Have you ever taken an unexpectedly wonderful — or terrible but funny — trip with your family? Have advice on how to make the most of a cultural experience or destination? Have you gone somewhere — near or far — that opened up new ways of looking at the world?
Family Travel Forum (FTF), the web’s leading trip-planning resource for family travelers, and the Society of American Travel Writers (SATW), a non-profit organization that promotes responsible journalism and encourages the conservation and preservation of travel resources worldwide, are offering a scholarship to encourage teens to share their travel experiences.
The rules of the annual FTF Teen Travel Writing Scholarship are simple: Submit a travel blog about where you went and what it meant to you, what worked and what didn’t, what you learned from the trip, or how it changed you. Use words, images and video to share your adventure with other travelers — it can be funny, serious or contemplative — as long as it’s informative.
The top three winners will receive cash awards. Twenty-five finalists will win honorable mention awards and travel gifts.
FTF Teen Travel Writing Scholarships
- First Place: $1,000 & Vacation for Four to Universal Orlando Resort
- Second Place: $500
- Third Place: $200
- 25 Honorable Mentions: Travel prizes.
- 1 Honorary Award for Best Photography
- 1 Honorary Award for Best Video
All winners will receive a Family Travel Forum Certificate of Commendation and all complete submissions will be published on Family Travel Forum’s MyFamilyTravels.com website.
FTF Teen Travel Writing Scholarship Rules
Eligibility for FTF Teen Travel Writing Scholarship
- All applicants must sign up for the MyFamilyTravels.com community prior to submitting an essay.
- Applications will be accepted between April 16, 2012 and August 1, 2012
- Applicants must be ages 13-18 and attending grades 8-12 as of June 27, 2012. Graduating seniors are only eligible if you submit your completed travel blog on or before June 27, 2012.
- The travel experience you write about must have occurred between the ages of 12-18, and within the last five years.
- Applicants must be attending junior high or high school in the United States or Canada, or an American international school abroad, or be enrolled in a U.S. homeschool program.
Submission Requirements for FTF Teen Travel Writing Scholarship
- Travel blogs must be no more than 600 words in length.
- Entries must include text and be illustrated by at least one photo, digital artwork or video.
- Travel blogs must include practical details about your travels so that others can follow in your footsteps. Details should include names of resorts, hotels or cruise ships, the local beach, organized volunteer and teen tour programs, URLs for places you went, etc.
- Travel blogs must be submitted online using the FTF Teen Travel Scholarship Essay Submission Form. Please create a strong, descriptive blog title, and use the editing tools provided to make paragraph breaks or add punctuation, and to upload your photos and or video.
- All applications must be received no later than 11:59pm ET on August 1, 2012. Late entries will not be considered.
- Your Travel blog must be your original creation and must not have been previously published.
- Multiple submissions are not allowed and we accept only one travel blog per entrant.
If you are notified that you are a Finalist, you will be contacted after September 28, 2012 and asked to send a copy of your transcript from your school, as well as a permission letter from your parents if you are under 18. More information about the Parent Permission Letter is available on the FTF Teen Travel Writing Scholarship FAQ page. These documents must be received by email, fax or snail mail by October 10, 2012.
Here is the link for more info: http://myfamilytravels.com/Teen_travel_writing
Young Authors and Artists Group 