The Mighty Pen
Tempus International Announces the Launch of its 2009 “The Mighty Pen” Writing Competition in Nepal
April 24, 2009
Toronto, Canada
Tempus International is pleased to announce it will be hosting its third bi-annual “The Mighty Pen” writing competition for youth in Nepal in August and September, 2009. It is expected that over 15,000 students will participate from 30 rural regions in Nepal. The original contest held in 2005 attracted 1,000 participants, who submitted original pieces of writing for a nation-wide competition. The success of the competition was demonstrated once again two years later, when the second contest in 2007 saw more than 13,000 participants from rural regions across Nepal.
“The 2009 contest is already shaping up to be our biggest and most successful yet” stated Bonnie Shepherd, Executive Director of the Toronto-based charity. “We look forward to engaging as many youth as possible to participate in this great literacy opportunity, and will once again be honoring the national winners at our awards ceremony in Kathamandu in January of 2010. We wish the best of luck to all contest participants, and look forward to celebrating your outstanding achievements!”
Tempus International, a Canadian NGO founded in 2003, facilitates the bi-annual writing competition for youth from 25 rural regions across Nepal. To address the low levels of literacy, and the lack of children’s literature in Nepal, the contest participants wrote short stories to be published into a Nepalese children’s book. From the thousands of submitted written entries, a panel of community leaders will select the eighteen exceptional winners (nine girls and nine boys from three different age categories). The winners are then invited to attend The Mighty Pen’s award ceremony in Kathamandu with all of their travel expenses covered by Tempus International, who also awards the students a tuition scholarship to support their continued pursuit of education.
In a final testament to their achievement, the student’s combined works will be published into a children’s book, which will help grow the children’s literature sections in the libraries and schools across Nepal, with over 2,000 copies being distributed to the rural regions. Spearheading The Mighty Pen contest in Nepal once again with be Tempus International’s country director, Kushum Maharjan. Stay tuned for competition updates and the 2009 contest winners announcement later this fall.
About Tempus International
Tempus International is an award-winning Canadian-based charity that works to promote sustainable development by organizing literacy and education projects that provide opportunities for underprivileged youth to get ahead in life. They are a volunteer based organization, and their bi-annual writing competition in Nepal is now known as “The Mighty Pen”. To make a contribution to support Tempus’s initiatives, click here.
