Overview
What has been the impact of the pandemic over the last three years? What has it meant for individuals and communities in Hong Kong? So much has happened over the past three years. The pandemic has wrought profound changes on everyone and at all levels of society. What has changed? What has stayed the same? How many of these changes are permanent? How many changes will be forgotten once the virus loses its hold over humanity?

These are some of the questions underpinning this year’s COVID Writing competition. Perhaps you have other questions, other issues on the theme of impact. On our questions or on yours, we would welcome your submission.

We invite secondary school students to address these topics in one of two types of essays: a personal reflection or a piece of oral history.

Personal Reflection

A first-person narrative. This is based on your own experiences of the pandemic: How did COVID impact your life over the last three years? What was your life like before the pandemic? What is your life like now? In what ways has COVID had a lasting impact on who you are? In what ways do you think that your pre-COVID life will return once the pandemic recedes? Where do you go from here? These are some questions to get you started but you should feel free to go beyond them if there is something else related to the theme of impact that you want to discuss/reflect upon.

Oral History

Be an investigator. Go out and talk with your family, friends, people in your local community (teachers, people in your neighbourhood, clubs and societies) and write an oral history of the social impact of the pandemic over the last three years. How do you do this? Come up with some questions to ask people on the topic of “impact”. Some questions that you might like to think about to get you started could include: How much of an impact has the pandemic had on their lives? How has their life changed since the start of the pandemic? How do they think Hong Kong has changed since the pandemic started? Are these good changes or bad changes or just changes? Do they think the changes will be permanent or will things shift back once the pandemic ends? Ask people your questions and write down the answers, look through their answers to identify common themes or topics and write about how these themes relate to recovering from the pandemic. Again, please do not feel bound by these questions. This is your work. If you think other issues are more interesting within the context of “impact”, then feel free to develop them.

Remember to include a title page with your submission. This is important! The title page should have your name, your school, the category you are submitting to, the stream you are in, and an email contact. All of these need to be clearly listed.

Types for Submissions
Essay formats:
(1) Personal Reflection
(2) Oral History

One submission per student.

Two Categories:
i. Junior (S1-3)
ii. Senior (S4 or above)

Two Streams:
(a) DSE (for those students who are studying or will study the DSE curriculum)
(b) Open (for those students who are not studying a DSE-oriented curriculum – usually (but not exclusively) IB or international curriculum students)

Prizes
Winners in each category/stream will receive:

First: HK$1,000 book coupons
Second: HK$500 book coupons
Students whose work is deemed to be excellent but outside the top two submissions will receive a Certificate of Distinction
All students will receive a Certificate of Participation

Event Details
Please refer to the event poster.

Instructions for Submission

Junior Category essays (both personal reflections and oral histories) should be 1000 words, +/- 10%, formatted in Times New Roman, 12-point font, and submitted as PDF documents. Essays not meeting these criteria will not be considered.

Senior Category essays (both personal reflections and oral histories) should be 1300 words, +/- 10%, formatted in Times New Roman, 12-point font, and submitted as PDF documents. Essays not meeting these criteria will not be considered.

Please submit your essays (do not forget about the title page) to 3rd COVID Writing Competition for Secondary School Students “Impact” (google.com).

Closing Date (Extended*)
10 February 2023, Friday, 5pm