youth essay competition 2024

The Goi Peace Foundation

International Essay Contest for Young People

DEADLINE PASSED. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ENTRIES!

• The selection process is now underway. All prize winners will be announced on October 31, 2024 (Japan time) on this website. Certificates and gifts will be mailed to the winners in January 2025.
• 1st to 3rd prize winners will be invited to the Winners Gathering to be held online.

Click here to GET your Certificate online Download is available until December 31, 2024

This annual essay contest is organized in an effort to harness the energy, creativity and initiative of the world's youth in promoting a culture of peace and sustainable development. It also aims to inspire society to learn from the young minds and to think about how each of us can make a difference in the world.

* This program is an activity within the framework of UNESCO’s Education for Sustainable Development: Towards achieving the SDGs ( ESD for 2030 ).

The Essay Contest online registration page is currently experiencing high traffic ("Error establishing database connection", "Not Found", etc. ). If you are having difficulty, please try again after a few hours, and you should be able to get through. In case you are unable to access the page before the deadline, we will still accept your essay.

Click here to send your essay online

Organized by

Under the auspices of.

The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan Japanese National Commission for UNESCO, Japan Private High School Federation Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education, Japan Broadcasting Corporation, Nikkei Inc

Supported by

SEIKO GROUP CORPORATION, PLUS CORPORATION

For further inquiries concerning the International Essay Contest for Young People, please contact [email protected]

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Essay Contest 2024 Flyer (PDF)

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Frequently Asked Questions

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Essay Contest

The Institute for Youth in Policy International Essay Contest was launched to empower students to critically think about the issues that matter to them. By providing a platform for students to express their ideas and opinions, we aim to spotlight valuable insights and ideas from young people around the world. Ultimately, the Institute for Youth in Policy International Essay Contest may be seen as an opportunity for the Institute to invest in the future by supporting and uplifting the voices of young people, and by fostering a sense of civic engagement and social responsibility in the next generation.

We launched the Institute for Youth in Policy International Essay Contest as a way to engage and empower students to think critically about the issues that matter to them. By providing a platform for students to express their ideas and opinions, we aim to encourage the next generation of leaders to become more informed and civically engaged citizens. Additionally, the contest may serve as a way to spotlight valuable insights and ideas from young people around the world. By encouraging students to write about the issues that concern them, our competition may help a general audience to better understand the priorities and perspectives of students. Ultimately, the Institute for Youth in Policy International Essay Contest may be seen as an opportunity for the Institute to invest in the future by supporting and uplifting the voices of young people, and by fostering a sense of civic engagement and social responsibility in the next generation. ‍ Create innovative solutions to real-world problems Tell your story and your perspective Research issues important to you Get recognized for your writing Win prizes for your outstanding work Get published for your writing

You have been invited to speak at the United Nations Peace Conference. The following topics are recognized by the United Nations as pressing issues for current and future generations. Choose one of these issues below to speak on:

• Climate Change (UNFCCC)
• Globalization (Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural Committee)
• Technology (UNCTAD)

Follow @yipinstitute on Instagram for regular updates! Email [email protected] with any questions and join the mailing list here .

Insight: Does the essay provide unique or interesting insights, analysis or perspectives on its subject matter? Impact: Is the significance or impact of the issue(s) being discussed, idea(s) being brought up, or point-of-views being communicated sufficiently captured in the essay? Clarity and organization : Is the essay easy to understand, with a clear and logical flow? Style: Is the essay engaging and well-written, with appropriate yet compelling tone, language and syntax for the subject matter?

Who can participate?

Any student, in any country, who is enrolled in an accredited high school or college/university at the time of submitting their essay is eligible to participate in the Institute for Youth in Policy International Essay Contest and compete for the prizes. Students taking academic gap years or semesters are also eligible. No current employees of the Institute for Youth in Policy, however, will be permitted to enter the contest.

Submission Guidelines

Essays can take the form of anything from an analytical research paper to a personal narrative to allegorical fiction. This means essays can be written in any citation style or with no citations at all if it is not a research-heavy paper. Word Limit: 1250 words All essays should be submitted as a .docx or a PDF document and should include your name as well as a title for your essay. Cover pages are acceptable but not necessary. Essays should be written in an easily readable font size (11 or 12 pt.) with a professional font style (Times New Roman, Arial, etc.).  

A platform that honed my skills and perspectives.

