Family Volunteers for Peace (FVP) Story Contest

Start Times (UTC 1:00PM)
Seattle (PST): 6:00AM
New York (EST) & Paraguay (PYT): 9:00AM
Brazil (BRT): 10:00AM
Mali & Sierra Leone (GMT): 1:00PM
Nigeria , CameroonNetherlands: 2:00PM
Zimbabwe & Botswana (CAT): 3:00PM
Kenya, Tanzania & Uganda (EAT): 4:00PM
India (IST): 6:30PM
Nepal (NPT): 6:45PM
Philippines (PHT), Malaysia (MYT) & Mongolia (ULAT): 9:00PM
Korea (KST) & Japan (JST): 10:00PM

Call for Essay & Video Submissions

Global Peace Women is hosting its first-ever Family Volunteers for Peace Stories Contest. We are inviting families from all over the world to join the contest. We would love to have your family participate! 
Share your Family Volunteers for Peace experience and spread the culture of family volunteering around the world!

CONTEST GUIDELINES:

Theme : [Family Volunteers for Peace]  Serve together. Grow together. Make a Difference Together
Mediums: Essay OR Video 
Submission Deadline :  Nov. 14.11:59pm UTC 
Eligibility: All families with family volunteers experience * Family volunteering is an experience of two or more people who consider themselves family (including extended family) spending time volunteering together. 
Prizes:  Gold: 1 family, $500 Silver(2 families) & Bronze(9 families) will receive a Gift 
All entrants will receive a Certificate of Recognition*All submissions entered into the contest will be posted online at our website at www.globalpeacewomen.org. 
**GPW reserves the right not to award any prizes if submissions do not meet the requirements and expectations.

Winners will be announced on December 5, 2021 at the Award Ceremony during the Family Volunteers for Peace Festival*Runner ups will be notified prior to the December 5 ceremony. 

How to Apply: Email: family.volunteers@globalpeacewomen.org      

Participation Guidelines

Essay Submission

1. Write your FVP story. 800 words or less in English & Spanish, 2,000 characters or less in Korean & Japanese It should feature your Family Volunteer for Peace experience.  Must be typed, with your name and title included at the top of the first page.There are no particular rules regarding formatting (font style, size, line space, etc.). However, it must be submitted in either MS Word (DOC/DOCX) or PDF format.       
* Your name and essay title are not included in the word count limit.

2.  Make sure to include the following: Details of your project: What was the issue you addressed? Describe your project (please include: when, where, what, to whom, how, why)? Which family members participated? A little about the experience creating and implementing the project.1-2 reflections from your family members. At least 2,3 good quality photos 

3. Judging Criteria:
- Understand the goals of Family Volunteers for Peace (20 %)
(Goals of FVP-create a culture of family service, develop a community of service to bring about peace, improve family relationships, solve local problems)
- The project was creative (15 %)
- Good family reflections (15 %) 
- Good teamwork (10 %)
- The written piece was creative (10 %)
- The quality of the written piece was good (15 %)Was the written piece inspiring? (15 %)                
* Contest committee will judge all FVP stories according to judging criteria 

4. Send your essay to family.volunteers@globalpeacewomen.org

6. Runner-ups will be notified prior to the Family Volunteers for Peace Festival. Final winners will be announced at the Festival on December 5

5. Here are sample stories: 
(FVP Story No.1) “Sharing is Caring” A Family Volunteers for Peace Story from Nigeria(FVP Story 2021.2)
Serving our Community, Uganda
(FVP Story 2021.3)
Sharing Clothes, Community and Love, USA
(FVP Story 2021.4) Discovering New and Beautiful Things about my Family through Volunteering, Nepal (FVP Story 2021.6)
 
Video Submissions
1. Make a SHORT video
Length: 1min ~ 3min Language: English, Spanish, Korean and Japanese (subtitle language: English) It should feature your Family Volunteer for Peace experience. Video Format: MOV, MP4, audio included. When you made your video, state your name and country at the beginning.   Ex: Hi we are the (Family name) family from (country name). And we are participating in the Family   Volunteers for Peace Video Contest with Global Peace Women.

2.
You can utilize many online tools, slideshow functions and apps to make creative videos. 

3.  Make sure to include the following details of your project: What was the issue you addressed? Describe your project(please include: when, where, what, to whom, how, why)? Which family members participated? A little about the experience creating and implementing the project.1-2 reflections from your family members

4. Judging Criteria:
- Understand the goals of Family Volunteers for Peace (20 %)
(Goals of FVP-create a culture of family service, develop a community of service to bring about peace, improve family relationships, solve local problems)
- The project was creative (15 %)
- Good family reflections (15 %) 
- Good teamwork (10 %)
- The video was creative (10 %)
- The quality of the video was good (15 %)
- Was the video inspiring? (15 %)

5. Send your videos to family.volunteers@globalpeacewomen.org

6. Runner-ups will be notified prior to the Family Volunteers for Peace Festival. Final winners will be announced at the Festival on December 5

7. Here is a sample video from Ah-na Mira in the Philippines about her Family Volunteer for Peace project. 
Register

Family Volunteers for Peace Stories

Living Courageously for the Greater Good: Breland Family

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Shristika Bajracharya’s Family-wide Greening Plantations Project

Shristika Bajracharya from Nepal has been working towards keeping the earth green and not gray.
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A Visit to the Family of Nicholas in Kyera Village: Naswirah’s Family First SFV Experience

Nicholas is a disabled cobbler from Uganda. Nashwira's family visited him on their very first Sunshine Family Volunteer project. "Despite all the challenges, Nicholas deeply loves God and his family."
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Building Resilience with Adolescents During and After Covid -19 in Uganda: Jackline’s Family

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A Change of Mindset Brings the Change We Desire to See in Our Communities: Eyambe’s Family

"We want to nourish hope and commitment, instill positive energy to young survivors who have either faced emotional or physical violence." In the midst of violence, the Eyambe family stands for peace.
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A Visit to Hope for Katanga Kids Project Home: Mary and Zainab’s Families

"These are children who can hardly feed on two meals a day. I commit to support them.” A single visit to Hope for Katanga Kids Project Home sparks renewed commitment to support service-minded people.
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