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Ato Afful (right), Managing Director of the Graphic Communications Group Limited, sharing a thought with the contestants. Looking on is Hanna Amoah, the Editor of the Junior Graphic
Ato Afful (right), Managing Director of the Graphic Communications Group Limited, sharing a thought with the contestants. Looking on is Hanna Amoah, the Editor of the Junior Graphic

Junior Graphic Essay Competition reaches final stage

A test has been conducted for 50 students who qualified for the final stage of the Junior Graphic National Essay Competition (JGNEC).

It was undertaken at the regional offices of the Graphic Communications Group Limited (GCGL) across the country.

Ten students who will make the required mark will be chosen for the finals.

The overall best winner will receive GH¢500, a laptop and souvenirs from the sponsors of the competition, while the second and the third winners will take home brand new tablets and GH¢500 each, with the fourth to the 10th winners receiving GH¢300 each and souvenirs.

The students wrote essays on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and child abuse.

Participants

The 50 students who wrote the essay on Wednesday, October 26, 2022 represented eight regions — Greater Accra, Ashanti, Northern, Upper West, Volta, Central, Eastern and Bono.

Eleven students wrote the essay at the Head Office of the GCGL in Accra; three in the Tema office of the company, four each in the Northern and Bono, 16 in Eastern, five each in Volta and Central and one each in the Ashanti and Upper West regions.

Those who wrote in Accra arrived at the GCGL Head Office by 9 a.m. and had the opportunity to interact with the Managing Director of the company, Mr Ato Afful, and some other officials of the media giant before and after the test.

Encouragement
Mr Afful encouraged the students to be confident and read all instructions provided them thoroughly before answering the questions.

“I am confident you will do very well in the future. These essays will be archived for future reference. You can come back years later and read the essays you are writing today.

“You are part of history now; go forward with confidence,” he said.

Mr Afful lauded the all-girls Accra contestants for their efforts in reaching the final stage of the competition and urged their male counterparts to take a keen interest in the JGNEC.

“Gradually, advocacy for the girl-child has evolved, such that the boy-child has been left unattended to.

“It is not surprising that more girls qualified than boys. Let us encourage our boys to also cultivate the habit of reading,” he added.

The Editor of the Junior Graphic, Hannah A. Amoah, advised the students to continue to read the Junior Graphic to broaden their horizon and also look out for more information on the contest.

Experiences

Some of the contestants who shared their experiences at the end of the contest were hopeful of making it to the finals.
Rita Nana Akua Agyekum of the Garrison Basic School said the questions were simple, contrary to her expectations.

Vanessa Asiedu of the St Bernadette Soubirous School also said even though she was tensed up at the beginning, she became confident when she saw the questions.

Aniel Otuo Serebour of the Trinity Stars School, the youngest contestant, also said encouragement from her teachers and her parents had brought her that far.

She expressed confidence that she would be among the 10 finalists.

Aniel’s mother, Rebecca Otuo Serebour, said: “She is just in Class Six and I am marvelled at her zeal to write articles. I look forward to seeing her name being published as part of the 10 winners.”

Essay questions

The contestants were given three questions and asked to answer one. The questions were:

1.The Sustainable Development Goal 13 on Climate Action seeks to take measures to combat climate change and its impacts.
Write an article for publication in a national newspaper on two impacts of climate change on the environment and what can be done to correct the situation.

2. As one of the main speakers in a debate on the motion: "Corporal punishment should be banned in basic schools", write your speech either for or against the motion.

3. SDG 16 is focused on promoting peaceful and inclusive societies and providing access to justice for all. Write a letter to the District Chief Executive for your area and discuss with him or her three ways in which the people in the district can have easy access to justice.

Competition

The essay competition, which is on the theme: “Influencing creativity and critical thinking of young people through writing”, was in two phases.

At the preliminary stage, 50 participants qualified to the final stage out of the 800 entries submitted across various regions.

The competition, which is partnered by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Advisory Unit of the Office of the President and Accra Brewery Limited (ABL), is sponsored by BiC and Beta Malt.

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