Applications Due July 31st

Essay submissions are due by 11:59pm ET on July 31, 2024. No late submissions will be accepted!

Results generally get released within 45 days after the initial deadline.

The monetary ($250) and publication prizes will be sent via email to winners directly.

Fall 2023 Prompt and Winners

You've been elected leader of your country. What would you say during your inaugural address to inspire the citizens of your country, including those of every race, religion, political party, and creed?

Salma Amanda Latifa, Indonesia

Indonesia: diversity, natural wealth, and a leader’s commitment to an inclusive future.

This essay shined in particular because of its excellent integration of academic research, personal voice, and policy-oriented focus. Furthermore, as an organization that greatly values youth civic participation, the essay’s focus on the importance of youth in the modern world deeply resonated with our team. Fantastic work Read the essay here.

Sophia Rosin, United States

What are the greatest attributes of our democracy.

This essay highlights that the backbone of Democracy, specifically in the United States, is its ability to encourage deliberation and tolerance. We as a nonpartisan organization that encourages depolarization find the importance in shedding light on this particular subject in the increasingly divided global political climate.  This succinct and engaging description of democracy captured our attention. ‍ Read the essay here.

Clarence Tay Han Yang, Singapore

Looking forward.

This speech excelled in its powerful word choice and ability to efficiently incorporate and explain numerous challenging topics. Its smooth progression from the past to the present and future provided a well-researched image of Singapore that garnered our applause. ‍ Read the essay here.

Spring 2023 Prompt and Winners

Countless countries around the world suffer from a plethora of issues – economic hardship, social turmoil, political polarization, pandemic recovery, unreliable leadership, corrupt governance, warfare and conflict, the list goes on. If you were elected the leader of your country, what would you do to address the issues your country faces in order to build a more prosperous society?

Ethan Lee Yee Chien Singapore

"Singapore in the 21st Century: Addressing the Unique Challenges of my Homeland" Read the essay here.

Ototleng Molelekedi South Africa

"My South African Manifesto" Read the essay here.

Saarah Hussain Bangladesh

"Beyond the Paradox of Plenty: Battling Bangladesh’s Burdens" Read the essay here.

Advancing Youth Global Engagement | 2024 World Citizen Essay Contest

March 24th, 2024.

In September 2024, the United Nations (UN) will host “The  Summit of the Future , a once-in-a-generation opportunity to enhance cooperation on critical challenges and address gaps in global governance, reaffirm existing commitments including to the  Sustainable Development Goals  (SDGs) and the  United Nations Charter …to positively impact people’s lives. Building on the SDG Summit in 2023,  Member States  will consider ways to lay the foundations for more effective global cooperation that can deal with today’s challenges as well as new [challenges] in the future.”

2024 World Citizen Essay Contest Prompt:

This year’s prompt centers the UN’s meaningful inclusion of youth participation as a foundation for safeguarding the future. If you had the opportunity to present at the Summit of the Future, WHAT global issue do you feel is the most important to address for your generation and WHY? WHERE is this issue having a significant impact? WHAT would be your action-oriented plan to resolve this issue? HOW could world leaders support this plan?

2024 World Citizen Essay Contest Logistics

• 2024 Official Resource Guide for Students, Teachers, & Parents
• 2024 Official Judging Rubric
• 2024 Official Essay Contest Flyer
• Youth must be in grades 3-12 and reside in Washington State to enter the contest
• Essays must be 1000 words or less
• Essays can be submitted individually or as a part of a class assignment
• Any discovery of plagiarism will result in immediate disqualification from the contest so please be sure to cite your sources
• The essay submission deadline is Sunday, March 24th, 2024 by midnight . No Exceptions!

USEFUL LINKS

For ideas, you may consider looking at the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) ( https://sdgs.un.org/goals ) . Adopted by UN member states in 2015, the SGDs "provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. At its heart are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are an urgent call for action by all countries - developed and developing - in a global partnership. They recognize that ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth – all while tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests."

Read the following two-pager on the " Summit of the Future " to learn more about the goals of this once in a generation world summit.

Stay tuned for more information about this year's first, second, and third place prizes! SAVE THE DATE: The 2024 World Citizen Essay Contest Awards Ceremony will take place on Thursday, May 23rd, 2024!

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Essay  COMPETITION

2024 global essay prize, registrations for the 2024 global essay prize are now closed. we are pleased to report that this year we have accepted registrations from  34,823 contestants. if you registered on or before the registration deadline (31 may) we look forward to receiving your essay (submit  here)   by the submission deadline of  sunday, 30 june ..

