Who can enter?
How do you enter?
How will the competition be judged?
Rules

Who can enter?
The competition is open to all matriculated students who are studying at an institute of Higher Education in a member state of the Council of Europe, or who have graduated from such an institute in the last twelve months before 22nd February 2008. All applicants must reside in a member state of the Council of Europe (Click here for a list of these countries).  

How do you enter?
Write your article
The theme of the article is 'Access to Asylum'. The feature must be based on fact - not an opinion piece or commentary.

Refugees is a legal term referring to people who have satisfied the description of a refugee under the 1951 Geneva Convention. The numbers of recognised refugees in Europe have been falling in the last few years.  However, the number of people in Europe in need of protection has not. Therefore, JRS has chosen a theme that does not only refer to refugees recognised by the 1951 Convention, but also those individuals trying to access the European asylum system. Applicants should feel free to interpret 'access to asylum' in this broader sense, for example including forced migrants from outside Europe who escape hunger and destitution, but do not necessarily qualify for legal refugee status.     

The article should not exceed 1200 words.
The article should not have been published previously.
The article can be submitted in any European language. Our judges include native speakers of  English, French, Dutch and German. However, an English translation must also be submitted.
The article should be submitted in the font Times New Roman, the size should be 12pt.

Submit your entry
Your article must be received by JRS Europe by 14:00 hours on 22nd February 2008.

1. Email the following to Elizabeth Underhill See contact details...
   Your article in the original language
   The English language version of the article (if appropriate)
   The completed entry form
     
Receive email confirmation that JRS has received your article
    You will be sent confirmation that we have received your article by email within a few days. If you do not have this
      confirmation by the deadline (22nd February 2008), contact us by telephone.

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How will the competition be judged?
The judges will be looking for:
Relevance to the theme 'Access to Asylum' (more on theme...)
An attempt to investigate the reality of applying for asylum in Europe
Originality of subject

There will be a number of judges making the selection. The top three prize winners will meet them in April. They include experienced journalists working in this area.

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Rules

1. The competition is open to all matriculated students who are studying at an institute of Higher Education in a member state of the Council of Europe, or those who have graduated from such an institute in the last twelve months. All applicants must reside in a member state of the Council of Europe.*  

2. Applicants must be prepared to provide evidence of the above status on request.
3. Applicants should be available to make a trip to Malawi before the 1st October 2008.
4. Articles must not exceed 1200 words.
5. The words must be the sole original work of the applicant.
6. Articles submitted must be previously unpublished.
7. Articles should be written in Times New Roman font, and the size of the font should be 12pt.
8. The articles entered will be judged by an independent panel, comprising of well-known journalists.

9. The articles will be assessed on their relevance to the theme 'Access to Asylum'; their attempt to investigate the reality of the situation of forced migrants in Europe; and the originality of the subject.

10. The panel’s decision is final and may not be appealed.
11. The panel will not enter into any correspondence regarding the judging of the competition.
12. The panel may decide not to award all of the prizes.
13. The panel may decide to award an honorable mention.
14. The panel reserves the right to withdraw an award where an entry does not comply with these rules.
15. There will be no cash prize alternative.
16. Copyright for all competition submissions will be held by JRS.

17. JRS reserve the right not to circulate any article if the content is deemed not to be appropriate. Any decision made by JRS in this regard is final.

18. JRS will provide full travel insurance for those applicants awarded visits to Brussels and/or Malawi; however, JRS cannot be held responsible for the security of any applicant during his or her travel to or from, or stay in, either country. All applicants travel at their own risk.

19. It is free to enter the competition.
20. The article must be submitted by email, fax or post before 14:00 on 22 February 2008.

21. Applicants must ensure that they include their name in full; postal address; email address; and details of the institute at which they are studying or have studied on the entry form. 

22. The emailed article should be accompanied by the following material:
              -the completed entry form;
              -the English translation of the article (if applicable);
               and should be sent to Elizabeth Underhill. See contact details...              

23. Applicants should receive email confirmation that JRS has received their application within a few days of both the electronic version and the hard copy being received. It is the applicants’ responsibility to contact JRS-Europe if they have not received this confirmation by 14:00 hours on 22 February 2008.

* Member States of the Council of Europe: Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzogovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, “The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom.

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