BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

TWO hundred ninety-nine individuals sent entries for The Brunei Times I Love Brunei Darussalam Brunei Essay Competition.

Themed ‘Securing Brunei’s Prosperity’, the competition received 125 entries for the open category and 174 for youth category before the May 30 deadline.

The open category is for aspiring writers aged 21 years and above with the topic “Putting Brunei on the World Map of Business”, while the youth category is for contestants aged 20 years and below, with the essay topic “Why I want to learn entrepreneurial skills now”.

The judging of the competition will be carried out in three rounds, where senior editors of The Brunei Times will narrow down the entries in the first and second round.

A panel of judges from the public and private sectors will judge the shortlisted entries in the final round.

The scoring criteria include creativity of ideas, relevance to the topic, writing style and language.

Winners for each category will be announced in the coming months.

The first prize winner for the open category will receive $4,000, two return air tickets to Denpasar, Bali, electronic devices and a crystal trophy. The first and second runners-up will be awarded with cash prizes, air tickets, electronic items and trophies.

Prizes for the youth category include cash prizes worth $500 to $1,500, vouchers from The Empire Hotel & Country Club, electronic devices and crystal trophies.

The competition hopes to encourage the public to contribute their ideas on improving economic growth in Brunei.

The competition, organised to mark the 31st National Day, is sponsored by Maybank, Royal Brunei Airlines, Concepts Computer, Progresif Cellular, The Empire Hotel and Mahkota Crystal.

The Brunei Times