The John Locke Institute encourages young people to cultivate the characteristics that turn good students into great writers: independent thought, depth of knowledge, clear reasoning, critical analysis and persuasive style. Our Essay Competition invites students to explore a wide range of challenging and interesting questions beyond the confines of the school curriculum.

Entering an essay in our competition can build knowledge, and refine skills of argumentation. It also gives students the chance to have their work assessed by experts. All of our essay prizes are judged by a panel of senior academics drawn from leading universities including Oxford and Princeton, under the leadership of the Chairman of Examiners, former Cambridge philosopher, Dr Jamie Whyte.

The judges will choose their favourite essay from each of seven subject categories - Philosophy, Politics, Economics, History, Psychology, Theology and Law - and then select the winner of the Grand Prize for the best entry in any subject. There is also a separate prize awarded for the best essay in the junior category, for under 15s.

Q1. Do we have any good reasons to trust our moral intuition?

Q2. Do girls have a (moral) right to compete in sporting contests that exclude boys?

Q3. Should I be held responsible for what I believe?

Q1. Is there such a thing as too much democracy?

Q2. Is peace in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip possible?

Q3. When is compliance complicity?

Q1. What is the optimal global population?  

Q2. Accurate news reporting is a public good. Does it follow that news agencies should be funded from taxation?

Q3. Do successful business people benefit others when making their money, when spending it, both, or neither?

Q1. Why was sustained economic growth so rare before the later 18th century and why did this change?

Q2. Has music ever significantly changed the course of history?

Q3. Why do civilisations collapse? Is our civilisation in danger?

Q1. When, if ever, should a company be permitted to refuse to do business with a person because of that person’s public statements?

Q2. In the last five years British police have arrested several thousand people for things they posted on social media. Is the UK becoming a police state?

Q3. Your parents say that 11pm is your bedtime. But they don’t punish you if you don’t go to bed by 11pm. Is 11pm really your bedtime?

Q1. According to a study by researchers at four British universities, for each 15-point increase in IQ, the likelihood of getting married increases by around 35% for a man but decreases by around 58% for a woman. Why?

In the original version of this question we misstated a statistic. This was caused by reproducing an error that appeared in several media summaries of the study. We are grateful to one of our contestants, Xinyi Zhang, who helped us to see (with humility and courtesy) why we should take more care to check our sources. We corrected the text on 4 April. Happily, the correction does not in any way alter the thrust of the question.

Q2. There is an unprecedented epidemic of depression and anxiety among young people. Can we fix this? How?

Q3. What is the difference between a psychiatric illness and a character flaw?

Q1. “I am not religious, but I am spiritual.” What could the speaker mean by “spiritual”?

Q2. Is it reasonable to thank God for protection from some natural harm if He is responsible for causing the harm?

Q3. Does God reward those who believe in him? If so, why?

JUNIOR prize

Q1. Does winning a free and fair election automatically confer a mandate for governing?

Q2. Has the anti-racism movement reduced racism?

Q3. Is there life after death?

Q4. How did it happen that governments came to own and run most high schools, while leaving food production to private enterprise? 

Q5. When will advancing technology make most of us unemployable? What should we do about this?

Q6. Should we trust fourteen-year-olds to make decisions about their own bodies? 

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS & FURTHER DETAILS

Please read the following carefully.

Entry to the John Locke Institute Essay Competition 2024 is open to students from any country.

Registration  

Only candidates who registered before the registration deadline of Friday, 31 May 2024 may enter this year's competition.

All entries must be submitted by 11.59 pm BST on  the submission deadline: Sunday, 30 June 2024 .  Candidates must be eighteen years old, or younger, on that date. (Candidates for the Junior Prize must be fourteen years old, or younger, on that date.)

Entry is free.

Each essay must address only one of the questions in your chosen subject category, and must not exceed 2000 words (not counting diagrams, tables of data, endnotes, bibliography or authorship declaration). 

The filename of your pdf must be in this format: FirstName-LastName-Category-QuestionNumber.pdf; so, for instance, Alexander Popham would submit his answer to question 2 in the Psychology category with the following file name:

Alexander-Popham-Psychology-2.pdf

Essays with filenames which are not in this format will be rejected.

The candidate's name should NOT appear within the document itself. 

Candidates should NOT add footnotes. They may, however, add endnotes and/or a Bibliography that is clearly titled as such.

