The International Art Partnership (IAP) is an international project which promotes the Japanese art of paper folding known as origami.

At the initiative of its founders, Aleksandr and Larisa Levashov from Russia, the International Festival "Origami Peace Tree" (OPT) has taken place in different countries since 2000. Romania will be the host of this autumn edition. On this occasion, the organizers ("Miron Costin" Highschool, Iasi, Romania) have also decided to launch an international haiku contest.

Entitled "One Thousand Cranes", this competition wants to be a bridge between haiku and origami. The title of the contest reminds both of the famous legend of the Japanese people and of the moving story of the Japanese girl Sadako Sasaki. Her trust and endeavour as well as "the origami tree" are an urge to respect life in all its circumstances. That is why, we considered that such a contest could contribute to the amplification of the impact of OPT festival also by means of poetry.

We invite you to participate both in the haiku contest and, with origami models, in the OPT Festival Romania 2008. You will find the essential elements about haiku at http://www.kyoshi.or.jp/inv-haiku/inv-haiku.htm.

1. People regardless of age and nationality, with the exception of the members of the organisational team, may participate in the contest.
2. The contest is fee free.
3. Original poems which haven't been published so far in magazines, in journals, in books or on the internet, are preferred.
4. You must send two haikus in English and they should be as close as possible to the classical canons of this type of poetry (5-7-5 syllables, kigo, kireji etc.).
5. The first haiku will compulsorily deal with the origami theme, while the other is at will.
6. The poems will be sent only by e-mail at the following address:
   origamitara@yahoo.com.
   As subject you will write haiku contest. The mail must contain the poems in the order mentioned above, as well as the personal data of the contestant (name, surname, age, profession, full postal address, e-mail address).
7. The deadline is on the 15th of September 2008.
8. The secretary of the contest will copy and transmit the list of poems to the members of the jury by e-mail, without mentioning the contestants' names or personal data.
9. The jury will take into account, first of all, the concordance with the classical rules of haiku.
10. The jury will have a free hand in awarding a number of three prizes for each theme. It will also have a free hand in deciding whether to award commendations or not. The number will depend on the quality of the poems. Each rewarded author will receive an anthology of haikus that participated in the contest and a diploma.
11. The prizes will be announced between 3rd and 9th of November 2008, during the OPT Festival Romania 2008. The official announcement will be also posted on the internet on the following sites:
    www.licmcostin.ro
    www.peacetree.info
    variantaenglezeasca.blogspot.com
    romaniankukai.blogspot.com
12. The awarded poems and also the best un-awarded poems will be published in a contest's anthology.
13. The authors who send poems to the International Haiku Contest “One Thousand Cranes” Romania 2008 must agree that their poems should be published in a contest's anthology without any financial claim.
14. The prizes will be sent by post by 30th of March 2009.

"Miron Costin"
(english translation by Daniela Ciubotariu)



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We love Peace! We love Origami!