We would like to invite you to participate in our international literary and visual arts contest for patients with atopic dermatitis and people who bullied them titled My Skin, My Pain 2020/2021. The international literary and visual arts contest is a part of the OPENIDEO project ‘Agents of Change’ Atopic Dermatitis Challenge that was made possible by a grant from Sanofi Genzyme and Regeneron. Our organization applied for the project in December 2019 with the aim of raising public awareness about the systematic underestimation of the seriousness of atopic dermatitis and the violence against child, teenage and adult patients with the illness. We are very proud to announce that the project was proclaimed one of the top 5 projects at OPENIDEO.
Want to participate and create a better and kinder future for yourself or your children affected by atopic dermatitis? Join our project and help us change the perception of the illness. Read about how to participate below.
The OPENIDEO Project
It’s nearly impossible to articulate what pain in atopic dermatitis feels like – how difficult it is to live with an itch that goes straight to the bone. Patients with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis deal with unbearable itchiness and physical and emotional pain. Physical pain is manageable, but the itch and the emotional pain due to isolation, stigmatization, and discrimination are not. How does it feel to be rejected? How do you feel when you see other parents drag their healthy children away, forbidding them to touch or eat and play with your child? What is it like when you are the target of continuous name-calling and bullies acting out their anger on you in a physical way? How would you describe the guilt and the shame when, as a teenager, you are told by your doctor that the illness is something only unwanted children get?
Pain can make us unique
Despite the suffering, however, pain can make us unique. It drives us to achieve a higher level of creativity than we would under normal circumstances. Furthermore, scientists say that art has a healing power. They discovered that it boosts the immune system by lowering the levels of inflammatory chemicals. Art also enhances brain functioning, relieves stress, and connects the brain to the body. They say that a picture paints a thousand words. Written stories, poems and other types of artwork would touch the hearts of many. Teachers would protect the children with atopic dermatitis and educate the bullies, who are usually broken children themselves. Family members and friends would better understand the distress you face on a day to day basis. Medical professionals, who come in contact with atopic dermatitis patients every day, would be able to see beyond your skin problems and understand how the illness affects other areas of your body and your life.
GENERAL INFORMATION
The competition is free to enter.
WHO MAY ENTER:
Patients with AD (children, teenagers, adults) and persons who bullied a patient with atopic dermatitis from across the globe.
DETAILS:
This is an international literary and visual arts contest organised by Institute Atopika. All forms of artwork are accepted.
You may submit one original literary or visual artwork by email or post.
COMPETITION OPENS ON:
June 10, 2020
COMPETITION CLOSES ON:
December 31, 2020 at 12 noon (EST)
PROLONGED TO MAY 31, 2021
SELECTION PERIOD:
January 2021
PROLONGED TO JULY 31, 2021
Tell your story in the way you want.
Tell your story in the way you want and help us bring about a change for the better.
National competition My Skin, My Pain 2019
Give your voice to the unheard
Our literary and visual arts contest will give voice to the unheard on a global level. We want to send the message to atopic dermatitis patients that they don’t need to suffer in silence and isolation, thinking it’s the safest way to go. It’s safe to tell your story, and even though it feels like you are alone, you are really in the company of many. There is a strong community of other sufferers, who will offer you support and understanding. Together, we can change the outdated idea of medical, educational and general community that atopic dermatitis is a simple skin rash and that self-perception and stigmatization don’t play a key role in the illness.
Everyone's a Winner
It’s very important to stress that although the project is a contest, anyone contributing to it counts as a winner because your contribution will help build a better and more emphatic society. The project is an educational one and regardless of whether or not you will be awarded one of our prizes, your work will be included in our free e-book that will help spread awareness of atopic dermatitis. The committee will have an immensely difficult task in choosing between very different artistic contributions with unique content. Their decisions will be purely subjective – what moved them more or less. So keep in mind that even if you don’t get a prize for the artistic expression of your pain, your suffering is in no way lesser or less appreciated than that of other atopic dermatitis patients. .
My Skin, My Pain 2020/2021 International Contest
My Skin, My Pain 2020 international contest has 4 categories: “Children with AD”, “Teenagers with AD”, “Adults with AD” and “A Bully’s Story”. You can submit one piece of artwork of whichever type you desire (paintings, drawings, poems, life story and so on). Every voice counts. In every category, our committee will select three best contributions. The authors of the selected contributions will receive a small financial award.
All contributions will be collected and published in a free e-book available to worldwide readership.
Awards table: The awards are in USD.
Children | Teenagers | Adults | A Bully’s Story | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | 200 (150 with tax) | S200 (150 with tax) | 200 (150 with tax) | 200 (150 with tax) |
2. | 150 (112, 5 with tax) | 150 (112, 5 with tax) | 150 (112, 5 with tax) | 150 (112, 5 with tax) |
3. | 100 (75 with tax) | 100 (75 with tax) | 100 (75 with tax) | 100 (75 with tax) |
Email or online entry: My Skin, My Pain 2020/2021
Fill the below form and upload the files or send your artwork to myskin@atopika.org. Email must include all information that are written below.
Postal entry: My Skin, My Pain 2020/2021
Please, send your postal application at the following address:
ZAVOD ATOPIKA
STANTETOVA 12
2000 MARIBOR
SLOVENIJA
EUROPE
The postal application must include:
- The original artwork for the contest entry.
