How about kicking off the International Year of Youth by sharing something about your culture—and your wild imagination—with the rest of the world? We’re making it even easier for you by starting you off with a story. All you have to do is finish the story below, adding no more than 300 words. Give it a title too. Just one more thing: because the theme of the International Year of Youth relates to dialog and understanding across cultures, generations, borders, etc., we want you to include one thing about your culture in your story. It could be a song, a tradition, a piece of clothing, a verse from a poem…it’s up to you. So, what are you waiting for? Start storytelling!
The Story
It was a boring summer day. His father was outside in the baking heat, working on their meager vegetable plants. His mother was cooking and his sister was scrubbing the kitchen floor. He knew he should go help his father, but right now all he could think about was getting an ice-cream from the village market. He still had some money left over from the birthday money his grandfather had given him—just enough to buy one for himself and one for his father (to make up for escaping work). “I’ll just run and get them,” he decided, “and then I’ll help him with whatever he’s doing.” He set off down the path, pretending not to hear when his sister called after him to ask where he was going. He had only walked for few minutes when he suddenly felt a tap on his arm. Turning, he saw a very old, bent man, peering up at him with watery eyes. In a tone of great urgency, the man said, “____
The Rules:
Selection Process and Prizes
Youthink! Storytelling Contest
How about kicking off the International Year of Youth by sharing something about your culture—and your wild imagination—with the rest of the world? We’re making it even easier for you by starting you off with a story. All you have to do is finish the story below, adding no more than 300 words. Give it a title too. Just one more thing: because the theme of the International Year of Youth relates to dialog and understanding across cultures, generations, borders, etc., we want you to include one thing about your culture in your story. It could be a song, a tradition, a piece of clothing, a verse from a poem…it’s up to you. So, what are you waiting for? Start storytelling!
The Story
It was a boring summer day. His father was outside in the baking heat, working on their meager vegetable plants. His mother was cooking and his sister was scrubbing the kitchen floor. He knew he should go help his father, but right now all he could think about was getting an ice-cream from the village market. He still had some money left over from the birthday money his grandfather had given him—just enough to buy one for himself and one for his father (to make up for escaping work). “I’ll just run and get them,” he decided, “and then I’ll help him with whatever he’s doing.” He set off down the path, pretending not to hear when his sister called after him to ask where he was going. He had only walked for few minutes when he suddenly felt a tap on his arm. Turning, he saw a very old, bent man, peering up at him with watery eyes. In a tone of great urgency, the man said, “____
The Rules:
- We’re asking for you to give the story a title and an ending. Your addition should be 300 words. Longer submissions will be disqualified
- We’re accepting entries until October 15, and will run them on the site as we receive them
- Only one entry allowed per person
- All submissions must be the author’s original work, and should not have been previously published anywhere
- World Bank staff are not eligible to participate
- Winners will be announced on October 30, 2010
Selection Process and Prizes
- YOU, the audience will choose a winner: the winner will be selected according to whose story receives the most “likes”
- Winner will receive an iPod Nano (4GB) and Youthink! souvenirs
How/where to submit:
- You can either submit your story via the form here, or email it to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
- Please include your full name, address, age, country and photo (if you want)