‘Slavic Voice’: Four Years Into a War, the World Learned to Ignore

By San Francisco Richmond ReView on January 24, 2026 • ( Leave a comment )

International Youth Essay & Poetry Contest 2026

Hosted by Slavic Voice 4 Ukraine

Four years into Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the war has not ended, but much of the world’s attention has moved on. What was once breaking news has become background noise, even as millions continue to live with displacement, loss, and uncertainty. This fading attention is not harmless. When wars become normalized, suffering is abstracted, and the people living through it are reduced to statistics. We are doing this because forgetting is a choice and silence has consequences.

Slavic Voice 4 Ukraine created this contest to preserve voices that risk being lost as global focus shifts elsewhere. Young people, in particular, are living through this war in ways that will shape their identities, politics and futures for decades to come. Their writing captures what official statements and news reports often cannot: the emotional truth of endurance, the complexity of memory and the cost of a conflict that continues without resolution. Essays and poems are not just creative responses – they are historical records.

This contest is an invitation to document, reflect, and resist erasure. Whether writers are directly affected by the war or witnessing it from afar, their perspectives matter. Four years into a war the world has learned to ignore, choosing to write is choosing to remember and insisting that these stories remain part of our shared history.

Contest Overview

To mark the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Slavic Voice 4 Ukraine invites young writers from around the world to submit original essays or poetry reflecting on the ongoing war, its human impact, and the ways it continues to shape lives, identities, and communities.

This international contest seeks writing that documents, reflects and preserves perspectives that risk being forgotten as global attention fades. Submissions may be personal, analytical, journalistic, or poetic in form.

Eligibility

Open to youth writers worldwide.
Middle school, high school and college-aged participants are eligible.
Writers from any country may apply.
Submissions accepted only in English.
Two submissions per participant.

Contest Details

February 24 marks four years since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. While the war continues, global attention has shifted. This contest invites writers to explore what it means to live through, witness or study a war that is ongoing yet increasingly overlooked.

Participants are encouraged to submit work that:

Documents lived or observed experiences of the war.
Examines cultural, social, political, or generational impacts.
Reflects on memory, displacement, resistance, or silence.
Presents underrepresented perspectives or narratives.
Considers the meaning of four years of continuous conflict.

Both personal and analytical approaches are welcome.

Submission Categories

1. Essay

Essays may be personal, reflective, analytical or journalistic in nature.

Length: 800–1,200 words.
Original, unpublished work only.
Essays may include research or reporting, but should center a clear perspective or argument.