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PUB: BBC 25th International Play Writing Competition 2016

The Prizes and the Rules for the 25th

International Play Writing

Competition 2016

The International Playwriting Competition – from the BBC World Service & British Council in partnership with Commonwealth Writers and co-produced by The Open University

The competition is open from 1 October 2015 to 31 January 2016. The competition is open to new and established writers, provided they live outside the UK.

In order to enter you need to send:

• A script for a 53 minute radio play with up to 6 central characters – we are unable to return these, so make sure you keep a copy

• A synopsis which outlines your play is no longer than 400 words

• A completed form (download here), attached to your play and synopsis.

Full rules below

English as a First Language Winner

£2200 sterling will be given for the overall winning playwright of the best play written with English as a first language and a trip to London to see the play being recorded for broadcast on the BBC World Service and to attend a prize-giving evening.

English as a Second Language Winner

£2200 sterling will be given for the overall winning playwright of the best play written with English as a second language and a trip to London to see the play being recorded for broadcast on the BBC World Service and to attend a prize-giving evening.

The Georgi Markov Prize

In memory of the writer, BBC World Service journalist and broadcaster Georgi Markov (1929-1978) who championed freedom of creative expression, this prize is for the writer of the script identified by the judges as showing most promise. The script will be selected from the International Radio Playwriting Competition shortlist and will be an entry which, whilst not deemed ready for broadcast in its current form, shows outstanding potential.

The Georgi Markov Prize includes a standard return flight to London, with 2 weeks accommodation – a week of which will be spent with the BBC’s London Radio Drama department and a week with BBC World Service. These 2 weeks will coincide with the making of the winning plays from the International Radio Playwriting Competition and the winner of the Georgi Markov prize will attend the prize-giving ceremony and receive recognition at the same time.

This prize does not include recording or broadcast of the script and there is no cash alternative. The prize has been established by the BBC World Service and the Open University, in association with Annabel and Sasha Markova.

1. Entry is only open to anyone who is over the age of 18 as at 31 January 2016 who is not normally a resident of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Channel Islands or Isle of Man (“UK”). Individuals who have lived or worked in the UK on a temporary basis for no more than 12 months at the time of entering the competition are also eligible. Professional and previously published writers are eligible to enter, but this is not a requirement of entry. We may require proof of eligibility.

2. Entrants must not be BBC or British Council or The Open University or Commonwealth Foundation employees, their close relatives or any person connected to the competition. Proof of age, identity and eligibility may be requested.

3. Entrants should write a radio play of approximately fifty three minutes’ length on any subject of their choice. Adaptations of novels are not eligible.

4. Plays entered must not have been professionally produced in any medium (an informal play-reading is acceptable; a play-reading with a professional director and in front of a non-paying audience is acceptable, but a performance involving payment to actors and/or a paying audience is not).

5. Plays entered in the competition must not, at the time they are submitted, have been offered for publication, performance or broadcast in any other form or medium to any other person or company. Nor can they, at the time of entry or during the course of the competition, have been entered for any other competition. The winning playwrights will be deemed to have entered into an undertaking not to accept offers for their entries from other broadcasters or publishers before December 2016.

6. All scripts submitted must be approximately 53 minutes in length – this usually equates to a minimum of 45 pages of A4 paper (or equivalent) and a maximum of 65 pages (note, a rough guide is a minute per page; please read and time your play before you send it). The play should have a maximum of six central characters (there may be up to 3 small “doubling” characters too, who don’t have more than a few lines each). There must be no central roles for children.

7. Your script must be accompanied by a short synopsis which outlines the complete story of the play. This must be no more than 400 words.

8. There are two categories for entry. One is for entrants who speak English as a first language and the other is for entrants with English as a second language. The BBC may require proof of eligibility for the selected category before announcing a winner. For translated entries, it is the responsibility of the entrant to ensure the translated script fully complies with these rules and entry requirements and the entrant must have the right to enter into a contract on the translator or translators’ behalf as per Rule 21. No additional payment can be made by the BBC for translations.

9. The play must be written substantially or entirely in English. Unfortunately, we do not have the facility to offer a translation service. Entries that have been translated must acknowledge this fact by giving a credit to the translator or translators. Entries that have been translated will be entered in the English as a first language category.

10. The competition opens on 1 October 2015 and closes on 31 January 2016.
Entries must be received at your British Council office or at the BBC in London by midnight GMT on 31 January 2016. Entries received after this time will not be considered.

