The Splendors of Dawn Poetry Foundation has released the list of its first stage qualifiers of the Splendors of Dawn Poetry and Short-Short Story Competition, the November 2023-January 2024 edition. The competition commenced call for entry in November 2023 had over 15 entries, and has gone through scrutinisation from its judge for the quarter.
The Judge, Soonest Nathaniel took a deep ride and said “I must begin by commending those who put this initiative together, it’s a poetry project needed in these times. Having said that, I cannot fail to express my disappointment at the level of entries I read, and I am saddened mainly because it’s a failure by people like me to impact knowledge into the younger ones, an anomaly which we surely will fix in no time.”
The competition theme: Next Gen focuses on engaging young Nigerians in the fight against corruption. The theme of the competition calls for poems about innovative ideas, or community initiatives led by youth that promote anti-corruption values, ethics, and awareness. It encourages ideas that empower young people to become agents of change in promoting accountability and transparency within their communities.
Six entries were chosen to move on to the next round of this competition. Below are the winners:
1. GEN-Z; POEM OF HOPE AND NEW BEGINNINGS by Daniel Aôndona
2. GEN-Z- POEM ABOUT THE PHYSICS OF BREATH AND HOPE by Abubakar Auwal
3. ROLLING ON THE FLOOR WITH THE SUN by Mubarak Said
4. PARADIGM SHIFT by Olajuwon Joseph Olumide
5. GOD’S VESSELS by Victor E Obukata
6. REXOX REACTION ALWAYS TAKES PLACE IN MY COUNTRY by Muhammad Ubandoma
All the qualifiers should send in their video entries to splendorsofdawnpf@gmail.com on or before 26 January 2024.
This competition is sponsored by the Center for Information Technology And Development (CITAD) with support from the MacArthur Foundation.