Each candidate will be required to provide the email address of an academic referee who is familiar with the candidate's written academic work. This should be a school teacher, if possible, or another responsible adult who is not a relation of the candidate. The John Locke Institute will email referees to verify that the essays submitted are indeed the original work of the candidates.

Submissions may be made as soon as registration opens in April. We recommend that you submit your essay well in advance of the deadline to avoid any last-minute complications.  To submit your essay, click here .  

Acceptance of your essay depends on your granting us permission to use your data for the purposes of receiving and processing your entry as well as communicating with you about the Awards Ceremony Dinner, the academic conference, and other events and programmes of the John Locke Institute and its associated entities.  

Late entries

If for any reason you miss the 30 June deadline you will have an opportunity to make a late entry, under two conditions:

a) A late entry fee of 20.00 USD must be paid by credit card within twenty-four hours of the original deadline; and

b) Your essay must be submitted  before 11.59 pm BST on Wednesday, 10 July 2024.

To pay for late entry, a registrant need only log into his or her account, select the relevant option and provide the requested payment information.

Our grading system is proprietary. Essayists may be asked to discuss their entry with a member of the John Locke Institute’s faculty. We use various means to identify plagiarism, contract cheating, the use of AI and other forms of fraud . Our determinations in all such matters are final.

Essays will be judged on knowledge and understanding of the relevant material, the competent use of evidence, quality of argumentation, originality, structure, writing style and persuasive force. The very best essays are likely to be those which would be capable of changing somebody's mind. Essays which ignore or fail to address the strongest objections and counter-arguments are unlikely to be successful .

Candidates are advised to answer the question as precisely and directly as possible.

The writers of the best essays will receive a commendation and be shortlisted for a prize. Writers of shortlisted essays will be notified by 11.59 pm BST on Wednesday, 31 July. They will also be invited to London for an invitation-only academic conference and awards dinner in September, where the prize-winners will be announced. Unlike the competition itself, the academic conference and awards dinner are not free. Please be aware that n obody is required to attend either the academic conference or the prize ceremony. You can win a prize without travelling to London.

All short-listed candidates, including prize-winners, will be able to download eCertificates that acknowledge their achievement. If you win First, Second or Third Prize, and you travel to London for the ceremony, you will receive a signed certificate. 

There is a prize for the best essay in each category. The prize for each winner of a subject category, and the winner of the Junior category, is a scholarship worth US$2000 towards the cost of attending any John Locke Institute programme, and the essays will be published on the Institute's website. Prize-giving ceremonies will take place in London, at which winners and runners-up will be able to meet some of the judges and other faculty members of the John Locke Institute. Family, friends, and teachers are also welcome.

The candidate who submits the best essay overall will be awarded an honorary John Locke Institute Junior Fellowship, which comes with a US$10,000 scholarship to attend one or more of our summer schools and/or visiting scholars programmes. 

The judges' decisions are final, and no correspondence will be entered into.

R egistration opens: 1 April, 2024.

Registration deadline: 31 May, 2024. (Registration is required by this date for subsequent submission.)

Submission deadline: 30 June, 2024.

Late entry deadline: 10 July, 2024. (Late entries are subject to a 20.00 USD charge, payable by 1 July.)

Notification of short-listed essayists: 31 July, 2024.

Academic conference: 20 - 22 September, 2024.

Awards dinner: 21 September, 2024.

Any queries regarding the essay competition should be sent to [email protected] . Please be aware that, due to the large volume of correspondence we receive, we cannot guarantee to answer every query. In particular, regrettably, we are unable to respond to questions whose answers can be found on our website.

If you would like to receive helpful tips  from our examiners about what makes for a winning essay or reminders of upcoming key dates for the 2024  essay competition, please provide your email here to be added to our contact list. .

Thanks for subscribing!

The John Locke Institute's Global Essay Prize is acknowledged as the world's most prestigious essay competition. 

We welcome tens of thousands of submissions from ambitious students in more than 150 countries, and our examiners - including distinguished philosophers, political scientists, economists, historians, psychologists, theologians, and legal scholars - read and carefully assess every entry. 

I encourage you to register for this competition, not only for the hope of winning a prize or commendation, and not only for the chance to join the very best contestants at our academic conference and gala ceremony in London, but equally for the opportunity to engage in the serious scholarly enterprise of researching, reflecting on, writing about, and editing an answer to one of the important and provocative questions in this year's Global Essay Prize. 

