Previous Awards - Mercy Foundation

Previous Winners

2020

Congratulations to the winners of the Mercy Youth Awards 2020! The judges had a difficult task in selecting the winners of the Mercy Youth Awards. Thank you to everyone who entered the competition.

The winners are:

1st Place
Leila B, Merici College ACT

What does freedom mean to you?

This photo resembles the darkness and despair suffered by many exploited workers in Australia and other countries. This image in black-and-white gives a deeper meaning and a greater concept when one views the image.

To me freedom means the ability to make your own decisions and to live your life in a safe, healthy, and happy way. This includes having the right to a fair wage, freedom of religion and to not be discriminated against because of colour, race, or creed.

2nd Place
Naeoumi T, Monte Sant’ Angelo Mercy College NSW

What does freedom mean to you?

In my photograph, the key on the left side of the image represents freedom and escape from trafficking while the right side with the black background represents the side of the trafficking. The money is representative of the value placed on humans and the black background symbolises the darkness and wrongness of it. The polaroid photograph of the child with the word “sold” on it is the person whom was trafficked. The removed face symbolises how human trafficking removes the identity of the person. The polaroid photograph and the key are both coloured while the rest are desaturated as it shows that there is hope for the person trafficked to be free.

3rd Place (tie)
Georgia W, Seymour College SA

What does freedom mean to you?

To explain what freedom is in 100 words should be a crime. Freedom is not one thing. Freedom can be seen. Freedom can be felt. Freedom can be heard. Freedom can be lived. Freedom is the chance of a better day. Freedom is the conscious effort to believe that one day you will achieve your dreams. To believe in a universe where everything has meaning; that the tides will change. To have faith in the process and set your soul free, this will lead you to live a life of freedom. Which is all one can ask for.

Anabelle A, Monte Sant’ Angelo Mercy College NSW

What does freedom mean to you?

To me, freedom means one’s ability to be their own self in the world and experience all that life has to offer and act without confinement or constraint. Freedom however, also has another meaning of “the state of not being imprisoned or enslaved” which targets the means of modern slavery in the world today. Modern slavery can occur through people’s passports being withheld from them – a symbol of their identity and freedom. The key is a symbol of ‘the key to freedom’ and also of a home and life which many unfortunately do not obtain due to enslavement globally.

2019

Congratulations to the winners of the 2019 Mercy Foundation Youth Awards! We received in excess of 300 entries and our judges were very impressed with the high standard of the entries.

The winners are:

First Prize: Phoebe T, Monte Sant’ Angelo Mercy College NSW

The student wins $700 and the school receives $700 to spend on social justice resources or to donate to a charity addressing social justice in Australia.

In 1963, my grandparents brought 832m2 of land in rural NSW 800km away from Sydney. Later that year my grandfather built his home on this area of land. My grandparents raised six children in this house and every year my family returns home. This house has stood firm against major flooding, the worst being in 2012 when water levels rose 8.98 metres and 4 major droughts. This picture explores the idea of home as it is house my grandfather built and that stood through so much. I am proud and blessed to be able to return to this house.

Second Prize: Sienna W, St Aloysius’ College Adelaide SA

The student wins $350 and the school receives $350 to spend on social justice resources or to donate to a charity addressing social justice in Australia.

Equal Third Prize: Tania H, Catherine McAuley College, Victoria and Annabelle N, Monte Sant’ Angelo Mercy College NSW

Each student wins $200 and the schools each receive $100 to spend on social justice resources or to donate to a charity addressing social justice in Australia.

Annabelle N:

To me, home means warmth, comfort, welcome, security and love, so I composed this photograph in a way that explores these ideas of home. Pillows symbolise comfort and love – key qualities of a welcoming home where one is loved and everyone feels comfortable. The fire represents warmth within the home – in a physical and psychological sense. Home is a place of shelter to keep warm, as well as a place of love and safety in which families feel warm in each other’s arms. Finally, the keys represent a secure home that one knows will always be there for them and is safe. The multiple keys and chain linked together represent all members of a home and how each individual belongs in the family.

Tania H:

You can easily give someone a roof over their head and call it a house, but it takes much more than that to provide a home. A home is where someone is continuously cared for, supported, free from harm and able to better their own living standards. In my photo, the elderly hand over the younger one symbolises this idea of giving security, compassion and a helping hand to someone who is vulnerable and in need. It creates the sense of comfort and love that says, “you have a home with me now, you don’t have to be afraid anymore”.

2018

Congratulations to the following winners:

First Prize: $700 to the winning entrant and $700 to the wining school

Beth, Monte Sant’ Angelo Mercy College

Second Prize: $350 to the winning entrant and $350 to the winning school

Brooke, James Sheahan Catholic High School

Third Prize: $200 to the winning entrant and $200 to the winning school

Kiara, Monte Sant’ Angelo Mercy College

2017

Congratulations to the winners of the Mercy Foundation Youth Awards for 2017! The theme for this year’s award was Ending Human Trafficking and Slavery in Australia. We received many excellent entries and our judges were very impressed with the efforts of students, their understanding of the issue and their plans to help abolish human trafficking and slavery in Australia. The winning videos will be uploaded in the coming weeks.

Congratulations to the following teams:

First Prize: Human Trafficking and Slavery – Jack and Matthew, St Luke’s Grammar School Dee Why

The students share $700 cash and the school receives $700 to spend on social justice resources or to donate to a charity addressing social justice in Australia.

Second Prize: The Lucky Country – Ava, Jeremy, Ellen, Danielle, Nathan, Mt Lilydale Mercy College Victoria

The students share $350 cash and the school receives $350 to spend on social justice resources or to donate to a charity addressing social justice in Australia.

Third Prize: What am I to you? – Molly and Adelaide, Monte Sant’ Angelo Mercy College

Agricultural Servitude
Alex and Inez, Monte Sant’ Angelo Mercy College

Each group receives $100 to share and the school receives $200 to spend on social justice resources or to donate to a charity addressing social justice in Australia.

2016

Are food vans and sleeping bags enough?

This was the question that hundreds of students set about responding to for the Mercy Foundation Youth Awards. The response was overwhelmingly the same. NO. People experiencing homelessness, particularly people sleeping rough, need much more than food vans and sleeping bags. They need a home.

Thank you to everyone who took the time and effort to enter the competition. The field was very competitive this year and the judges found it very difficult to decide on the winners. We received many high quality, creative and thought provoking entries. The judges chose three exceptional entries to be awarded first, second and third prizes. Highly Commended certificates were awarded to another seven outstanding entries.

First Prize: Jack and Matthew – Year 9, St Luke’s Grammar, Dee Why NSW
Prize: $700 will be shared amongst the team AND $700 will be awarded to the school*

Second Prize: Sophia, Julia, Rachel and Holly – Year 10, Monte Sant’ Angelo Mercy College North Sydney NSW
Prize: $350 will be shared amongst the team AND $350 will be awarded to the school*

Third Prize: Eve and Brieann – Year 10, Monte Sant’ Angelo Mercy College North Sydney NSW
Prize: $200 will be shared amongst the team AND $200 will be awarded to the school*