As part of World Food Week events, which started yesterday (mon) and runs until October 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, launched last week, is organised by Gorta and Education and Living, and 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 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.