We believe that the skills you will acquire in the process will make you a better thinker and a more effective advocate for the ideas that matter most to you.

I hope to see you in September!

Best wishes,

Jamie Whyte, Ph.D. (C ANTAB ) 

Chairman of Examiners

Q. I missed the registration deadline. May I still register or submit an essay?

A. No. Only candidates who registered before 31 May will be able to submit an essay. 

Q. Are footnote s, endnotes, a bibliography or references counted towards the word limit?

A. No. Only the body of the essay is counted. 

Q. Are in-text citations counted towards the word limit? ​

A. If you are using an in-text based referencing format, such as APA, your in-text citations are included in the word limit.

Q. Is it necessary to include foo tnotes or endnotes in an essay? ​

A. You  may not  include footnotes, but you may include in-text citations or endnotes. You should give your sources of any factual claims you make, and you should ackn owledge any other authors on whom you rely.​

Q. I am interested in a question that seems ambiguous. How should I interpret it?

A. You may interpret a question as you deem appropriate, clarifying your interpretation if necessary. Having done so, you must answer the question as directly as possible.

Q. How strict are  the age eligibility criteria?

A. Only students whose nineteenth birthday falls after 30 June 2024 will be eligible for a prize or a commendation. In the case of the Junior category, only students whose fifteenth birthday falls after 30 June 2024 will be eligible for a prize or a commendation. 

Q. May I submit more than one essay?

A. Yes, you may submit as many essays as you please in any or all categories.

Q. If I am eligible to compete in the Junior category, may I also (or instead) compete in another category?

A. Yes, you may.

Q. May I team up with someone else to write an essay?  

A. No. Each submitted essay must be entirely the work of a single individual.

Q. May I use AI, such as ChatGPT or the like, in writing my essay?

A. All essays will be checked for the use of AI. If we find that any content is generated by AI, your essay will be disqualified. We will also ask you, upon submission of your essay, whether you used AI for  any  purpose related to the writing of your essay, and if so, you will be required to provide details. In that case, if, in our judgement, you have not provided full and accurate details of your use of AI, your essay will be disqualified. 

Since any use of AI (that does not result in disqualification) can only negatively affect our assessment of your work relative to that of work that is done without using AI, your safest course of action is simply not to use it at all. If, however, you choose to use it for any purpose, we reserve the right to make relevant judgements on a case-by-case basis and we will not enter into any correspondence. 

Q. May I have someone else edit, or otherwise help me with, my essay?

A. You may of course discuss your essay with others, and it is perfectly acceptable for them to offer general advice and point out errors or weaknesses in your writing or content, leaving you to address them.

However, no part of your essay may be written by anyone else. This means that you must edit your own work and that while a proofreader may point out errors, you as the essayist must be the one to correct them. 

Q. Do I have to attend the awards ceremony to win a prize? ​

A. Nobody is required to attend the prize ceremony. You can win a prize without travelling to London. But if we invite you to London it is because your essay was good enough - in the opinion of the First Round judges - to be at least a contender for First, Second or Third Prize. Normally the Second Round judges will agree that the short-listed essays are worth at least a commendation.

Q. Is there an entry fee?

A. No. There is no charge to enter our global essay competition unless you submit your essay after the normal deadline, in which case there is a fee of 20.00 USD .

Q. Can I receive a certificate for my participation in your essay competition if I wasn't shortlisted? 

A. No. Certificates are awarded only for shortlisted essays. Short-listed contestants who attend the award ceremony in London will receive a paper certificate. If you cannot travel to London, you will be able to download your eCertificate.

Q. Can I receive feedba ck on my essay? 

A. We would love to be able to give individual feedback on essays but, unfortunately, we receive too many entries to be able to comment on particular essays.

Q. The deadline for publishing the names of short-listed essayists has passed but I did not receive an email to tell me whether I was short-listed.

A. Log into your account and check "Shortlist Status" for (each of) your essay(s).

Q. Why isn't the awards ceremony in Oxford this year?

A. Last year, many shortlisted finalists who applied to join our invitation-only academic conference missed the opportunity because of capacity constraints at Oxford's largest venues. This year, the conference will be held in central London and the gala awards dinner will take place in an iconic London ballroom. 

TECHNICAL FAQ s

Q. The system will not accept my essay. I have checked the filename and it has the correct format. What should I do?  

A. You have almost certainly added a space before or after one of your names in your profile. Edit it accordingly and try to submit again.

