The quality of the essays this year was of quite high, and naturally the competition was very stiff. It was difficult for the judges to come to a final decision. In view of the quality of essays, we decided to offer ten consolation prizes to students who came very close to winning one of the prizes. Quite a few of the participants showed very good understanding of Ayn Rand's ideas and knowldege of other works of Rand other than The Fountainhead. Unfortunately, many also drifted away from the specific topics chosen for this contest and therefore failed to get nominated for any of the prizes.
The results of contest, 1999, are available here. We have also placed on line four of the best essay from this year's competition. You can also find the first prize winning essay of 1998. These will provide a bench mark for the participants in the coming years.
On request from teachers across the country, we sent out copies of The Teacher's Guide to The Fountainhead by Andrew Bernstein. Increasing number of schools also expressed an interest in screening the video of the film The Fountainhead. Unfortunately, for logistical reasons, it was not possible for us to meet this request from schools outside of Delhi.
A general account of the objectives of this essay competition and an estimate of our budget are available on line. Also available are brief accounts of our experience at Contest Report 1998 and Contest Report 1999. Liberty Institute is a non-profit organisation, and contributions are exempt under the Section 80G of the IT Act. For more information about the activities of the institute please see About US.
With your help, we hope to make The Fountainhead Essay contest an even bigger success in the coming years. We will greatly appreciate your comments and suggestions in this regard. The Ayn Rand Institute has been organising a very successful essay contest in the United States of America for over a decade. Among other organisations involved in creating appreciation of Ayn Rand's ideas is The Objectivist Centre.
We have been reaching out to over a thousand schools in India. Please suggest names and addresses of high schools and junior colleges that you would like to be included in our mailing list. E-mail addresses and web sites of schools will be particularly helpful.
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| Delhi | Gujarat | Haryana | Karnataka |
| Madhya Pradesh | Maharashtra | Orissa | Punjab |
| Tamil Nadu | Utter Pradesh | West Bengal |
Please write to
E-mail: liberty@giasd01.vsnl.net.in
Address for Correspondance: 96/10 PUSHP VIHAR-I, NEW DELHI - 110 017, INDIA.
Julian Simon Centre: 259, (2nd Floor),
J-Block, Saket, New Delhi 110 017. India.
TEL: (91)-(11) 651-2441; (91)-(11) 652-8244
FAX: (91)-(11)-6856992 / 6526878
