When women are not safe on the streets or in their homes, their potential – including their economic potential – is limited. And that in turn limits the potential of countries to grow and develop. Recent events, including the brutal gang rape and murder of a young woman in New Delhi in December, have ignited public awareness of sexual assault and other forms of gender-based violence that affect women and girls in both the public and private spheres.
Experts from across South Asia will discuss these issues at a panel at the World Bank’s Spring Meetings in April. To inform these discussions, the Bank is sponsoring a contest for youth, ages 18-25, living in South Asia. We want to hear your best ideas in response to the question "What Will It Take to End Gender-Based Violence in Your Country?"
Entries will be in the form of SMS (text messages). These may be up to 140 characters long, including spaces. Messages may be in English or a national language of your country. Submit them by SMS to one of the numbers below, by email to nogenderviolence@worldbank.org, or by postal mail to one of the addresses below. Please include your full name, age, phone number, and email address, if you have one.
Or, to submit entries via Twitter, use the hashtag #endgbv to @worldbanksasia. We will message you through Twitter if your entry is selected as a winner.
Entries must be received by 12:00 a.m. GMT on Friday, March 15. They will be judged by a panel of World Bank experts, and winners will be announced before the Spring Meetings in April.
Prizes: Up to 10 winners will receive a compact video camcorder. In addition, the winning messages may be highlighted at the World Bank’s Spring Meetings in Washington, D.C., as well as on the Bank’s website and social media channels.
Details: The contest is open to people 18-25 years old as of March 15, 2013, who live in one of the following countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, or Sri Lanka. Staff and consultants of the World Bank Group and their family members are not eligible. Entries become the property of the World Bank Group and may be reused or published, with or without credit, in any format. The Bank reserves the right to award fewer than 10 prizes, or no prizes, if in its sole judgment there are not enough qualified entries.
Phone numbers and addresses for submissions:
Afghanistan: Text to: +93 (0) 796 050 125
Bangladesh: Text to: +88 01823070253
Or mail to: Plot E 32, Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, Agargaon, Dhaka 1207, Bangladesh
India: Text to: +91 9891699927
Or mail to: World Bank, GBV Contest, 70, Lodi Estate, New Delhi - 110003
Nepal: Text to: 5455
Or mail to: P.O. Box 798, Kathmandu, Nepal
Pakistan: Text to: +92 0345-8568-102
Or mail to: EXT, 20-A Shahrah-e-Jamhuriat, G-5/1, Islamabad, Pakistan
Sri Lanka: Text to: +94 777256076
Or mail to: 73/5, Galle Road, Colombo 3, Sri Lanka
View the call for entries in other languages:
Bangla | Dari | Hindi | Nepali | Pashto | Sinhala | Tamil | Urdu
