Submissions for JIS Heritage Competition Extended to November 6

The Jamaica Information Service (JIS) has extended the deadline for the submission of entries for its annual Heritage Competition to Sunday, November 6 at midnight.

Students at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels are being encouraged to take advantage of the opportunity to express their views on Jamaica‘s most outstanding achievements since gaining Independence, through essay and visual arts.

Primary-level students, aged nine to 12, are required to submit an essay explaining ‘Explain what you think is Jamaica’s greatest accomplishment since Independence’. The essay should be between 400 and 500 words. It 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.

Students must use at least one JIS source as reference. Submission must be made using the application form at www.jis.gov.jm.

Secondary-level students, using graphics or illustrations, are required to design a poster depicting the topic ‘Jamaica’s Greatest Accomplishment since Independence”.

Posters 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, www.jis.gov.jm. Entrants in the poster illustrated category should print and deliver the form along with the poster to the JIS Head Office in Kingston or the Regional Office in Montego Bay.

Meanwhile, tertiary students will be required to submit a photographic interpretation, also on the topic ‘Jamaica’s Greatest Accomplishment since Independence’.

Photographs will be judged on understanding of the topic, originality, composition, technique and impact.

Any registered tertiary-level student attending an accredited Jamaican institution is eligible to enter. Photos should be submitted using a cloud storage service such as Dropbox, SkyDrive or Google Drive. Entrants must indicate the name of the institution and area of study being pursued. Prizes will be awarded to the top-three participants in each component of the competition through sponsorship from financial and tertiary institutions, technology companies and bookstores.

The JIS reserves the right to disqualify any entry that does not meet the requirements specified in the guidelines that have been posted on the agency’s website. Students will be penalised for plagiarism. Participants are encouraged to keep copies of their entries.

Submissions become the property of the JIS. Relatives of JIS staff members are not eligible to participate in the competition. For further details, persons are being asked to contact the JIS at 876-926-3590-4, Ext. 2132; email: heritagephoto@jis.gov.jm, heritageposter@jis.gov.jm or heritageessay@jis.gov.jm; or visit the agency’s website at www.jis.gov.jm.