11. Entries must be submitted either by by post to the following address: International Playwriting Competition 2016, BBC Radio Drama, Room 6015 BBC Broadcasting House, Portland Place, London W1A 1AA, United Kingdom, or to your local British Council office, or by email to the following email address: radioplay@bbc.co.uk

12. All entries must be accompanied by a completed copy of the entry form which can be downloaded here

13. Entrants can enter individually or as part of a group. If entering as a group, all entrants must meet the entry requirements and be eligible for the same category. No member should have also entered individually. Please note, the prize only includes payment for one airfare per category.

14. In the case of an entry by two or more writers, the BBC will need written or email confirmation from each writer involved that they are prepared to take a share of the prize money and are prepared to receive those funds from a nominee who will be one of the writers, as the prize money will be paid to one individual only. The nominee will be selected by the writers and it will be his or her responsibility to distribute these funds to the other writers and the organisers can take no responsibility for that aspect. As per Clause 8, there will be no additional payment from the BBC for translations.

15. Only one entry per person is permitted including any group entries. If you submit more than one entry, only the first entry received will be considered. Please do not submit plays you have entered before.

16. You may choose to submit your entry under a pseudonym (which will be the name it shall be promoted and published under), however you must include your real name on each entry for verification purposes.

17. All entries must be the original work of the entrant and must not infringe the rights of any other party. The BBC accepts no liability if entrants ignore these rules and entrants agree to fully indemnify the BBC against any claims by any third party arising from any breach of these rules.

18. Entries must not contain defamatory, obscene or any other unsuitable material, such as that which may cause offence to a wide audience of all ages. Content should not contain excessive swearing or obscene language.

19. Entrants retain the copyright in their entries but grant to the BBC an exclusive licence to broadcast their entry on radio, as well as use it on any online platforms in line with the BBC’s Radio Drama Agreement as agreed with the Radio Writers’ Forum (see 23 below). Entrants reserve certain secondary rights in other media subject to BBC short exclusive options. Entrants also grant a licence to Commonwealth Writers and The Open University to publish extracts of their scripts, along with their name(s), on the Commonwealth Writers and Open University websites and to The Open University to make their content available within OU courses for teaching and learning purposes, including to OU registered students on any secure platform or copy-protected medium.

20. The prize for each of the winners of the English as a 1st language category and the English as a 2nd language category will consist of £2200 sterling and a trip to London (standard airfare and accommodation for one person) to see the winning play being recorded for broadcast on the BBC World Service and attend a prize-giving event. The prize is as stated and cannot be deferred or transferred. There will be no cash alternatives.

21. As with any new play, the BBC may require further drafts and revisions of the winning plays. Winners must be willing and able to undertake redrafting and revision work in conjunction with the BBC and accept that they will work with the Producer on re-writes of the play. This work is likely to take place between June 2016 and September 2016 and the winning entrants will need to keep time free, and remain contactable, to achieve this. This work will be completed with the winning entrant using email or the most suitable method available. We reserve the right to revoke a play’s prize winning status if this work is not completed.

22. The BBC will reserve the right to make minor cuts, changes and edits to the winners’ final draft scripts and all editorial control rests with the BBC.

23. You must inform the BBC if any character/s or situation/s in the play relate to real situation/s or real people, either living or dead

24. Subject to a satisfactory recording being made, the winning plays will be broadcast on BBC World Service at some point around Spring 2017. Winners will first be required to enter into a contract with the BBC on the standard terms and conditions applicable for broadcast of BBC Radio Drama. No fee will be payable other than the £2200 sterling offered as prize money for one broadcast cycle and the BBC’s standard package of rights under that contract. If repeated on the World Service, a sum of £1100 will be payable for the first repeat cycle and thereafter the BBC will have certain broadcasting and other rights all in accordance with the contract.

