Applications are now open for the 2025 Sam Lewis Peace Prize, with a $500 gift card on offer as the grand prize.
Open to all students in public education settings, entries must address the theme “Believe in peace in 2025”. Formats may include posters, poetry, short stories, essays, performances and multimedia.
Categories are:
- TAFE/Corrective Services/Post-schools
- Years 11–12
- Years 7–10
- Years 3–6
- Years K–2
- Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islander students (new)
- Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islander-themed entries (new).
Prizes in each category are a $200 gift card for first, $100 gift cards for three runners-up and $25 gift cards for eight merits. Prizes won through collective efforts will be given to the school/post-school worksite.
The total prize pool is $5400.
Members can access full details about how to make submissions in the Member Portal.
Submissions close 1 August 2025
Last year there were dual grand prize winners:
- Woy Woy Public School’s class 5/6G, which features above and on the poster promoting this year’s competition
- Rhea Sabherwal of Epping West Public School submitted a brief animation on the theme “What is peace in 2024?”. Her presentation mentioned Ukraine and Palestine and included the statements “We all know that war is not peace” and “It needs to stop. Innocent people are dying”. She was presented with a framed certificate and her gift card at a recent Federation Council meeting.