Q. The profile page shows my birth date to be wrong by a day, even after I edit it. What should I do?

A. Ignore it. The date that you typed has been correctly input to our database. ​ ​

Q. How can I be sure that my registration for the essay competition was successful? Will I receive a confirmation email?

A. You will not receive a confirmation email. Rather, you can at any time log in to the account that you created and see that your registration details are present and correct.

TROUBLESHOOTING YOUR SUBMISSION

If you are unable to submit your essay to the John Locke Institute’s global essay competition, your problem is almost certainly one of the following.

If so, please proceed as indicated.

1) PROBLEM: I receive the ‘registrations are now closed’ message when I enter my email and verification code. SOLUTION. You did not register for the essay competition and create your account. If you think you did, you probably only provided us with your email to receive updates from us about the competition or otherwise. You may not enter the competition this year.

2) PROBLEM I do not receive a login code after I enter my email to enter my account. SOLUTION. Enter your email address again, checking that you do so correctly. If this fails, restart your browser using an incognito window; clear your cache, and try again. Wait for a few minutes for the code. If this still fails, restart your machine and try one more time. If this still fails, send an email to [email protected] with “No verification code – [your name]” in the subject line.

SUBMITTING AN ESSAY

3) PROBLEM: The filename of my essay is in the correct format but it is rejected. SOLUTION: Use “Edit Profile” to check that you did not add a space before or after either of your names. If you did, delete it. Whether you did or did not, try again to submit your essay. If submission fails again, email [email protected] with “Filename format – [your name]” in the subject line.

4) PROBLEM: When trying to view my submitted essay, a .txt file is downloaded – not the .pdf file that I submitted. SOLUTION: Delete the essay. Logout of your account; log back in, and resubmit. If resubmission fails, email [email protected] with “File extension problem – [your name]” in the subject line.

5) PROBLEM: When I try to submit, the submission form just reloads without giving me an error message. SOLUTION. Log out of your account. Open a new browser; clear the cache; log back in, and resubmit. If resubmission fails, email [email protected] with “Submission form problem – [your name]” in the subject line.

6) PROBLEM: I receive an “Unexpected Error” when trying to submit. SOLUTION. Logout of your account; log back in, and resubmit. If this resubmission fails, email [email protected] with “Unexpected error – [your name]” in thesubject line. Your email must tell us e xactly where in the submission process you received this error.

7) PROBLEM: I have a problem with submitting and it is not addressed above on this list. SOLUTION: Restart your machine. Clear your browser’s cache. Try to submit again. If this fails, email [email protected] with “Unlisted problem – [your name]” in the subject line. Your email must tell us exactly the nature of your problem with relevant screen caps.

READ THIS BEFORE YOU EMAIL US.

Do not email us before you have tried the specified solutions to your problem.

Do not email us more than once about a single problem. We will respond to your email within 72 hours. Only if you have not heard from us in that time may you contact us again to ask for an update.

If you email us regarding a problem, you must include relevant screen-shots and information on both your operating system and your browser. You must also declare that you have tried the solutions presented above and had a good connection to the internet when you did so.

If you have tried the relevant solution to your problem outlined above, have emailed us, and are still unable to submit before the 30 June deadline on account of any fault of the John Locke Institute or our systems, please do not worry: we will have a way to accept your essay in that case. However, if there is no fault on our side, we will not accept your essay if it is not submitted on time – whatever your reason: we will not make exceptions for IT issues for which we are not responsible.

We reserve the right to disqualify the entries of essayists who do not follow all provided instructions, including those concerning technical matters.

THE QUEEN'S COMMONWEALTH ESSAY COMPETITION

Since 1883, we have delivered The Queen's Commonwealth Essay Competition, the world's oldest international schools' writing competition. Today, we work to expand its reach, providing life-changing opportunities for young people around the world.

The Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition 2024 is now closed for entries

Find out more about this year’s theme

'Our Common Wealth'.

140 years of The Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition

The Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition (QCEC) is the world’s oldest international writing competition for schools and has been proudly delivered by the Royal Commonwealth Society since 1883. 

ABOUT THE COMPETITION 

An opportunity for young Commonwealth citizens to share their thoughts, ideas and experiences on key global issues and have their hard work and achievement celebrated internationally.

Frequently Asked Questions for the Competition. Before contacting us please read these.

