Pick up your pens and pencil crayons. The John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights is looking for creative people to submit artwork for a contest to support an upcoming publicity campaign.
Renee Vaugeois, the executive director of the centre, explained that the winning entry would be used as the centrepiece of a media blitz for the Alberta Hate Crimes Committee, starting in the spring. The theme for the Stop Hate Visual Media Contest might be a bit of a challenge, however.
“One of the things that we’ve been struggling with the Hate Crimes Committee is how do you visually represent ‘hate’ because we want to do some public service announcements. We can’t seem to come to some consensus. It’s such a sensitive issue,” Vaugeois said.
For more than 15 years, the centre has been promoting the concepts of peace and human rights through educational programs and activities, community collaborations and relationship building efforts all guided by the principles laid out in the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
This year, the centre is forgoing its annual Hate Crime Awareness Day events, it is trying to spread the word farther and wider through a media campaign.
“We’re really feeling that it’s getting harder for us to get people out to have a meaningful discussion. We thought, ‘Let’s put all our money into doing bus ads and billboards … to get people talking about hate in our community and what does it mean.’”
The media campaign requires engaging and thought-provoking youth art submissions that reflect how youths feel about hate and its impact on the community.
The deadline for art submissions is Saturday, Feb. 15. There are no age guidelines for who can participate. Entries can be emailed to [email protected]. Judging will be based on originality, messaging, clarity and appeal.
The winning submission will receive a cash prize of $250 plus a plaque and a day tour with Edmonton police officers.
For more information, please call the centre at 780-453-2638 or visit www.jhcentre.org.
