JIS Heritage Competition Marks 16th Staging

The Jamaica Information Service (JIS) will once again celebrate the nation’s heritage through its annual Heritage Competition, now in its 16th staging.

This year’s observance holds added significance, as it coincides with the organisation’s commemoration of 25 years as an Executive Agency.

The dual milestone underscores the JIS’s enduring commitment to fostering national pride, cultural preservation and creative expression among Jamaicans of all ages.

This year’s competition will centre on the theme ‘Our Heritage Endures: Resilient Through Trials – The Story of Jamaica’.

The competition will run from September 16 to October 31, offering students at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels an opportunity to showcase their creativity, cultural pride and resilience.

“We want the students to look at the entire national experience – the history, the culture, our achievements, goals, dreams, challenges, setbacks, how we have responded, and the ways in which we continue to write the Jamaica story. “Ours is an experience that is well-storied, and this competition presents a unique opportunity for participants to tell it in their own voice through written pieces, posters, photography and our newest category – video reels,” JIS Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Giovanni Dennis, explained.

Commenting on the introduction of the video reels component, Mr. Dennis noted that, in keeping with the Agency’s thrust to maintain its relevance as a modern communications organisation, the decision was taken to expand the competition categories to accommodate nationally relevant expressions shared through digital platforms.

“The People’s Choice Awards have also been initiated because of our desire to have the public become involved in the process of determining the best of what Jamaica has to offer,” the CEO added.

The JIS 2026 Heritage Competition will feature four categories designed to engage participants across age groups and educational levels.

At the primary level, students aged nine to 12 will compete in the Essay category, responding to the theme ‘Explain which aspect of the Jamaican experience you think best shows our ability to persevere’.

Secondary-school students will participate in the Poster category, with options for illustrated or graphic submissions across grades seven to nine and grades 10 to 13.

Secondary and tertiary students will be eligible for the Photo category, while the newly introduced Reels category will open participation to all ages, encouraging creative interpretations of the theme through reels.

Essays should be between 400 and 500 words in length.

Entries will be judged based on relevance to the theme, originality, accuracy and analysis of research, writing style, and language proficiency.

Submissions should include a title page and a bibliography or list of references. Students are required to use at least one JIS source as a reference and submit their entries using the application form available on the agency’s website: www.jis.gov.jm.

For the graphics or illustrations poster depicting the topic – ‘Our Heritage Endures: Resilient Through Trials – The Story of Jamaica’, entries should be no larger than 11 inches x 17 inches (landscape or portrait) and include no other image but those provided on the JIS website through Dropbox.

All pieces must be submitted by filling out the entry form on the website.

Entrants in the poster illustrated category are required to print and submit the completed entry form along with their posters to the JIS Head Office in Kingston, the Regional Office in Montego Bay, St. James, or the Morant Bay Regional Office in St. Thomas.

For the Photography category, students will be required to submit a photographic interpretation based on the theme, ‘Our Heritage Endures: Resilient Through Trials – The Story of Jamaica’.

Photographs will be judged based on their interpretation of the theme, originality, composition, technical quality and overall impact.

Entries should be submitted via a cloud storage service, such as Dropbox, OneDrive or Google Drive.

Entrants must indicate the name of their institution and their area of study.

For the newly introduced Reels category, videos must be submitted using the application form available at www.jis.gov.jm.

Entrants must also agree to the competition’s Terms and Conditions.

A cloud storage link (for example, Dropbox, OneDrive or Google Drive) should be provided for the video in the space provided.

Entrants must ensure that the submitted video link is accessible and does not require special permission for viewing.

A special Heritage Preservation Award will also be presented to the top-three schools whose finalists best demonstrate the connection between legacy and responsibility, while issuing a call to action for the preservation of Jamaica’s cultural heritage.

As is customary in observance of Heritage Month, the JIS will conduct a series of Heritage School Tours in October, visiting institutions across the island to engage students in discussions about heritage and resilience, while encouraging participation in the competition.

The JIS reserves the right to disqualify any entry that does not meet the requirements specified in the competition guidelines posted on the Agency’s website.

Students will be penalised for plagiarism.

Prizes will be awarded to the top-three participants in each category of the competition, courtesy of sponsorship support.

This year’s sponsors include Franklyn D. Resort, the Jamaica Observer, the National Housing Trust, and Sandals Resorts International, among others.
Participants are encouraged to retain copies of their entries.

All submissions become the property of the JIS, and relatives of the agency’s staff members are not eligible to participate in the competition.

The deadline for the submission of entries in all four categories of the competition is Saturday October 31, 2026.

For further details, persons are encouraged to contact the JIS at 876-926-3590-4, Ext. 2132, or via email at heritagephoto@jis.gov.jm, heritageposter@jis.gov.jm, heritagereel@jis.gov.jm or heritageessay@jis.gov.jm.

Additional information is available on the JIS website at www.jis.gov.jm.