MEET THE WINNERS 

In 2023 we were delighted to receive a record-breaking 34,924 entries, with winners from India and Malaysia. Read their winning pieces as well as those from previous years.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Terms and Conditions for entrants to The Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition. Please ensure you have thoroughly read them before submitting your entry.

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2024 Space4Youth Competition   - Governance of outer space activities: securing space sustainability for future generations

16 April 2024

WINNERS ANNOUNCED!

We are thrilled to announce the outstanding winners of the 2024 Space4Youth Essay Competition, organized by the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and the Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC). This year, the competition received an exceptional array of essays from young minds around the globe, each offering unique perspectives on the theme of space governance and the sustainable use of outer space.

The winners are  (in alphabetical order): 

• Basubas Florence Pauline , Philippines. Title of the essay: " Preserving Space for Generations: Inclusivity in a Common Framework for the Space Sustainability Rating "
• Croison Charlotte , France. Title of the essay: " United for space sustainability: the (Stick) and Carrot Approach "
• Jannink Stephen , New Zealand. Title of the essay: " A Stellar Personality: Legal personality as a means for sustainable governance of outer space "

Additionally, we would like to extend our sincere appreciation to all participants for their passion, creativity, and dedication in addressing the challenges and opportunities of space exploration through their essays.

Thanks to the generous support of the U.S. Mission to International Organizations in Vienna , the winners of the 2024 Space4Youth Essay Competition will have the unique opportunity to participate in the Adult Space Camp at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama .

We congratulate the winners on their remarkable achievement and express our gratitude to everyone who contributed to the success of this competition. Thank you!

Essay competition information (closed)

• To apply, please register and submit the abstract through the Space for Youth Competition Form  by 11 February 2024 , 23:59 CET.
• Please note that you will have to insert your  abstract directly in the online form. We suggest you prepare the abstract ahead of completing the application form.
• Results of the abstracts selection will be communicated to successful candidates by 23  February 2024, 23:59 CET.
• Successful candidates shall submit their essay. The deadline is 15 March 2024, 23:59 CET. 

Award for authors of best essays

• The U.S. Mission to International Organizations in Vienna will support this year's Space4Youth competition by providing the authors of the best 3 essays with a trip to the United States to meet with representatives of the U.S. space sector and attend an Adult Space Camp at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama (1) .
• The 3 best essays will be uploaded on the UNOOSA "Space for Youth" webpage. 
• The authors of the best 3 essays may be invited to attend other international events.
• Priority will be given to participants from developing countries .  

(1) Confirmation and satisfaction of U.S. visa approval will be required.

• 2024-07-19 11:15:00.0 News ST/SG/SER.E/1192 - Registration information from Belgium on ROSE, RIRI, FIFI and LOULOU
• 2024-06-19 11:15:02.0 Publications ST/SPACE/90 - UNOOSA 2023 Annual Report
• 2024-07-19 11:15:00.0 Reports ST/SG/SER.E/1192 - Registration information from Belgium on ROSE, RIRI, FIFI and LOULOU

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Global Essay Competition 2024

• Deadline February 1, 2024
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Call for essays for the Global Essay Competition 2024 are open now!

Participate in the Global Essay Competition to earn a spot as a Leader of Tomorrow at The St. Gallen Symposium, the world’s most prestigious forum for intergenerational discussion. Meet the 300 most intelligent young people in society. Discuss and present your ideas to 600 high-level executives. Take inspiration from some of the most remarkable speakers on the planet. Discover a fresh and original viewpoint on this year’s theme. Join a distinctive international community and take part in the symposium.

Topic Question: Striving for more or thriving with less – What pressing scarcity do you see, and how do you suggest to tackle it?

In general, scarcity describes a state in which the demands of people outweigh the resources at hand. Young leaders from all over the world are invited to submit original ideas for solving specific scarcity-related problems in the form of essays for this year’s Global Essay Competition. Be creative in thinking about proposed solutions: do we need to  strive for more   and find ways to boost the availability of the resource in question? Or does it focus on ways to   thrive with less  and thus rethink our needs and demand?

Choose freely which limited resource to concentrate on: Examples comprise labour from human beings, money, natural resources, and intangibles like time, creativity, and care, among others. When discussing a current or potential resource scarcity issue, be clear and concise in identifying the particular kind of resources you are focusing on, and provide a practical solution.

