Comp for children and young people

Never Such Innocence is a charity which began as a First World War commemoration project for children and young people and today delivers workshops, special events and an International Competition for the creative arts, writes Jenny Roche. The 2023 competition is part of a three-year Conversations on Conflict and invites poetry, artwork, songs and speeches on the theme of ‘What does war mean to you’. International submissions may be made as a individual or collaboratively in the age groups of 9-11 years, 11-14 years, 14-16 years and 16-18 years. The age groups cross over to ‘ensure children in the same school have an equal opportunity’. Poetry should be a maximum 40 lines and if not written in English should include a copy written in the poet’s native language together with a video or recording in the native language. In the artwork category sculptures, models, paintings, sketches, photography and works in digital mediums will all be considered. Submit a high quality photograph or scan of the piece in the first instance. Songs should be no more than four minutes long. Judging will be based on melody, composition, originality and where applicable, the lyrics. Speeches should be a maximum five minutes/750 words long and for both speeches and songs an audio or video recording should be submitted along with written text/lyrics. Poems, songs and speeches may be written in any language and should be typed or legibly handwritten and all artwork and poetry submissions should have a title. Submit one entry per individual or group to an individual category. Entries may however be made to more than one category. Submissions from those aged 15 years and younger must be made by an parent/ guardian or teacher. Any special educational needs may be mentioned on the entry form. The closing date for submissions is 10 March 2023 and all entrants will receive a special personalised Certificate of Commendation and the winners will be published in a Winners Booklet. See website to read previous winners’ booklets.