September 10, 2020
We’re thrilled to congratulate the winners of last night‘s Diverse Minds creative writing competition in Manitoba.
This is the second year that B’nai Brith Canada has held this contest, and we are so proud of all the incredible work and dedication that the participants and everyone involved put into it.
Diverse Minds is a contest designed to encourage the values of diversity and inclusion in our country through the mediums of storytelling and illustration. High school students were invited to create books geared towards elementary school students, to be entered as submissions for a chance to win cash prizes for themselves and for their schools and teachers. Each entry promoted these important values in a unique and creative way.
The winners for the Manitoba region were announced last night at a special celebratory event. A second event will soon take place virtually to announce the winners of the Montreal edition of the contest.
The first place winner for the Manitoba region was 11th-grade student Sam Mercier, whose book My Name Is Sam and Yes I Can! addressed the topic of autism and drew attention to some of its challenges while promoting the positive messages of respect and inclusion for those who are different. The book was a very personal effort for Sam, who has autism himself.
Sam’s book has now be professionally published and will be distributed to schools and libraries across Manitoba.
Chiara Cacho and Ayala Kaganovitch came in second and third place, respectively, with their books “My Lovely Flowers” and “Ricky and the Squirrels.”
The contest’s organizer, Adriana Glikman, is extremely proud of each and every participant who took the time to be part of this incredible initiative.
“Every student who participated in this contest is a winner in my book. You all helped to inspire those around you to make the world a better place,” Glikman said. “We know that these efforts will truly make a difference and that we will never give up on the values we all believe in.”
We invite anyone who is interested in this contest to follow our email updates and to apply to enter next year’s competition when the time comes! New regions will be added to the contest this coming year, so be sure and check back when new updates come out.
We can’t wait to hear from you!
