International Sweek Campaign: #HerStory
- Alpha Wolf
- Mar 10, 2018
- 4 min read
Everyone should be able to be who they want to be, speak their mind and pursue their purpose in life. Yet many women from all over the world are still denied this freedom and we stand with them. We stand to inspire them to tell their story. To admire their strength. To make sure that they are not alone in this. To show the world that we seek change. To strive for equality.
International Women’s Day 2018 gives us the perfect opportunity to stand together through the power of storytelling. We invite you to write a story with a female protagonist – even if you’re male! It’s all about solidarity.
From 28th of February until 15th of April, we’re collecting stories of women, their achievements, strength, obstacles, courage or just their daily lives, on Sweek, an international platform for reading, writing and sharing stories.
Your story can be on any topic, as long as it meets two rules:
1) the protagonist is female and
2) the story does not exceed 5,000 words (both prose and poetry, fiction and nonfiction are allowed).
We want to encourage you to think critically about the role of women in our society, or you can simply write a story to tribute them. If you want to share your input for a better world, you can write about some of the main issues that need to be addressed nowadays:
*Gender inequality
*The stereotypical division of domestic labour
*Violence against women and sexual harassment
*The Glass Ceiling (discrimination at a workplace)
*Image of women created by media.
These are just some examples, the topic is open! Or what about a superwoman who will change the world?
Together with our partners and ambassadors, we will put together a jury to select 10 best stories in English. They will be bundled and published via Sweek self-publishing as well as will receive a free copy of the e-book from us.
Next to that, you will be able to contribute to the cause directly, as we are going to donate at least €1,00 per copy sold (e-book and paperback) to one of the global organisations supporting women. The finalists will be free to choose one non-profit to donate to (from Malala Fund, UN Women and Mama Cash).
Also, our Indian partners will publish many of these stories on their respective platforms!
HOW TO JOIN
Step 1: Download the Sweek app or use our website:
Website: https://sweek.com/
Android app: http://bit.ly/SweekforAndroid
iOS app: http://bit.ly/SweekforiOS
Step 2: Create an account or log in.
Step 3: Upload your story by going to ‘My stories’ and ‘Start a new story’.
Step 4: Publish your story with the tag #herstory in the tags section in Story Details.
DURATION
Submissions close: 15th of April (23:59 CET)
Top 10 announcement: 24th of May
CONTEST SUMMARY
– Join until 15/04/2018
– All genres; poetry and prose; fiction and nonfiction
– The story can be maximum 5,000 words (can be less!)
– Top 10 stories will be bundled and published via Sweek self-publishing as well as will receive a free copy of the e-book.
– Global; jury members available in the following languages: English, Dutch, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Polish and Turkish
PARTNERS, AMBASSADORS AND JURY MEMBERS
This campaign is supported by organisations and people on a mission to change lives.
Partners (More partners will be added during the contest!)
INDIA
Being Feminist
Being Feminist is a vibrant forum that allows an engaged and spirited dialogue between feminists ascribing to various strands of feminism. Feminists from nations all over the world, of many races, ethnicities and ages come together to talk about the pressing and contentious issues within the women’s movement.
Women’s Planet
Women’s Planet is an open space where any and every woman can express, explore and share her ideas. They want to educate, empower and entertain women and are on online community and a charitable trust that wants to make the planet worth living.
The Art Galore
The Art Galore intends to provide people with a platform to promote the art and artists of all forms. Arts, Literature, Travel, Cinema and lot more.
Brand Ambassadors
AWARE
AWARE provides information, training as well as support for people, mainly women, how to cope with violence.
Make sure you check them out! More information about the partners, jury members and brand ambassadors will be released soon.
RULES
– We have teams of jury members for the stories in English, Dutch, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Polish and Turkish but you can write in any language.
– Stories should always be respectful towards everyone, regardless of gender, religion, sexual orientation and race.
– Your story and your behavior during the contest should meet the Sweek community guidelines. No spamming and disrespectful comments allowed. If you break any of the community rules, your story will be disqualified and your account might get blocked.
– You need to be 13 years or older to participate. Younger participants need their parents’ permission
– There are no genre or topic restrictions. Prose and poetry. Fiction and nonfiction. But the story cannot have more than 5,000 words.
– The story does not have to be exclusive, meaning you can have it published somewhere else. Of course, the story should be yours, no plagiarism is allowed.
– Stories that have been previously published on Sweek can join the competition as well, just make sure you added the #herstory tag.
– If you do not want your story to be bundled or featured on the partner’s website – let us know. Authors in the bundle will receive a free e-book but will not receive any royalties for sold copies. The proceeds will be used to cover only a part of the competition costs and for the donation to one of the following organisations: Malala Fund, UN Women or Mama Cash.
We look forward to reading Her Story!
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