25. This competition accords with the BBC’s Code of Conduct for Competitions, details of which can be found on the BBC’s Standards and Guidelines website

>via: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/profiles/1DM9W7gGSVkjsg38mJHrzpm/the-prizes-and-the-rules-for-the-25th-international-play-writing-competition-2016

VIDEO: Venus Bushfires

THE VENUS

BUSHFIRES

VIDEO: Skip ‘Little Axe’ McDonald

SKIP ‘LITTLE AXE’

McDONALD

POETRY + AUDIO: I HAVE MY MOTHER’S HANDS

photo by Alex Lear

i have my mother’s hands

though cancer claimed

my mother’s body decades ago

inola’s reincarnation remains within me

a deeply treasured and unerring auditor—

an inquisitive, music loving child

with eyes wide bright and earth brown

whose trusting reach upthrusting

to clasp a helping man’s hand

unclenches the maleness of my fist

and continually causes my essence

to cup the strength of masculine fingers

into the soft of a flesh spoon

emulating and saluting the feminine

gesture of giving unconditionally

—kalamu ya salaam

_________________

Kalamu ya Salaam – vocals

Frank Bruckner – guitar

Recorded: June 14, 1998 – “ETA Theatre” Munich, Germany

HISTORY: First Look at ‘Underground,’ a Daring New Series About the Underground Railroad

Here’s Your

First Look at

‘Underground,’

a Daring New Series

About the

Underground

Railroad

by Clutch

CUnKzr2UsAAMTRr

When it comes to on-screen portrayals of slavery, typically what’s not shown is the bravery and fierceness of our enslaved ancestors. While Nate Parker’s film about Nat Turner promises to offer another perspective to the historical genre, WGN’s new series, Underground, aims to highlight some of the harrowing moments from the Underground Railroad.

Starring Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Aldis Hodge, Christopher Meloni, Mykelti Williamson, Amirah Vann, Reed Diamond, Alano Miller, Adina Porter, Johnny Ray Gill, and Theodus Crane, Underground follows a group of enslaved men and women who attempt the greatest escape in history. While the plot could get them all killed, the men and women are willing to pay the ultimate price for their freedom.

Underground is produced by John Legend and will begin its 10-episode run on WGN America on March 9, 2016.

Take a look at the first two trailers from the series.

>via: http://www.clutchmagonline.com/2015/12/heres-your-first-look-at-underground-a-daring-new-series-about-the-underground-railroad/

INFO: And Still We Rise! How African Women Stayed Slaying in 2015

DECEMBER 14, 2015

And Still We Rise!

How African Women

Stayed Slaying

in 2015

BY LUSO MNTHALI

When it comes to writing about black women achieving
there are so many to choose from and every list will be
an inadequate attempt to showcase black female excellence
in so many arenas. You can never confine it to a list, and
it can’t be defined in such a small way, but here’s our
attempt to show love to the women who made this year
liveable and, quite frankly, saved us from the mediocrity,
violence, and always thinking about the killing fields of
this world.

Just by being, these black women made us, or at least, me,
love a little more, think so much more and in better, different
ways, be more proud, more happy and more grateful about
being born a black woman. There’s an inherent beauty we
possess, an innate talent for producing excellence in an
undeniable, unique way and soaring to great heights despite
clear and seemingly insurmountable odds. We are dreamers,
builders, thinkers, leaders and achievers. We are everything.
From sport to media and entertainment, academia, literature,
activism and politics—we are serving realness and Black Girl
Magic at every turn. Here’s a list of some of those achieve-
ments, in no particular order:

Photo by Adrienne Waheed

To the black and queer women of #RhodesMustFall, #FeesMustFall and #EndOutsourcing: You started a movement that has moved and crossed mountains, broken down barriers in education and will continue to be the yardstick against which all anti-imperialist pro-black equality and reform student movements are measured. I bow to you all, and I am grateful.

Figaro Magazine

Kenya’s sweetheart, Mexico’s hermosa mujer. How’s Lupita Nyong’o been doing this year? Well, she scored her second Vogue cover, an Essence Magazine cover, as well as another January cover for Elle UK. She did a gorgeous shoot for Madame Figaro and then there’s the matter of a little movie called Star Wars: The Force Awakens, in which she plays Maz Kanata, in theaters this month.

Of course, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, who was not only named the best winner from the last decade of the Bailey’s women’s prize for fiction (known as the Orange prize when she won) but the Swedes recently decided that her book We Should All Be Feminists be given to every 16-year-old in that country. Can every 16-year-old Nigerian, South Africa, Malawian etc… please one day receive the same gift. It’s necessary.

Afro-Brazilian women are just fire. They are elemental, and in so many fitting ways. Take weather journalist Maria Julia Coutinho—the first black weather journo in Brazil—finally creating a media storm in a country where black folk have been rendered invisible. Afro-Brazilian women there also took to the streets to march for their rights.

