Your Voice 2025
YOUR VOICE 2025
“Education is the key to breaking the cycle of hatred.”
– Simon Wiesenthal
Your Voice contest asks students in 6th through 12th grades to write a 3-minute, 450-word essay on this powerful and prophetic Simon Wiesenthal quote: “Education is the key to breaking the cycle of hatred.”
Student speeches should reflect on how the quote personally connects to their own life and experiences. Additionally, students should explain why Wiesenthal’s message remains relevant today, emphasizing the importance of actively confronting intolerance, hate, and bigotry. Winners will be those who demonstrate a strong understanding of the need to act against these issues.
A BIG Thank You goes to the Simon Wiesenthal Center Midwest Region’s Community Engagement Committee, for their hard work and dedication in reviewing the amazing submissions and selecting the finalists.
Prizes and Awards
No purchase necessary to enter and no purchase or contribution will enhance any participant’s chance of winning. All prizes will be presented to winners after the event. There will be two sets of winners, one in the grades 6-8 category and one in the grades 9-12 category. Prizes are non-negotiable and non-transferrable. By entering this competition, entrants agree to waive any right to claim any ambiguity or error in the selection of winners and agree to all decisions of the judging panel chosen by The Simon Wiesenthal Center – Midwest Region, with the finalists determined by the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s Community Engagement Committee comprised of volunteers from diverse backgrounds whose decisions are final. The Your Voice Competition prizes have been generously sponsored by Karen and Sandy Teplitzky. Simon Wiesenthal Center, 1399 South Roxbury Dr, Los Angeles, California 90035