The Parliamentary Press Gallery Writing Competition

Supported by Dods - The first name in political information and communication.

As part of the celebrations for its 200th anniversary in 2003, the Parliamentary Press Gallery inaugurated an annual writing competition for students, designed to complement citizenship lessons in schools.

Since then hundreds of students and schools throughout the country have taken part in the competition. Each year a specific theme is chosen for the two age categories to write on.

The theme for this years writing competition was global poverty. School pupils across Britain have been a powerful driving force behind the Make Poverty History campaign and were part of the excitement created by Bob Geldof's Live8! concerts two years ago.

Nelson Mandela addressed 20,000 people in Trafalgar Square and a quarter of a million people marched through the streets of Edinburgh to lobby for change. In response to this public pressure, when Tony Blair hosted the G8 summit at Gleneagles in Scotland, the world's richest countries made some big promises, including increasing aid and cancelling poor nations' debts.

Gordon Brown is expected to make the issue a centrepiece of Government policy, while David Cameron has shifted Tory policy to back the campaign's themes.

But aid groups such as Oxfam say that Britain's ability to be a force for good overseas has been undermined by serious foreign policy mistakes, including Iraq. Campaigners also say that two years on from all the promises, further pressure is needed to make sure the rich countries deliver on their pledges, particularly to Africa.

Regional winners will enjoy a wonderful day in London and will meet leading Parliamentary journalists at work and some prominent politicians. The day will end with the announcement of the overall winners and a presentation of the awards.

>> Work Experience

A small number of previous winners have benefited from work experience with Dods and the Press Gallery. This programme is for category winners who are 17 or over and interested in pursuing a career in the political arena. Whilst Dods and the Press Gallery would love to extend this opportunity to everyone, please note that places on the programme in any given year are necessarily limited and may be offered subject to the criteria specified by Dods and/or the Parliamentary Press Gallery. Details on how to apply for work experience will be provided to winners aged 17 and over, on request.