BBC Awards Report
By David Vredevoogd - 2009 Young Writers Award runner-up
Participation in the BBC awards is the culmination of years of English tutorage and interest in the English language. Participation in the event would give you a feeling of fulfillment and an experience that you will cherish the rest of your life. Or so I’ve been told. And it would be great to do and would definitely expand on your English tuition. Or so I’ve been told.
Frankly, the BBC awards are just great fun. In the preliminaries of the Speaking Contests you can see self-assured contestants turn into trembling, stuttering wrecks and quiet people shine in the spotlight. It is also a great opportunity to convince a large number of people of your own opinion, something that never fails to excite. Even when you don’t go through to the semi-finals it is still a day well spent, because you spend the day with folks like yourself and talk about controversial issues. The Writing Awards are very different from the Speaking Contest. You do not really have to convince your audience as much as having to clearly structure your thoughts and putting them onto paper. For me this was a really interesting experience, because I am generally quite chaotic. I participated in both the Speaking Contest and the Writing Awards. I did not go through to the semi-finals in the Speaking Contest, but I did manage to get to the finals in the Writing Awards. The Finals were held in Amsterdam and it was an immensely entertaining day. Participants in the Speaking Contest held their speeches, and Lucy Hocking (a well-known BBC journalist) discussed the essays of contestants in the Writers Awards. After a musical interlude the results were announced; and what do you know? I was announced as the runner up in the Writing Awards. It did actually feel really rewarding, and it did feel like the culmination of years of English tutorage, and did end up being an experience that I would cherish the rest of my life.
My prize was a writing course of choice at the Arvon Foundation for Creative Writing in Great Britain. I chose to go on a journalism course. One might assume that a writing course is only for old people, who want a change from their life as assistant manager or desk jockey. At least, that’s how I went into it at first. So it was a great relief that when I arrived in Clun (a faraway village in Shropshire) it was nothing like that. I was driven to the Arvon facilities by a member of staff, and was warmly greeted by the two hosts. I got to meet my co-students (who were all equally interesting) and after a cup of tea and some chatting, we were sent off to our rooms. The day after the course began. We were tutored by Leo Hickman (journalist at the Guardian) and Anthony Clavane (sports reporter for the Sunday Mirror). The usual template of each day was a workshop in the morning, some time off in the afternoon and a reading and some chatting in the common room in the evening. The workshops were generally very entertaining. All the things we were taught all had some practical application, instead of the usual load of theory that’s being crammed into our heads. At the end of the week we made a small booklet that contained all the pieces we had written in the week.
All in all, I had a great time, both during the Final and while participating in the writing course. I would definitely recommend everyone to join in the BBC awards, as it is a rewarding and entertaining experience. And you don’t even have to be the next Chaucer or Shakespeare. As Albert Einstein once said “Imagination is more important than knowledge”.
Good luck!
David Vredevoogd