Oby Ezekwesili, I don’t know anyone else who has done as much to continue to bring to the world’s attention the plight of the over 200 Nigerian girls abducted by Boko Haram, now over 600 days ago, and who are still not back home. For her, #BringBackOurGirls is not just another famous hashtag.

Honestly if you don’t know Cecile Emeke by now, stop missing out and get into the Strolling Series. This flâneur has interviewed young black people in parts of Europe about their experiences there. She’s currently strolling in the US.

A feminist and academic at Wits University, Pumla Dineo Gqola recently wrote a book about rape in South Africa and unpacked the myths and truths about it. Read a review about Rape: A South African Nightmare.

South Africa-based Zimbabwean writer Panashe Chigumadzi. Her debut novel (at the ripe old age of 24) Sweet Medicine is strong and self-assured. You will be hearing a lot about and from her in years to come.

To the black women everywhere who tweeted about their depression, wrote about it, and supported others who have it. There is a lot of stigma attached to mental illness and for black communities, it is one of the things many don’t talk about, and if they do it falls woefully short of anything like true support for sufferers. Thankfully, there’s more awareness lately. To those women who have shared their stories publicly, and to Bassey Ikpi and Sitawa Wafula who have made it their life’s work to create awareness and break down stigma through their mental health advocacy – thank you. The conversations are happening, finally, and for that we can be grateful.

A list featuring examples of great women this year would also be incomplete if we didn’t talk about beauty. Earlier in the year the folks at un-ruly.com talked to a few Parisiennes and their thoughts on black women’s beauty in France. What is pretty in Paris? According to them it is a natural, at peace look. French cool.

So what is beautiful, overall? Because you can look outwardly calm and beautiful but harbour so much rage and confusion. Sometimes we see examples of women who could not hide inner torments. We know what this looks like. Self-love and appreciation, self-care—is beautiful. When we aren’t loving ourselves enough, it shows, and it shows up in terrible ways and at great cost to ourselves and even others. Practicing self-love and self-care is an achievement, and for that I salute Gabrielle Perry for the words of wisdom she has shared with all of us. Let’s all get to that place of healing, and we can start by seeing ourselves as human. When we put ourselves first and declare that we will also just be, whether weak, somewhere in the middle, or strong, it is powerful. Love yourself and be proud, of each kind of emotion and completely human action.

Michaela Coel’s character Tracey in Chewing Gum (written and adapted for the screen by Coel from her play Chewing Gum Dreams) is absolutely my favorite comedy this year. She’s just completely outrageous, just not your stereotypical clean-cut must be loved at all costs and from all angles character (because that’s who we need to be as black women, natch). I love this broken mould. Thanks Michaela!

Big ups to Lola Shoneyin who runs and tirelessly organizes one of the most enviable arts festivals on the continent, the Ake Arts and Book Festival in Abeokuta, Nigeria. Yes, an African woman started a literary festival where you can also get into theatre, art, music and film, and it is attracting the cream of the crop artists and writers each year. Since the inaugural 2013 event, it seems to have grown by leaps and bounds

Cheers to Chinelo Okparanta and Akwaeke Emezi, Siza Mzimela, Irenosen Okojie, Jojo Abot, Somi, Little Simz, Lady Jay, and so many more.

And we’d be remiss not to mention our sisters across the seas, like Viola Davis. Oh my. This woman. When she first came into my view as the mother in Doubt I thought now why can’t we see more of her? Why, why, why. I know why, but still, why? So we had to wait and wade through roles in The Help and others. Which was fine, she was working damn hard and still delivering beautiful performances, and she was already a two-time Tony award winner, and also a SAG winner. But we wanted more. So we waited and prayed. And this year the angels sang and there were trumpets and lo and behold we got to see her in a lead role in How To Get Away With Murder. And she won an Emmy for it, best actress in a drama series. Hallelujah praise Black Jesus amen. Can I get an amen?

Serena Williams, the greatest tennis player ever. Currently ranked Number One and celebrated this year for five titles, she ended the year with a third year-end Number one finish in a row, which hasn’t been done by any player in 25 years. As one famous Serena balladeer once said, “put that in your Internet, put that in your Twitter right there.”

Taraji P. Henson couldn’t have had a better year. Honestly, if you didn’t fall in love with her as Cookie on Empire, and if as a dedicated follower of fashion you didn’t love pretty much everything Cookie wore post-incarceration it would be very difficult for me to take you seriously.

