October 17, 2025
What’s on everyone’s mind in this, the digital and information age? Is it the tempting promises of artificial intelligence and its underlying, potential dangers for humanity? Or is it the tantalizing lure of social media and their deleterious effects on interpersonal communication and traditional learning? Or could it be the constant bombardment of our environment with data that masquerades as knowledge, wisdom, and critical thinking?
Although he died in 1980, Marshall McLuhan had something to say about exactly these effects. He was a global pioneer in understanding the cultural impact of media and technology on human beings. Through his work, McLuhan made critical thinking popular, foresaw the internet, and cautioned against the excesses of technologies that could divorce us from our very humanness – whether it was television, as in McLuhan’s time, or AI and social media in ours
In this spirit, the Marshall McLuhan Initiative Inc. (“The Initiative”) is launching its inaugural “The Media and the Write” contest. The competition is open to all undergraduates at post-secondary institutions and Grade 12 students in Manitoba who wish to explore aspects of Marshall McLuhan’s thought. For example, what would Marshall McLuhan say today about social media? Smart phones? Cell phone addiction? AI? Come and explore what Marshall meant by “The medium is the message” and “global village” – aphorisms that have become known throughout the world. Most of all, consider McLuhan’s famous words to his students, “I don’t want them to believe me; I simply want them to think.”
Who is Eligible
The competition is two-tiered, open to all post-secondary students in Manitoba and to all Grade 12 students in Manitoba.
Prizes
The prizes for each tier are as follows:
First Prize:
Second Prize
Subjects and Themes
Topics may include, but not necessarily be limited to:
Media
Any genre including, but not limited to
Important Dates
Contest Opens: November 1, 2025
Submission Deadline: midnight CT, May 31, 2026
Awarded On: October 8, 2026 at The Initiative’s inaugural Gala Fundraiser.
The winners will be given an opportunity to present their work, in part or in its entirety, within a five-minute time allowance, at the Gala.
How to Participate
Application Fee: $10 upon submission of application form and project, sent by e-transfer to egjuce@mymts.net. Please write “The Media and the Write entry” and your name in the Notes field.
Send Application Form and Entry To:
“The Marshall McLuhan Centre”
507 Gertrude Ave.
Winnipeg, MB R3L 0M7
Attn: Esther Juce
or by email to
themarshallmcluhaninitiative@gmail.com