- The cover letter. The cover letter should include (BLOCK LETTERS):
- Your first and last name,
- do you want to stay anonymous,
- email,
- address: Street name and number, Post code/Zip code, State, Country, Continent,
- phone number,
- artwork title,
- artwork type,
- parent or legal guardian’s consent to participate in the contest if the participant is a minor,
- consent for postal entry (print the file down below, sign it and send it with your artwork),
- a 3-sentences statement on the following theme: If you could change the world for patients with AD, what changes would you make?
Please, KEEP A COPY OF YOUR ARTWORK because we can’t return it to you.
Please, DO NOT SEND ENTRIES BY REGISTERED POST. We are less likely to receive entries sent by registered post and your submission may be ineligible due to the delay incurred.
- If you are a parent of a minor that will participate in the contest, please download the first form below, sign it and upload it back to our platform (email entry) or send it by post (postal entry).
- If you will send your artwork by post, please print and sign the second form below and send it with your artwork to Institute Atopica address.
Contest Terms and Conditions
1. Contest terms and conditions:
(1) The owner of this website and organizer of the contest is Institute Atopika (hereinafter the Organizer), a non-governmental organization. By entering this contest, you agree to the Contest Terms and Conditions applicable to this contest.
(2) Each contest entry is subject to these Contest Terms and Conditions.
(3) The contest is free to enter.
(4) Adults and minors from across the world can take part in the contest. Minors (under the age of 18 must have a prior written consent of their parents or legal guardians to participate in the contest.
(5) Participants can submit one piece of artwork of whichever type they desire (paintings, drawings, poems, life stories and so on).
(6) The artwork needs to be the original work of the contestant and should be made for the purpose of this contest.
(7) The contest opens on June 10th, 2020, and closes on December 31th, 2020. PROLONGED TO MAY 31, 2021
(8) All entries needs to be in the English language.
(9) By entering the contest, all contestant grants permission and appropriate rights to the Organizer to publish their entries for any purpose of the contest, including publishing the artwork on the Organizer’s website, social media and congresses and including it in any booklet published by the Organizer. The Organizer may publish and use the submitted artwork for educational, promotional and humanitarian purposes anytime and anywhere.
(10) The information on this website is correct at the time of publication. We reserve the right to make alterations wherever and whenever necessary and are not liable for any subsequent omissions.
(11) The contestant agrees that their email address can be used as a means for the Organizer to communicate with the contestant.
(12) The Organizer reserves the right to supplement and change the conditions of the contest if required, due to technical or commercial reasons and reasons connected to public or special circumstances such as COVID-19.
(13) The Organizer will keep the participants informed about all changes, novelties and results of the contest by publishing them on the website www.atopika.org.
(14) Questions about the confidentiality and use of your personal data and requests for additional information regarding the contest should be sent to myskin@atopika.org.
2. Selection of the award winners:
(1) The selection of the award winners will be made by a committee composed of the representatives of the Organizer.
(2) The selection of the award winners will take place at the time specified in GENERAL INFORMATION.
3. Notification of award winners:
(1) The Organizer will notify the winners by the email given to the Organizer by the winning contestants. In addition, the Organizer applies for the tax number and branch office of the winner’s tax office for the purposes of reporting to the tax authorities in accordance with the applicable tax legislation in the Republic of Slovenia.
(2) By participating in the contest, the contestant agrees that should they be selected as a winner, the Organizer will publish their name on the website when declaring winners. If the contestant wants to stay anonymous, they must indicate this in their application.
(3) The results of the contest are final. It is not possible to appeal against them.
4. Receipt of prizes
(1) As a winner, the contestant is entitled to receive the prize if the Organizer informs them about the prize within the agreed deadline.
(2) Prizes are taxed under the Personal Income Tax Act. The advance payment of personal income tax is calculated and paid by the Organizer. Awards above 46,76 USD are taxed at a rate of 25% of the tax base. The tax base is the amount of the prize.
(3) To receive the prize, the winner must submit the following personal data by e-mail at the invitation of the Organizer: name and surname, exact address of permanent residence, place of residence, tax number, tax office and other information needed for financial transaction.
(4) The winner needs to submit the necessary information within 10 days of the notification and invitation.
Protection of information and personal data
Personal data protection
(1) As the manager of personal data, the Organizer respects the privacy of the contestant and undertakes to handle the contestant’s personal data obtained in the contest carefully and protect and process them in accordance with the Personal Data Protection Act and the Personal Data Protection Rules adopted by the Organizer. The Organizer will not pass the contestant’s personal data onto a third party without the express consent of the contestant. In the event that the Organizer organizes the contest together with a co-organizer, the Organizer will provide the co-organizer with the list of winners.
(2) By participating in the contest, the contestant agrees that the Organizer collects, stores and processes the collected personal data for the purposes of awarding prizes. The contestant may at any time request the Organizer to review, supplement, correct or delete their personal data. Contestant makes this request by e-mail to info@atopika.org. No later than 15 days after receiving the message, the Organizer will prevent the use of personal data. The Organizer undertakes to manage the transmitted data in accordance with the Personal Data Protection Act (Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, No. 86/2004 et seq .; ZVOP-1), and will not provide the data to an unjustified third party or abused them in any other way.