Charities face a difficult task in transforming the public's knee-jerk reactions to crises in East Timor and Turkey into long-term solutions to the ongoing crisis of the 800 million undernourished in the world. As part of World Food Week, running from October 11th to the 17th, Gorta will be raising the issue of world hunger among young people by asking them to voice their opinions in writing on the subject.
A national creative writing competition, organised by Gorta and Education and Living, is open to young people between the ages of 15 and 24. The criteria for the competition are broad - entries can take the form of a poem, a short story or an essay on the issues but must be based on the theme of "world hunger" and cannot exceed 500 words. Gorta believes the competition raise the profile of World Food Week among young people.
The competition is split into two categories: for ages 15 to 19 and 20 to 24. The overall winner in each category will win a weekend for two in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic. He or she will travel - in the case of the younger winner with a parent or guardian and with a parent or friend in the case of the older category winner - to and from Prague as a guest of Czech Airlines and will stay in a hotel selected by Gorta. Judging a shortlist of 20 entries will be poet Theo Dorgan, Liz McManus TD and Ella Shanahan, editor of Education and Living. The closing date is October 29th. The theme of the World Food Week this year is "Youth Against Hunger" and Gorta wants young people to contribute not just to the competition but to the week in general.
The essay competition is just one of several events organised to raise the profile of World Food Week. The week will be launched at a ceremony at Dublin's Mansion House on October 11th. Some 50 members of the Restaurant Association of Ireland will be serving a special soup as a starter in their restaurants throughout the week, which will cost £2. Campbell's Catering are also cooking for charity, serving baked potatoes at £1 a spud in their 220 outlets nationwide during the week. All proceeds from the sales of soup and potatoes will go to Gorta.
Entries to a separate photographic competition, again based on the theme of world hunger and youth against hunger, will be exhibited in libraries throughout the State during the week. To mark World Food Day on October 15th, Gorta is holding a conference in association with the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the UN at Dublin Castle. A gala night of music at Dublin's Gaiety Theatre on October 17th will end World Food Week in Dublin. Performers at the event will include Donal Lunny and Coolfin, Maire Brennan, Maighread and Triona NI Dhomhnaill, and Dolores Keane.
"World Food Week goes on every year and is a huge event in some countries," says Ray Driscoll, fundraiser for Gorta. "We are trying to make it a much bigger event here and have taken a different approach this year to raise the awareness of World Food Week among young people. We think young people are enthusiastic and have a lot to offer."
"This writing competition is a way of inviting people to express their opinions on world hunger," says Driscoll. "There is no better way to petition our Government than to place a book of essays and writing on the steps of Government Building and say, `this is what these young people think of world hunger'."
While Ireland donates more money per capita to charities and relief agencies than any other country in Europe, Ray Driscoll says, however, that people here can still become inured to famine and hunger in the world because of the constant saturation from the media's coverage of crises and disasters. He says there is a need to give not just in reaction to these crises and appeals for help but as often as possible.
At least 800 million people in the world are chronically undernourished and every day 40,000 children die from a lack of food, according to Gorta's statistics.
Driscoll believes young people in Ireland are aware of the global crisis. The competition is just one of the ways "of finding out their thoughts on the matter".
"The competition is to get people thinking of how well off we are in this country at the moment and how others in the world need our assistance," he says. "With our booming economy now is the time to do something constructive for starving people: to organise projects for these countries to help the people become self-sufficient."
Entries for the writing competition should be accompanied by the entry form on this page (left) and sent to: World Food Week Writing Competition, Gorta, 15 Herbert Street, Dublin 2. School and youth groups which would like to plan events to tie in with World Food Week or which would like further information on the week can contact Gorta at (01) 6615522.
