Update: Due to the current Covid-19 pandemic we have decided to postpone the Sikh Scholarship Essay Competition, indefinitely. Once everything settles down we will update everyone.
Agenda: Is to hold a 1-2-day conference tentatively in the summer if there are enough applicants at a University on the topic of Sikh leadership by Sikh undergraduate college students (including high school seniors). A serious forum for young Sikhs to speak up on pressing issues impacting the Sikhs globally.
Condition: A gurmat practicing student (Guru’s way of life).
Language: English or Punjabi (with English translation)
Focus: Concrete solutions on solving the vacuum of cohesive and sustainable leadership within the Sikh panth (religion, culture, etc).
Goal: To be able to have college going youth seriously think about leadership as an extension of their faith, including mentor them for desired paths on Sikh topics and ASC guides them along that path for further graduate and post-graduate studies.
Criteria: Must be a full-time undergraduate student in a college or university [also 12th graders in high school] anywhere in the US/Canada in 2019-2020 school year.
Proposal of paper as an abstract: Proposals for individual papers should be no more than 250 words in length and sent to contact@americansikhcouncil.org , by May 31, 2020. Note: Proposal must be accompanied with full name, email, telephone and name of University/College/High School, in order to be considered.
Length of paper: Suggested approx. 2,000 words (but no limit).
http://www.lisamunro.net/blog-1/2015/5/30/some-conference-paper-writing tips#:~:text=Talking%20beyond%20the%20time%20limit,to%20ten%20double%20spaced%20pages.
Submission of paper deadline: May 31, 2020.
Tentative Conference: At the moment it will be a 3-4 to panel style format which will be moderated.
Presentation: for 15-20 mins – 15 view-graphs/slides and/or paper can be read without slides.
Scholarship: $2,500, $1,500, $1,000 (Top three papers will receive a one-time scholarship)
Highlight: The best papers submitted will be published by the American Sikh Council in the form of a book. (See other books published by us – below)
https://americansikhcouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/books-published-in-the-us-without-book-covers.pdf
Topic: Generational gap in the Sikh parents and children and how it is affecting the Sikh identity and associated issues! (If you feel Sikhi is great then, if so why and how? Some elaboration below)
1. As a youth in the Sikh population, there is a noticeable generational gap between the ideology of first-generation parents and their respective second-generation children. What has caused this gap to occur and how can both generations learn from each other to bridge the gap?
2. The identity of a Sikh is perhaps one of the most important part of the faith. The identity can be an uphill battle in our modern multicultural society. How can the next generation(s) of Sikhs keep their connection to their Sikh identity strong while also building outreach to the rest of society?
Rubric: Your ‘paper’ must contain the following:
Identify the problem areas in brief.
Explain the relevance with concrete, workable, practical solutions and ideas (steps) whether
short or long term.
The solutions may include use of social media and any other innovative out of the box ideas.
You can use refer to other renowned publications, researchers and the Gurbani.