On October 20, 2024, the Second Nationwide Poetry Festival-Contest "New Odyssey" will kick off in Odesa for children aged 6 to 17. 

Participants submit their works by filling out the contestant form, via this link. The submitted works will be published on the festival's electronic platform and in the media. The jury will select winners and the best works for further publication in an anthology. Contest winners will receive cash prizes and will participate in the festival's gala concert.

The poetry festival-contest aims to nurture children's creative potential in poetry writing and integrate participants into the literary community of Odesa and Ukraine. During the festival, workshops and meetings with writers will be held. 

Participation in the contest is free of charge. 

A press conference will take place on October 18, 2024, at 5:00 PM at the children's library No. 26, located at: K. Muratova St. (L. Tolstogo), 13.

The project is initiated by poet Ilya Kaminsky (USA), the "Odesa—City of Literature UNESCO" office, the Children's Central Library of Odesa, the children's literature section of the Odesa organization of the National Union of Writers of Ukraine, in partnership with the newspaper "Evening Odesa". The event is supported by the Department of Culture, International Cooperation, and European Integration of the Odesa City Council.

......

The goal of the festival "New Odyssey" is to discover and encourage poetically gifted schoolchildren who can share genuine thoughts that resonate with readers and inspire their hearts.

Writing down thoughts allows individuals to feel relief, liberating them from excessive worry and depression. Thus, at this moment, when Ukrainian children are facing the horrors of war, this skill becomes a necessity.

The long-term goal of the festival-contest organizing committee "New Odyssey" is to foster the development of a talented, kind, and creative generation of people who engage with the world through poetic perception.