Chippewa Valley high school students from Eau Claire, Chippewa Falls, Altoona and surrounding communities are eligible to compete for cash awards in an essay contest focused on global citizenship, civil society and diversity, according to an announcement from the Mahmoud S. Taman Foundation.
The 2018 contest’s theme is “Equity, Diversity and Inclusion” in the context of local communities, in keeping with the foundation’s goal of promoting racial and ethnic diversity and inclusivity in the Chippewa Valley The contest is open to current 9th through 12th graders, and the deadline for submitting completed essays is Mar. 30.
There will be separate contests at each school for Memorial, North and Regis High Schools in Eau Claire; Chippewa Falls and McDonnell High Schools in Chippewa Falls; and Altoona High School. Homeschooled students and those from other high schools in the area are also eligible and will compete in a separate category.
Prizes of $300 for first place and $200 for second place will go the top two essays in each of the seven categories.
The contest requires essays of 1,000 to 1,200 words responding to one of the following questions:
1. What does racial, gender, and cultural diversity mean to you and how does it manifest itself in your local Chippewa Valley community?
2. How have the contributions of such immigrant communities as the Latino, Hmong, Somali, Bosnian and others impacted the Chippewa Valley?
3. How has the religion of Islam positively integrated itself into modern American culture and society? What is the history of the Muslim community in the Chippewa Valley and how has its presence enriched the local culture?
4. How are the goals of the of the United Nations’ Declaration of Human Rights (http://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/index.html) relevant to your local community and how can high school students in the Chippewa Valley work to forward these ideas?
Additional contest details can be found at www.mstamanfoundation.org. Questions may be sent to MSTamanFoundation@gmail.com.