Claudia Rankine. The poet on everybody’s lips, even at a Trump rally (and one of the best Serena Williams essay writers ever). For her most recent book Citizen: An American Lyric, she was awarded the National Book Critics Circle Award for poetry in the US, and also the Forward Prize for Poetry in the UK.
These are just some, just a very few of the most incredible women on the planet. There are so many, so create your own lists, get the conversation going. Get cracking and add your own faves, and show them the love they deserve. Right now. Remember to add yourself as well. Be the achiever you want to be in your own eyes.

>via: http://afripopmag.com/2015/12/14/african-womens-achievements-in-2015-still-we-rise/

AUDIO: She survived hunger and homelessness. Then she had to figure out her identity.

December 08, 2015

She survived hunger

and homelessness.

Then she had to

figure out

her identity.

Fatuma Ibrahim at her high school graduation in August 2015
Credit: Jeb Sharp

Fatuma Ibrahim doesn’t remember anything good about life in Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya. The 19-year-old was born there after her family fled the civil war in Somalia.

Listen to the story >download

“I remember poverty, feeling really hungry and eating from the floor,” she told me when we met for the first time. “And going to school just for the food.”

She would hide the cookie she got for showing up at school under her shirt on the way home so the older kids wouldn’t steal it from her. Then she’d split it with her little sister.

“It tasted really good. When you don’t have any food, everything tastes good.”

Fatuma spent the first eight years of her life in the refugee camp. Then, in 2004, her family was resettled in the US.

Not surprisingly, her first memories of America also revolve around food.

“I remember eating chicken for the first time,” she said. “I remember the feeling. I remember what it smelled like.”

Resettlement hassles

The family started out in an apartment in Lynn, Massachusetts, north of Boston. Her father found a job as a dishwasher. Fatuma and her siblings went to school. A couple years went by.

But then, for reasons Fatuma doesn’t entirely understand, her parents could no longer afford the rent. She remembers driving around in the car, going into offices, watching her parents sign papers.

“I remember my Dad saying, ‘I have my kids in the car. We don’t know where to go.’”

They lived in a hotel for a while. Then they were sent to a shelter in Holyoke, in western Massachusetts. Each move meant a new school for Fatuma.

“It was kind of good because I didn’t have any friends,” she said. “I didn’t speak at all, so moving was just like a new start for me, every time. I was just looking for something: To not be shy, or to have some friends.”

After a few months in Holyoke, the family moved to a new shelter in Boston. Fatuma started middle school.

Saida Abdi got to know Fatuma and her family during this period. She is a social worker with the Refugee Trauma and Resilience Center at Boston Children’s Hospital and originally from Somalia herself. At the time she was running a group for Somali girls at Fatuma’s school. She could tell Fatuma was hurting.

“Imagine this family,” she said. “They came here looking for permanency, looking for safety. They find that they have a house, the kids are going to school, there is this sort of moment of hope, but then all that gets yanked away and now you’re being thrown from one city to another to another, four cities within a few months. That takes away the sense of safety and can become a trigger for all that has gone past.”

Helping the family find permanent housing became an urgent priority.

But there were other issues as well. Fatuma was starting to struggle with her identity.

The first decision Fatuma had to make at her new school was whether to dress “Somalian” or “American.” She agonized over whether to wear a skirt or pants, a headscarf or no headscarf.

She opted for a skirt and headscarf. That felt right at first. She was placed in a class with other kids from her particular Somali Bantu ethnic group. But then she tested out of that class, and into a hostile one.

“Nobody wanted to sit next to me,” she recalled. “I stood out from people, I guess. They would always pick on me. It would be boys and everyone else would laugh. I skipped a lot because of that. I hated school because of that. It made me hate it because of the bullying.”

“We don’t do mental health”

The kinds of problems Fatuma was experiencing were familiar to Heidi Ellis, the director of the Refugee Trauma and Resilience Center at Boston Children’s Hospital.

She started working with refugees almost by accident, 15 years ago. She was an intern in psychiatry at Boston Medical Center. She started seeing a lot of Somali boys being referred for mental health evaluations because they were acting out in school.

When she started talking to them, she realized they had incredible trauma histories, both from the war back home and from the violent streets they were encountering here in Boston.

Ellis got curious. She secured some research funding, and started studying Somali youth. Two-thirds of the kids she interviewed had significant PTSD symptoms. And hardly any of them had sought or received any kind of mental health service.

Her colleague Saida Abdi understood why.

“When people are not of this culture they don’t understand the cultural context,” she told me.

