Heywire 2008 Open For Entries

HEYWIRE 2008 OPEN FOR ENTRIES

Heywire - telling the untold stories of young rural and regional Australians

Heywire 2008 is up and running and entries are open until Friday 5 September, 2008.

What is Heywire?
Heywire taps into the hearts of young people in rural and regional Australia. It's about hearing real voices, personal stories and perspectives on life in the country.

An initiative of ABC Radio, HEYWIRE is open to young people aged 16 - 22. The competition seeks stories in all forms of media - text, photos, film and audio - about life in Australia, outside the major cities. Over 40 winners are chosen from across all of the regional radio broadcast locations across the country.

Successful stories will be presented on the ABC through ABC TV, ABC Radio, triple j, abc.net.au or the Heywire zine. Winners also attend the HEYWIRE Youth Issues Forum in Canberra in February 2009, where they'll participate in a leadership skills program, have an opportunity to meet their Federal Government representatives at Parliament House and gain skills in working with the media.

Information and entry forms are now available at: abc.net.au/heywire

The Heywire website is the heart of the competition - open 24 hours a day ready to receive content and connect young people with the wider Heywire community. It's where people can create their own Heywire profile page and network with other Heywirers from across Australia; upload their video, audio, text and photo entries live to the site; and comment on other entries and leave their own thoughts and comments.

It also contains detailed information of interest to applicants and to young people in general - including comments from previous winners, some of the pieces produced, further details of the Canberra Forum and more.

Heywire acknowledges the support of the Australian Government through the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation, the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, the Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs and the Department of Health and Ageing.

For more information, please contact:

Justine McSweeney - Heywire Coordinator
03 9626 1861 / 0419 166 749
Bryce Ives - Heywire Online Producer
03 9626 1534 / 0419 102 637
Belinda Lee - ABC Radio Marketing
03 9626 1744 / 0419 262 730