Heywire competition 2013

CALL FOR ENTRIES

Entries are open now for the 2013 Heywire competition. Upload your story before Monday, September 16.

This is your chance to be part of something big.

The HEYWIRE competition is now open to people aged 16 – 22, to submit a story about life in Australia outside the major cities.

Your story can be created in any form of media: text, video, photography or audio. And if you are selected as one of our winners (roughly 40) your story will be featured on ABC Local Radio, ABC Radio National, ABC TV and abc.net.au.

And you’ll also score an all-expenses-paid trip to the Heywire Regional Youth Summit in Canberra in February 2014.

The Heywire Summit is a chance for the participants to develop outstanding ideas and proposals that will create change in their local communities.

“Initially, I didn’t fully understand what winning Heywire really meant,” says 2011 Heywire winner Zoe Williams from Jerdacuttup in Western Australia.

“I was still excited, and glad to know that someone thought that what I had to say mattered. But I still didn’t know what I was in for.

“I left the Heywire Summit with a brand new outlook on the political voice of our nation’s youth and a group of friends that I would continue to keep in touch with, despite being from all corners of Australia.

“The Heywire Regional Youth Summit showed me that there are people in our Government and Non Government Organisations that do care about what we have to say and are ready to help us tackle problems in our communities, no matter how small the community may be,” Heywire winner Zoe Williams said.

What makes a great Heywire entry?

Well it can be all kinds of things, really – as long as it’s about YOU and where you come from in regional Australia. It could be about an issue in your community, a challenge that you’ve overcome or simply why you like living where you do.

Check out last year’s winners or these ideas for some inspiration… but remember, tell YOUR story!

Here are our top ten tips to produce a memorable and unique Heywire story!

Still wondering why should you enter Heywire?

Winning Heywire could be the start of something fantastic. The Heywire Regional Youth Summit is a springboard to do great things: whether it’s fighting for the environment; running leadership courses for young people in your community; scoring a gig on triple j or ABC TV; or working for more mental health services for young people in regional Australia.

Heywire provides the opportunity for you to raise the issues close your heart and be heard on the ABC.

Need to know more?

Our Frequently Asked Questions page should provide you with answers to any questions you may have.

Since 1998, the annual Heywire Summit has brought together emerging leaders from regional Australia to develop ideas to improve life for young people in their communities. Take a look at the projects that have resulted from the Summit, and where our past winners’ Heywire experience has taken them here.