TL;DR – a cartoon competition for teenagers is raising funds – YOU can help and win cool perks!
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The “Jerusalem Press Club”, a professional hub for journalists, holds an annual cartoon competition for teenagers. The competition, called “Cartoon Criticism Care”, allows teenagers to express their thoughts through cartoons, balancing between expressing criticism and considering the feelings of potential audiences. Formerly a local competition in Israel, this year for the first time it’s going global, allowing aspiring teenage cartoonists from around the world to participate. They’re raising funds on Indiegogo to cover the expenses. You can contribute and get nice perks such as comic books, card sets, art kits and more (note that some perks may have additional shipping costs involved).
The “Cartoon Criticism Care” competition launched in 2015, after radical Islamic terrorists attacked the offices of the satirical magazine “Charlie Hebdo” in Paris, killing fourteen people. The attackers managed to escape and continued their killing spree, which ended two days later at a Jewish Kosher supermarket in Paris, where they targeted and killed four more people. All four victims were Jewish.
When the contest organizers approached me and asked for help spreading the word, I gladly said yes. I believe that free, uncensored cartooning, just like free, uncensored journalism, is one of the basic foundations of any liberal democracy. Attacks such as the ones on Charlie Hebdo must not, and will not, stop cartoonists from expressing themselves, even on topics which are considered controversial or sensitive. This competition can be a great platform for young cartoonists around the world to express their opinions, and I’m curious to see what kind of cartoons competitors will send. Winners on previous years received monetary incentive (~$850 for first prize, and smaller prizes for second and third place), and I hope this tradition will continue this year as well.
The campaign has already started and will continue throughout this month. I already donated. You can do the same.