ISWA YPG Pakistan Blog Competition 2021

“Waste Myths, Let’s Debunk Them!”

The International Solid Waste Association (ISWA) Young Professionals Group (YPG) regional group (Pakistan) calls on young professionals and students from Pakistan to create a blog post exploring the existence and consequences of waste myths and taboos in Pakistan to bring awareness and context-specific understanding of the waste and its management. The winner will have their blog published on ISWA’s website and social media channels and will also receive a 1-year ISWA membership. The theme of this year’s competition, ‘Waste Myths, Let’s debunk them!’,  is a challenge for all of us to join the ongoing discussion aimed at improving waste and resource management –  minimize waste generation, improve resilience and unveil excellence of the ground workforce.

This competition fits perfectly with the ISWA YPG’s 2021 flagship project Debunking Waste Myths which is a global campaign to create more understanding and transparency around waste myths that currently make their way in our societies. 

Bloggers are challenged to explore how and which myths in our society are impacting the understanding of individuals and communities and leading to confusion, false information, and discouraging attitude towards waste workers and waste in general. Bloggers are welcome to debunk the local myths and taboos surrounding waste, hence bringing transparency, raising awareness, shedding light on the truth, encouraging positive behavior towards waste.

Entries should be original, engaging, passionate, and no longer than 600 words. Participants can increase their chances of winning by promoting their posts on social media, as the resonance of blogs will be considered by the judges

COMPETITION AWARDS:

1st winner – A one-year individual ISWA membership (worth up to €200), Blog publication on ISWA’s website as well as its social media channels
2nd Winner – Blog publication on ISWA website and certificate of achievement
3rd Winner – Certificate of achievement

IMPORTANT DATES:

Open for Blog submission: 1st May 2021
Blog Submission Deadline: 2nd June 2021
Winner Announcement: 23rd June 2021

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS:

 

  • Entries can be in English or Urdu. Writing should be concise and correct. British or American spelling is accepted if used consistently throughout the post
  • Entrants must be between 18 and 35 years of age
  • Entries must be submitted by the author and not on someone else’s behalf
  • Each entrant may only submit one blog post
  • The blog post must be original
  • All sources must be cited using either APA or Chicago style
  • It is not a requirement to be a member of ISWA. However, participants (especially those who are considering a career in the waste industry) are encouraged to join ISWA to access invaluable benefits and support to progress in their careers
  • It is not a requirement but participants are encouraged to join the ISWA YPG Pakistan chapter, even if they do not have ISWA membership, to grow their network and contribute towards sustainable waste management and behaviour change

HOW TO ENTER THE COMPETITION:

 

To enter the competition, bloggers should:

Write a compelling blog post up to 600 words (excluding citations and figures) on this year’s theme, ‘Waste Myths, Let’s debunk Them’.

Post the blog post on Facebook, your own website, or LinkedIn. Participants MUST do the following:

  • Make sure that the post can be viewed by the public. Follow this link to learn how to make a specific post public on Facebook
  • Include the following text at the end of the post – This blog has been submitted to the 2021 ISWA YPG Pakistan Blog-writing Competition. The ISWA Young Professionals Group (Pakistan) is dedicated to (and coordinated by) young professionals to encourage them to be proactive and support them in building their careers in the waste industry

Use the hashtag #ISWAYPGblog2021, Flagship2021, and #ISWAPakistan

Fill in this form – with:

  1. Blog in a PDF document
  2. Short biography (50 words)
  3. List of links of blog posts
  4. Name
  5. Email
  6. Age
  7. Affiliation
  8. Job
  9. PhotoFor queries send an email to iswapakistan@gmail.com and cc eng.shiza@gmail.com  with the email’s subject: ISWAYPGblog2021_First Name_Last Name

No responsibility is accepted for entries that are disqualified or which are not received for whatever reason.

ASSESSMENT CRITERIA for the selection of the BEST BLOG:

    • Qualified entries will undergo a full process of double-blind assessment
    • The score will be distributed (70% – Reviewers’ scores 30% – Number of shares and likes in the original post(s) shared by the participant, received by the 2nd June 2021)
    • The quality and relevance between the identification of the myth/taboo, impact, and proposal to deal
    • The expression of ideas in a concise and specific manner
    • Decisions from Judges are final

       

    COPYRIGHT, PRIVACY, AND LIABILITY

    Copyright in the blog(s) remains with the authors.
    However, by submitting an entry the entrant gives full rights to ISWA YPG Pakistan for publication and use of the entry on the ISWA and ISWA YPG website or elsewhere in whatever medium, language, performance, broadcast, or form. This license does not preclude the author publishing the blog on their own personal named website or personal named blog pages.
    The ISWA YPG Pakistan reserves the right to reject an entry in its sole discretion if the content of the blog violates the policies of the International Solid Waste Association (ISWA), or, in the sole discretion of ISWA, is inappropriate or unsuitable for publication by ISWA.
    We reserve the right to modify, suspend, cancel, or terminate the competition which shall be notified