The sidney prize recognises groups or individuals that have made an impact on australia’s culture, society and economy. It is awarded on a national basis and presented at a ceremony each year. Past winners of the prize include the Black Lives Matter movement, an international organisation that is devoted to promoting human rights and non-violence. It was founded in the US by Patrisse Cullors, Alicia Garza and Opal Tometi following the 2013 acquittal of George Zimmerman in the killing of Trayvon Martin.
The Sydney Prize is an annual award given by the Sydney Peace Foundation to a person or group that promotes “peace with justice”, “human rights” and “non-violence”. Previous winners of the prize have included Julian Burnside and Prof Noam Chomsky. It is awarded to a nominee who has promoted these values both in the past and in the present. The prize is named after the late Sidney Altman, a pioneer in molecular biology who died last month at the age of 82. Altman was a devout believer that science should serve the public and was constantly seeking ways to advance his field. He was also a fervent advocate of academic freedom and defended the rights of scholars to publish their work freely.
One of the most important articles this year was written by New York Times columnist David Brooks and published in his paper The Coddling of the American Mind. This piece examined the trend toward student hypersensitivity in which students seek safe spaces for fear of being assaulted by microaggressions. Brooks invented an apt term to describe this mental state, calling it “vindictive protectiveness,” which is both dangerous and unproductive.
Each year the university holds an event to award prizes to students for their outstanding achievements. For example, the sidney prize for creative writing is given to students who write exceptional papers in English. The papers must meet certain criteria, including originality and integrity. The winner receives a cash prize of $500 and two runners-up receive $250 each. The winning paper is also published in Overland magazine.
The sidney prize is the most prestigious award in the university. The winners of this award have the opportunity to present their work at a conference and may be offered a position with Wittenberg East Asian Studies Journal. The prize is open to all undergraduate students, and there are several categories for submissions. Those who are interested in submitting their work can visit the sidney prize website to learn more about how to submit an entry. The deadline for submissions is May 1.