“They expect you to come and talk, and that makes no sense in my culture. Why would I go and talk to someone who has no idea where I come from? We do religion and we do culture, but we don’t do mental health. We don’t say ‘depression.’”

Instead, Somali families went to community leaders. So Ellis and her colleagues started working with those leaders to create services that made more sense.

“We needed to hear from those community leaders what they thought we needed,” she said. “To bring them in as central partners to building the program, so at the end of the day they would want kids using the program.”

“We also realized we couldn’t start with the mental health problem,” Ellis continued. “We needed to start before that. We needed to start with skills building, and addressing what family and community leaders were pointing to as the real problem, which is that our kids are coming here and trying to acculturate to a whole new world and they need the skills to do it. That stress of what it means to be in a family of one culture and go to school in another is central to the problems that we’re seeing.”

Ellis found that the more trauma the kids had experienced, the more PTSD symptoms they showed. But she discovered something else startling. The discrimination the kids felt here in the US was as powerful a predictor of PTSD symptoms as their trauma history was.

“We couldn’t change the trauma, which for the most part they’d experienced before coming here,” she told me. “But the discrimination was happening in our own communities on a day-to-day basis. So we built into our program work with the schools around school climate and how could we make the kids feel like they were a genuine, valued part of our communities here.”

“I wanted to change into a new person”

By the time she reached high school, Fatuma was tired of feeling different. All she wanted was to fit in. So she decided to dress American, and start wearing pants to school.

“And my parents didn’t like that at all,” she said. “They were never OK with me dressing American. Whenever I came home I had to wear my scarf or whatever. I felt the pressure. And then I started hanging out with people … different … bad kids.”

At school, Fatuma started lying about who she was.

“No one knew that I was Muslim,” she said. “I didn’t know what to tell people I was. I couldn’t tell them that I was Somalian. I couldn’t tell them that I was Muslim. I was like oh I’m this, I’m that. But I was not that. I was only telling them that because of the reactions that I got from middle school. When I came to high school I wanted to change into a new person.”

But it backfired. Lying made her miserable. She lost friends. One day a teacher asked if she was OK. She said no, that she hated life and wished she were dead. Fatuma was hospitalized with depression, the first of three hospitalizations during her high school years.

It was a terrible period, but also a fruitful one. Fatuma worked with counselors and mentors, and she reconnected with social worker Saida Abdi. Abdi worked with Fatuma, and also with Fatuma’s parents.

Abdi says some of the most important work she does with families is simply explaining to parents that their child is in pain. And that battles over things like clothing can be counterproductive.

“It’s engaging in a fight that you will never win,” Abdi says. “It’s symbolic of a bigger fight, because you’re really fighting about, ‘Is my child still in my culture, does my child still hold the same values as I hold?’”

Abdi calls herself a cultural broker. She translates between Somali culture and American culture, between parents and schools, between parents and their children.

Fatuma credits Abdi with helping her understand her parents, and helping her parents understand their daughter.

“She was able to speak from both sides of being Somalian,” Fatuma said. “Being Somalian in this world, being Somalian in America, and also being American and a teenager.”

Fatuma says she figured out a lot about herself in those years.

“It’s hard because you feel like two different people,” she said. “When I’m with my American friends, I want to dress American. When I’m with my Somalian friends or my family, I want to dress Somalian.”

Gradually she learned to let the two sides of herself coexist. And her parents became more accepting of her need to be American as well as Somali. She stabilized. She finished high school late, but she finished, striding proudly across the stage to collect her diploma. Now she’s applying to college and figuring out her future.

“It’s easier to figure out now, you know? Like it helps a lot to come this far. I’ve overcome a lot. I’m not going to say I’m not still going through it, but now I’m just like, I feel free. I’m at a good state in life and it’s good to say that.”

It’s good to hear it too.

Share your thoughts and ideas on Facebook at our Global Nation Exchange, on Twitter @globalnation, or contact us here.

>via: http://www.pri.org/stories/2015-12-08/she-survived-hunger-and-homelessness-then-she-had-figure-out-her-identity

INFO: Serena Williams is Sportsperson of the Year. Not everyone agrees.

15 December 2015

Serena Williams

is Sportsperson

of the Year.

Not everyone agrees.

Getty Images –
Serena Williams has been named the 2015 Sportsperson of the Year by Sports Illustrated

The choice to give Serena Williams the Sports Illustrated magazine Sportsperson of the Year award has prompted both celebration and contention, with some arguing that the prize had a more deserving victor: racehorse American Pharaoh.

