JIS Launches Heritage Photo Competition

The Jamaica Information Service (JIS) has launched its inaugural Heritage Photo Competition, under the theme, ‘I am a Sports Champion’.

Students attending tertiary-level institutions are invited to submit entries depicting the theme.

The photo competition will complement the agency’s highly successful annual Heritage Essay and Poster Competitions. All three competitions will be open for submissions on Monday, September 5 and will close on Sunday, November 6.

Special Projects Manager and Chair of the Planning Committee, Andrine Davidson, explained that with this being an Olympic year when the interest in various sports is high, it is a fitting time to launch the competition.

“Our sportsmen and women have, over decades, performed outstandingly and their names and achievements are known all over the world.  For the inaugural Heritage Photo Competition we are asking photo enthusiasts to seek out and capture images of champions in the making and great sporting moments at the community, club or other levels.  We want the images to reflect the spirit and strength of Jamaica’s potential and prowess in sports,” Mrs. Davidson said.

Entrants are advised to pay attention to the local sports calendar over the coming weeks, with a view to shooting exciting photographs of sporting champions in action in any field.

Photographs submitted will be adjudged on interpretation of the topic, originality, composition, technique and impact. Any registered tertiary-level student attending an accredited Jamaican institution is eligible to submit an entry. Photo should be submitted using a cloud storage service, such as Dropbox, OneDrive (SkyDrive) or Google Drive. Entrants must indicate the name of the institution and area of study being pursued.

Entries for the Heritage Poster Competition may be submitted in one of two categories – graphic designs and illustrations. Posters will be judged on interpretation of the topic, originality, creativity, artistry and presentation. They must be no larger than 11 inches by 17 inches, and done in landscape or portrait orientation. Topic for the poster competition is ‘Jamaica’s Rich Sporting Heritage’.

Graphic posters should include no other image but those provided on the JIS website through Dropbox, and all pieces must be submitted by filling out the entry form on the website: www.jis.gov.jm.

Students entering the graphic category are being asked to submit their posters using a cloud storage service such as Dropbox, OneDrive (SkyDrive) or Google Drive. Illustrations, however, should be mailed or dropped off at the JIS Head Office located at 58a Half-Way Tree Road, or the Montego Bay Office located at the National Housing Trust building, 2nd Floor, 42 B-C Union Street, Montego Bay, St. James.

Meanwhile, the sixth staging of the agency’s Heritage Essay Competition will require primary-level students from nine to 12 years old to write an original essay on this year’s topic, ‘Who is Your Favourite Jamaican Sportsman or Sportswoman and Why?’. The essay competition requires the child to write a 400-500-word piece, which will be judged on relevance to the topic, originality, accuracy and analysis of research data, writing style and language skills. Essay submission should also include the Title page and Bibliography or List of References. At least one of the references must be a JIS source.

Relatives of JIS staff members are not eligible to participate, and students entering the competitions should ensure that they keep a copy of their work.

For further details, persons are being asked to contact Christine Ade-Gold at the JIS or by calling at 926-3590-4 Ext. 2137/2132, email: heritagephoto@jis.gov.jm  or heritageposter@jis.gov.jm  or heritageessay@jis.gov.jm.