Olympic Journal Short Essay Contest Winners Announced
The winners of Rights & Democracy’s Olympic Journal website short essay contest, which was launched in August 2008 as part of our coverage of the Beijing Olympic Games, have been announced!
Ann Dominique Morin has earned a bursary of $500 for her essay “Hosting the Olympic Games – A Privilege Accompanied by Obligations”, which illustrates her commitment to human rights. Ann Dominique Morin is working towards her Master’s in International Law at the Université de Montréal.
Two essays received honourable mention from the jury. “The Olympics and Human Rights” written by Bethany Deshpande, a student at York University’s Glendon College, was a favourite of the jury’s. “The Moral Pole Vault” by Srinivas Murthy of Boston, Massachusetts, was honoured for its editorial style.
The goal of this contest, which was to encourage reflection on the link between human rights and the Olympic Games, seems to have been achieved. The jury was made up of Charles Vallerand, Director of Communications, Jean-François Lesage, China Regional Officer, Elana Wright, Liaison Officer, Rights & Democracy Student Network, and Sophie Rondeau, Coordinator of the Rights & Democracy Student Network. This jury had the difficult task of selecting the essay that would earn its author a bursary and publication on Rights & Democracy’s Olympic Journal web site. The discussions were animated and the decision-making process was not the easiest! Consensus was finally achieved after heated debates about editorial style, the concision and density of the text, the commitment shown towards the spirit of human rights, and the factual support for the arguments of the essay!
The Network offers our warm congratulations go to the winners and to all those who submitted an essay for the contest. The challenge of summarizing one’s thoughts on human rights and the Olympic Games in only 300 words is no easy task!
人权与民主国际中心启动奥林匹克运动与人权网站和短文竞赛
对于那些将奥运会视为弘扬人之尊严的一种工具的人们来说，在北京举办夏季奥运会令人十分担心。中国的人权记录值得弘扬吗？所谓奥运会将促使人权状况加快改善的说法难道不是空话？中国是否能得到很多好处，而奥林匹克运动是否会蒙受巨大损失？
人权与民主国际中心将于8月5日启动一个新的奥运专题网站，名为“奥运杂志”（Olympic Journal），并以此开始有关北京奥运会的评论报道。本届奥运会定于8月8日至24日举行，在此期间，本网站将刊登八篇各种题目的文章，内容包括人权与奥运会的关系以及对中国具体人权问题的审视。
奥运杂志短文竞赛
我们希望你将积极参加本刊的奥运报道活动，就奥林匹克运动与人权之间的关系撰写一篇短文，提交给奥运杂志短文竞赛。获奖作者如果是符合资格的学生，将得到500$奖学金；如果不是学生，则会得到300$现金奖励。奥运会结束之后，前三名最佳短文将在人权与民主网站上发表。
年龄在18岁至30岁之间的青年均可参加此次竞赛。文章长度不得超过300字，可以用英文、法文或中文撰写。请于2008年9月24日之前将短文用电子邮件发到: network@dd-rd.ca，并写明你的姓名、地址和电话号码。人权与民主国际中心的工作人员及其直系亲属不得参加此次竞赛。