Williams posted the cover on her Instagram, writing, “This year was spectacular for me. For Sports Illustrated to recognize my hard work, my dedication, and my sheer determination gives me hope to continue on and do better.”

The award was seen by many as a welcome celebration of both Williams’ impressive career, and as an achievement for women and people of colour in the sport.

“#Serena won 53 of 56 matches this year, was ranked no. 1 every week. Grand Slam run aside, best year of her career at 34,” wrote one user.

It is the first time an individual woman has been given the title since Mary Decker in 1983. Since its creation in 1954, Williams is the third woman to win it alone, and the only black woman to gain the title.

Image copyrightSports Illustrated
– Williams is the first black woman to win the award

However, not everyone was happy with the results. Horse racing fans pointed to a readers’ poll created by Sports Illustrated, where the racehorse American Pharaoh, who was the first American Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978, had taken first place.

Brian Zipse, editor of Horse Racing Nation tweeted, “Very disappointed to see Sports Illustrated editors ignored the fans vote, and chose Serena Williams over American Pharaoh”.

Another twitter user wrote “American Pharaoh overwhelmingly won online poll and yet you pick someone else? What a joke.”

These claims were met with confusion by many others on social media. One user wrote: “My bad. Since when did the definition of a ‘person’ constitute having four legs and cannot talk? #Serena.”

Another said: “Only a black woman could achieve a 53-3 record in a calendar year at the highest level of sports and have her greatness doubted.”

The award has been given jointly and to entire teams, and has occasionally been awarded to coaches or to athletes to honour their achievements off the pitch – but it has never been given to a horse or any other animal. Courtney Nguyen, former Sports Illustrated writer and journalist for the Women’s Tennis Association, says the decision has to be a subjective one.

“There’s a knee jerk reaction to look at stats. People try to compare apples and oranges, how does she compare to a horse? How does she compare to a basketball player? Or even [current top-ranked male tennis player Novak] Djokovic? There are just so many things that speak to her as an athlete that numbers don’t necessarily capture.”

Journalist Jessica Luther says the controversy is part of the racism and sexism that has shadowed Williams’ career.

“She’s a black woman comfortable in her own body that is playing a sport that is famously white,” Luther told BBC Trending. Williams was able to defy her critics not only by winning the title, but by choosing the way she appeared on the cover.

“She chooses to sit on a throne, looking directly at us, and you can see the definition and power of her body. But she’s also a woman, and specifically a black woman. She controlled the shoot, and knowing the history of the criticism of her and her body, I think that’s really powerful.”

Blog by Olivia Lace-Evans

>via: http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-35077124

POV: The struggle for Afrodescendant rights

December 13, 2015

The struggle for

Afrodescendant

rights

Image via tumblr

In the short span since its inception, the Latin American Afrodescendant movement has had an extraordinary impact on the formulation of anti-racism policy in Latin America and beyond. Its origins date back to the December 2000 “Latin American Regional Conference Against Racism in Santiago de Chile,” convened to articulate the region’s agenda in advance of the World Conference against Racism to be held in Durban, South Africa the following year.

It was at the Santiago Conference that the category “Afrodescendant” was coined and obtained regional endorsement. The term identified people born in Latin America whose ethnic ancestors were Africans, and who face economic, political and cultural exclusion and inequality. This new category allowed an international movement to emerge and demand recognition and protection of collective economic, political and cultural rights.

In response, Latin American governments and international institutions have introduced a remarkable number of anti-racist policies that acknowledge Afrodescendants and attempt to address their specific needs. To this end, almost every country in the region has adopted significant constitutional reforms. Some countries – like Brazil, Ecuador, Uruguay, Peru and Colombia – have gone further, taking steps to put these principles in practice by creating affirmative action policies, specialized anti-racism institutions and school curricula.

A recent symposium at Harvard University took advantage of the 15th anniversary of the Santiago Conference to reflect on the achievements, lessons and challenges of the Afrodescendant movement. In terms of the former, participants took stock of the organizational, institutional and normative transformations that have taken place since the year 2000.

Referring to challenges, the conversation–between representatives of governments, funders and activists–focused on the existence of ideological disagreements between the so called “left-” and “right-wing” branches of the movement, especially on the issue of building alliances with governments, intergovernmental entities and funding agencies. Participants also dedicated time to exploring how governments and human rights agencies are addressing the Afrodescendants’ continued situation of social inequality. This included a discussion of the current funding allocation practices of multilateral and donor agencies.

