2013 WASHINGTON COALITION FOR OPEN GOVERNMENT
SCOTT JOHNSON OPEN GOVERNMENT ESSAY COMPETITION
The purpose of this contest is to educate young people about the
importance of open-government principles and to honor the memory
of the late Scott Johnson, a former Washington Coalition for Open
Government (WCOG) board member.
Essay Contest Information
The 2013 topic is “Why do we need Washington’s open-government laws?
What would it be like without them?” The contest is open to juniors and seniors
in public and private high schools and home-school students in Washington.
In addition to clarity of expression and thought, essays will be judged on
the entrants’ understanding of Open Public Meetings and Public Records Acts.
Submitted essays must be 400 to 600 words and represent the original work of
the contestant. Care must be taken to avoid plagiarism, which is the deliberate
copying of material written by others.
WCOG focuses on two state laws that are crucial to open government
in Washington: the Public Records Act and the Open Meetings Act.
Prospective entrants should take the time to explore the coalition’s
website at
washingtoncog.org
to gain familiarity with the coalition’s work.
In particular, entrants should go to
washingtoncog.org/oped.php
, for
links to articles written by coalition members that discuss real-life issues
involving public records and public meetings. With these articles and other
information on the website for background, and drawing on any other research
you may undertake, try to answer, using at least one real-life example, why
we Washington citizens need the Open Public Meetings Act and the Public
Records Act, and/or how things would be different if we did not have them.
Entries for the 2013 competition should be emailed to
no later than midnight
April 19, 2013
. The essays may be sent as plain text
in the body of the email, or as Word or PDF attachments. Each email entry
should include the entrant’s name, age, home address, telephone number,
email address, the school currently attended and, if known, the school or
college the entrant will attend in the fall of 2013. No student may submit
more than one entry. All essay entries become property of the Washington
Coalition for Open Government and may be reproduced and distributed as
the organization sees fit, including publication on the group’s website. By
submitting an essay, each entrant grants permission for WCOG to use his
or her name and photograph for publicity purposes, including announcement
of the winners.
The winner will receive a $1,000 prize. Other awards may be made at the
discretion of the judges and with approval of the WCOG board of directors.
The 2013 winner will be notified by May 10, 2013, and presented with the
award in May or June.
For more information about the contest or the Washington Coalition for
Open Government, contact
.
SHINING THE LIGHT ON YOUR GOVERNMENT | 6
