Everyone is always trying to get a sidney prize to make their lives easier, but the reality is that this type of thinking often leads to short attention spans and ill-informed opinions. The SFCU Cash Giveaway is an attempt to combat this trend by giving away prizes to people who take the time to read more of what’s written. Essays become op-eds, op-eds become blog posts and blog posts eventually end up as tweets. This is where the Sidney Awards stand athwart technology, yelling stop.
The Hillman Foundation has awarded a monthly Sidney Prize since 1950. It honors journalists who pursue investigative reporting and deep storytelling in the public interest, with a focus on the pursuit of social justice. Previous winners have included Jane Mayer for her piece on Dick Cheney’s role in the Iraq War, Bill Moyers for his Journal broadcast on “Buying the War” and Spike Lee for his film, “When the Levees Broke,” among many others.
In 2024, the Lucy Firth Prize is awarded for the Honours thesis in Philosophy that most nearly meets those high standards of originality and integrity which characterized the work of its namesake. This honour is offered to students who have completed their Honours degree, or a Master’s with dissertation in Philosophy at the University of Sydney. The Prize is based on quality of the thesis and circumstances having impacted upon students during their studies at the University.
Each year, the Sydney Peace Foundation recognises a group or individual who has contributed to peace with justice. The group must have demonstrated a commitment to nonviolence and human rights. The individual must have shown an inspiring example of personal courage and conviction in their struggle for human dignity and freedom. Previous recipients have included Julian Burnside, Prof Noam Chomsky and South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
The Stuart Rosewarne Prize in Political Economy is awarded to a student whose research work demonstrates innovative development of social theory in support of progressive causes. The Prize reflects the values of Professor Stuart Rosewarne who dedicated his career to publicly-engaged research addressing systemic processes of social exclusion and resistance, particularly around class, gender and the environment.
2024 ‘Who Rattles the Night?’ by Claire Aman was the winner of this year’s Neilma Sidney Short Story Prize, supported by Overland. The judges, Patrick Lenton, Alice Bishop and Sara Saleh, chose the winning story from a shortlist of eight entries, and also chose two runners-up. The prize is worth $5000, with the runners-up receiving $750 each. The Overland team and the Malcolm Robertson Foundation would like to thank the judging panel for their hard work.
The SFCU Cash Giveaway is open to SFCU members with an active checking account, who are at least 18 years of age and have a valid e-mail address. The deadline for entering is 5/1/2024, and only one entry per member is permitted. The winner will be notified by e-mail or phone by 5/3/2024. To request the name of the winner, send a self-addressed, stamped business size envelope by 5/1/2024 to: SFCU Cash Giveaway Winner List, 42 Union St, Sidney, NY 13838. SFCU reserves the right to change or discontinue this promotion at any time without notice.