Concerns were raised that the lack of proper and effective access to financial resources is debilitating the movement. Finally, the Symposium facilitated a fertile dialogue on movement leadership models. In particular, it is worth highlighting the presentation made by the delegation from Cuba, a newcomer to the movement, recounting a fascinating experience of grassroots social mobilization and leadership in the absence of support from domestic and international public and private agencies.

The Harvard Symposium represented the first meeting of its kind in that Afrodescendant leaders and policy makers convened to engage in a well-rounded and focused reflection on the movement itself. By facilitating this kind of dialogue between a wide-range of actors, this meeting opened up a conversation grounded in real life problems.

This conversation will continue next year at a second meeting, to be held at the University of Cartagena de Indias in Colombia. The Cartagena meeting will invite activists and scholars to explore policy strategies that respond to some of the challenges identified at the Harvard Symposium.

*“Afrodescendants: Fifteen Years after Santiago. Achievements and Challenges” took place from December 4th to 5th at the Afro-Latin American Research Institute of the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research at Harvard University.

>via: http://africasacountry.com/2015/12/the-struggle-for-afrodescendant-rights-in-latin-america/

PUB: Call for Submissions: New British Virgin Islands Poetry Anthology, “Where I See the Sun”

Call for Submissions:

New British Virgin Islands

Poetry Anthology,

“Where I See the Sun”

There is a call for submissions out for “All poets and spoken word artists from the [British] Virgin Islands (Tortola, Virgin Gorda, Anegada, Jost Van Dyke), including those studying or living abroad, to submit up to five poems” for a new poetry book to be published in St. Martin by House of Nehesi Publishers (HNP). The submission deadline is February 19, 2016. For publishing guidelines see links at the end of this post.

Description (House of Nehesi Publishers):

“Where I See The Sun – Contemporary Poetry in the Virgin Islands” is the working title for the planned book. Various subjects and writings styles are encouraged, said HNP president Jacqueline Sample. The submission deadline is February 19, 2016.

“HNP is working with Dr. Patricia Turnbull, author and senior lecturer at H. Lavity Stoutt Community College in Tortola, to widen the outreach about the planned book throughout Tortola, Virgin Gorda, Anegada, and Jost Van Dyke,” said Sample.

Dr. Turnbull’s expertise is key to the book project’s coordination in the Virgin Islands and how the best poems will be selected, said Sample. According to the “Call for Poetry” guidelines, “Judging is anonymous, all poems submitted will be forwarded to the editorial board or committee without names for critical review and selection.”

“The idea is to realize a literary volume of critical import, hopefully to add useful content alongside works that are representative of the Virgin Islands people,” said Lasana M. Sekou, projects director at HNP. “We’re confident that the collected poems will be representative of the nation’s literary activities that are alive and have long been determined to grow original pathways – whether institutionally acknowledged as such or widely known or not,” said Sekou.

“The Virgin Islands literary landscape includes the late great poet Alphaeus Osario Norman (1885-1942), senior educator and short story author Jennie Wheatley, and bibliographer and author Verna Penn Moll. The poet April Glasgow and literary critic Dr. Richard Georges are among important modern voices. The new generation public recitals such as Microphone Messenjahs and BVI Poetry Slam are definitely stirring up the poetry field in unique and sometimes challenging ways,” said Sekou.

HNP is hoping that young and senior poets, spoken word artists, including rappers, those published and unpublished, will see the new book project as an exciting opportunity for publication. Among the well-known poets published by HNP are Kamau Brathwaite (Barbados), Amiri Baraka (USA), Marion Bethel (The Bahamas), Nidaa Khoury (Israel/Palestine), Charles Matz (USA), Drisana Deborah Jack (St. Martin), Chiqui Vicioso (Dominican Rep.), and Tishani Doshi (India).

Sekou is the editor of Where I See The Sun – Contemporary Poetry in St. Martin (2013) and Where I See The Sun – Contemporary Poetry in Anguilla (2015).

The publishing guidelines for the new anthology are found at HNP’s FB page at http://on.fb.me/1P0T7cy, or can be requested at houseofnehesipublish@gmail.com.

>via: http://repeatingislands.com/2015/12/14/call-for-submissions-new-british-virgin-islands-poetry-anthology-where-i-see-the-sun/