Submit your Creative Story about the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
and Children’s Rights for the New
Voices of Future Generations Series of Books
Can you write creative stories about children’s rights, environmental solutions, and the future that we all want?
Would you like to join a global council of prize-winning child authors, and have your work published internationally in many languages?
“Voices of Future Generations” has been launched by a consortium of leading educational charities and international agencies, in cooperation with the United Nations. Every year, we feature children’s stories inspired by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and one to three of the Post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals, the stories should creatively and imaginatively promote access to the rights enshrined in these instruments. Imaginative and creative stories based on a problem-solving child hero and lively colourful characters will be preferred. Importantly, the stories should be about the kind of future that the children would like to see.
Submit your creative and inspiring stories
about children and the future you want to see
At this time, we invite primary school children ages 8-10 to prepare one short story about imaginary child characters from your region of the world, along with a 100-word biography, and submit your entry to the International Contest.
We especially seek Child Authors who are concerned about justice, the global environment, education, and children’s rights. Gold and two silver prize certificates will be awarded to children of the focus region, and the top chosen child authors will join a special global cohort of leading children whose stories will be shared worldwide.
Accompanied by professional illustrations, each storybook will profile creative, interesting, and adventurous ideas for creating a just and greener future, in the context of children’s interests and lives. We aim to publish the books internationally in the six UN languages, raising the voices of future generations and spreading their messages for a fair and sustainable tomorrow among their peers and adults, worldwide.
An International Commission of leading experts and agencies, and Goodwill Ambassadors for key regions of the world, will select the winning entries.
Eligibility:
(1) open to all children ages 8-10 from North America (US & Canada).
(2) written from the point of view of a child or children (not from an animal, mountain, or tree)
(3) format: entries should be 1,200-1,500 words single-spaced, size 12, and include a 100-word biography.
Criteria for Awards:
The stories will be judged for:
(1) originality,
(2) creative thinking,
(3) link to key messages from the UN Sustainable Development Goals and Agenda 2030, and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and
(4) specific focus on achieving one to three of the most crucial UN Sustainable Development Goals that addresses the most important problems, solutions, and cultures special to North America.
Entries also can be sent to the Voices of Future Generations International Commission, care of Ms. Elianys Martinez, Programme Coordinator, at ela.martinez@vofg.org by 31 May 2023.
Please visit http://www.vofg.org/books/ to view winning entries of previous story writing contests, which have now been illustrated and published. These gold-winning stories should serve as a guide to the kinds of stories that are being sought.
about VOICES OF FUTURE GENERATIONS
SERIES OF CHILDREN’S BOOKS
Voices of Future Generations is a new international series of children’s books that will be published from 2014 - 2022 to highlight and promote public awareness of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), and the Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development “The Future We Want” Declaration. Voices of Future Generations is led by a consortium of educational charities, together with international leaders from the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, the United Nations Education, Science and Culture Organization (UNESCO) and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), among others.
In response to a global call, the Voices of Future Generations series reviews, edits, illustrates, and publishes creative new stories by selected child authors from around the world. The Series releases up to six books per year which communicate children’s visions and voices about science, education, culture, health, the environment, and other rights of the child in the six official UN languages, also German, Hungarian, and other languages.
It is a great honour and pleasure to invite schools and educational institutions around the world to support this new initiative for Children’s rights and the protection of our fragile global environment, by disseminating this Call for Child Authors and by helping to identify potential partners and sponsors.
An International Commission serves as distinguished advisors to the new Series of Children’s Books. Composed of senior experts and leaders from international organizations, national authorities, educational foundations, and distinguished academic institutions of Australia, Canada, Germany, Hungary, New Zealand, Norway, the United Kingdom and Uruguay, as well as key supporters and donors, the International Commission supports, guides and profiles the new international initiative. The Commission welcomes new members to join, and with their institutions, to become partners in supporting this inspiring new international initiative.
Please kindly direct correspondence to Ms. Ela Martinez (ela.martinez@vofg.org) in order to learn more about this inspiring initiative, or see www.vofg.org for further details.