a brief description of themselves, their contact information, and an abstract of no more than 500 words.
 
 
Award
 
The top three winners will receive:
First prize: $1,000 US
Second Prize: $600 US
Third Prize: $400 US
 
Badil will also:
 
  • Publish the winning submissions in separate publications or as part of Badil's regular publications;
  • Provide the winning participants with 100 free copies of the publication in which their submission is published;
  • Award up to ten honorable mentions based on the decisions of the jury, and which will also be distributed at the May 2010 Awards Ceremony.
 
Jury members
Dr. Aziz Haidar, Dr. As'ad Ghanem, Dr. Norma Masriyeh, Dr. Islah Jad, Shawqi al-Ayassa
 
 
 
4. Best Article (Written Journalism)
 
Topic
 
Articles should cover an aspect of the Palestinian refugee experience and/or that of ongoing forced displacement. The subject of the article must be non-fictional and current, but writers have the full freedom to recall and refer to older events.
 
Specific Rules and Regulations
 
  1. The length of the research paper must be between 1,000 and 1,500 words;
  2. The submission must be in Modern Standard Arabic, while the use of colloquial dialects is permitted as the writer sees fit;
  3. Submissions must be original pieces of writing, previously published articles will not be accepted;
  4. It is recommended that writers attach an appropriate photograph (in .jpg format) to accompany the article, while citing the source of the photograph;
  5. Winners in this category from previous Al-Awda Award contests will be excluded from the contest.
  6. Participants should submit their articles as Word files (.doc) including a brief description of themselves and their contact information.
 
Award
 
The top three winners will receive:
First prize: $1,000 US
Second Prize: $600 US
Third Prize: $400 US
 
Badil will also:
 
  • Publish the winning submissions as part of Badil's regular publications, or as Badil and the jury members see fit;
  • Award up to ten honorable mentions based on the decisions of the jury, and which will also be distributed at the May 2010 Awards Ceremony.
 
Jury members
Abedlnasser al-Najar, Shireen Abu Aqleh, Qasem Khatib, Naser al-Lahham, Najeeb Freij, Khalil Shaheen
 
 
5. Best Photograph (Photographer under 18)
 
Note: This competition category aims to engage youth under the age of 18 in the Awda Award, especially as their chances of success in other categories may be limited.
 
Topic
 
The photograph is to deal with effects and consequences of the Palestinian Nakba, ways of confronting the challenges created by the Nakba, and/or the Palestinian refugee experience.
 
Specific Rules and Regulations
 
  1. Participants must be under 18 years of age;
  2. Each participant can only submit ONE photograph;
  3. Photographs can be in color or black and white;
  4. Photographs must be in their original state, i.e. They should not be edited through image manipulation programs. If an edited photo is submitted, it must be accompanied by the original unedited photo;
  5. Participants should not place any text on the photos (including the name of the photographer);
  6. Submissions must be in high resolution (300 DPI) and sent as a .jpg file;
  7. Photographs must innovative, original and of a current subject. Previously published Photographs and those submitted to other contests will not be accepted;
  8. While Badil will make every effort to disqualify plagiarized submissions, Badil is not legally responsible for any error relating to photographers' intellectual property rights;
  9. Badil reserves the right to use all submissions in this category while respecting photographers' intellectual property rights;
  10. Photographs should be sent by email as separate attachments. Participants should also attach a Word document with a brief description of themselves, their contact information, and a brief caption (no more than 50 words) describing the photograph (time, place, people, description, etc. As appropriate). Participants should also attach proof of their age (a scanned copy of their ID card or birth certificate).
 
 
Award
 
The top three winners will receive a 10 Mega-pixel digital camera, as well as:
First prize: $400 US
Second Prize: $300 US
Third Prize: $200 US
 
Badil will also:
 
  • Print the winning photographs in Badil's regular publications;
  • Award up to ten honorable mentions based on the decisions of the jury, and which will also be distributed at the May 2010 Awards Ceremony.
  • Organize an exhibit of the best caricatures chosen by the jury
 
Jury members
Ibrahim Melhem, Alaa Badarnah, Louay Sababa, Rula Halawani, Mahfouth Abu-Turk
 
How to Participate
Submissions should be:
  • Sent by email to [email protected]
  • Hand delivered to the Badil offices in Bethlehem (al-Majd Building, beside Behtlehem Hotel, Karkafeh Street, Bethlehem)
  • Sent by post to
    Badil Resource Center
    PO Box 728
    Bethlehem, Palestine
Badil commits to confirming receipt of each submission in writing.
 
To learn more about the Award and the conditions for submissions in each category, please visit:
The Badil website, at: http://www.badil.org
The Al-Awda Award website, at: http://www.badil.org/annual-al-awda-award
For inquiries and communication contact: [email protected]