Submissions are now open for the Nationwide Essay and Social Poster Competition “I Hear You: Supporting a Peer Under Occupation”. The competition aims to allow teenagers to express solidarity with their peers living in temporarily occupied territories — to offer words of support to those who remain unseen, yet not forgotten.

Students in grades 8–11 from general secondary schools, vocational and pre-tertiary institutions, art schools, clubs, and other extracurricular educational institutions are eligible to participate.

The competition is divided into two categories: Essay and Social Poster. Participants are invited to write an essay or create a poster that expresses their support for peers living under occupation and reflects their vision of life in such conditions.

To participate, applicants must:

– review the competition guidelines;

– create a submission in accordance with the specified requirements;

– fill out the participant Google Form and attach the file with their entry;

– share information about the competition and the lives of children under occupation within their community.

Submissions are accepted until 30 June 2025. The winners will be announced by 1 September.

Details and participation guidelines are available at: https://cutt.ly/wrc1l2bn

The competition is organized by the Almenda Centre for Civic Education as part of the project “Protecting Childhood: Justice and Reintegration for Children from Temporarily Occupied Territories.” The project is implemented with financial support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic under the Transition Promotion Program, and with the assistance of the Mission of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine, the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, and other partners.