Group work is not permitted; individual labour is required. The essay needs to be composed specifically for this competition. It has to be the author’s original concept. Essay length limit: 2,100 words, excluding the abstract, reference list, and footnotes. Language: English. Every source needs to be referenced and cited in the essay’s appropriate section. Every submission will be examined for plagiarism. Each year, the panel chooses three winning essays from among the roughly 1,000 entries that graduate and post-graduate students from all over the world submit each year. You can checkout the previous victors of the competition and peruse their submissions.

• Prize money of CHF 20,000 split amongst the three winners.
• Chance to participate as a Leader of Tomorrow in the world’s premier opportunity for cross-generational debates: The St. Gallen Symposium.

Eligibilities

• Enrolled in a graduate or postgraduate programme (master level or higher) in any field of study at a regular university
• Born in 1994 or later

Application Process

• Visit the apply link by clicking on the “APPLY NOW” button.
• Create your account and fill the application.

Make sure you can provide the following documents:

• Copy of passport or other identification (in English for non-Roman languages)
• Confirmation of matriculation/enrolment from your university which proves your enrolment in a graduate/postgraduate level programme as of 1 February 2024 (download sample document from the official website)
• Your contribution file with no indication of your name in the file name, the file metadata or the file itself

Application Deadline: February 1, 2024

For Further Queries

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UPDATE: Beyond GDP Essay Competition Publication now available!

On 19 February 2024, the SDG Lab together with Rethinking Economics International and the UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) launched a joint call for essays aimed at young people, aged 30 and under, inviting them to share their perspective on the values that should be emphasized in a framework moving beyond GDP.

The question for the competition was as follows:

The Gross Domestic Product (GDP), a measure of the economic output of a country, has become one of the most powerful metrics of our time. It has, however, been used in unintended ways, including as a proxy for wealth creation, wellbeing, and development. Developing indicators to complement GDP could enhance decision-making in the best interest of people and the planet, and could fundamentally change our priorities and the future. What values and principles would you like to see in a Framework to Value What Counts beyond GDP and what are the challenges to be addressed as a priority?

A total of 630 essays were submitted from 50 different countries, offering insights and perspectives on the values and principles that young people would like to see in a framework moving beyond GDP. All essays were carefully reviewed by a committee composed of experts from the three organizing partners, and the values expressed were noted and integrated into a summary document ( forthcoming June 2024 ). For a glimpse of the values and principles highlighted, consult the Gallery.

On 17 April five of the essay winners, from Brazil, Denmark, Pakistan, the United Kingdom and Zimbabwe, joined us in Geneva. They shared their perspectives on moving beyond GDP with leaders and experts from the UN, Member States, academia, and civil society. The meeting titled “ What Counts in the Future? A Youth Perspective on Measuring What We Value ” was organized in collaboration with UNCTAD and Rethinking Economics.

Download the publication here .

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• Youth & Education

Youth Scholarships

The VFW is dedicated to promoting patriotism and investing in our future generation. If you are a democracy-loving high school student interested in a $35,000 college scholarship or a patriotic middle school student interested in winning $5,000, these scholarships may be for you.

Voice of Democracy

Established in 1947, our Voice of Democracy audio-essay program provides high school students with the unique opportunity to express themselves in regards to a democratic and patriotic-themed recorded essay.  Each year, nearly 25,000 ninth through 12th grade students from across the country enter to win their share of more than $1 million in educational scholarships and incentives awarded through the program. 

The national first place winner receives a $35,000 scholarship paid directly to the recipient’s American university, college or vocational/technical school. A complete list of other national scholarships range from $1,000-$21,000, and the first place winner from each VFW Department (state) wins at least a scholarship of $1,000. Before submitting your essay, download the  2024-2025 entry form here  and find your sponsoring  local VFW Post  as applications must be turned in by  midnight, Oct. 31 . 

The 2024-25 theme is:  "Is America Today Our Forefathers' Vision?"

About the 2023-2024 winner ...

Sophia Lin, a high school junior at BASIS Scottsdale in Scottsdale, Arizona, was named the 2023-2024 Voice of Democracy first place winner. Sophia's speech on the theme, "What Are the Greatest Attributes of Our Democracy?" won her a $35,000 college scholarship. Sophia was sponsored by Scottsdale VFW Post 3513. Watch as Sophia delivered her speech during the VFW's Parade of Winners award  ceremony or read it here .

Want to catch up on everything that happened this year? You can watch the full Parade of Winners ceremony which was streamed live on Facebook, or see this year's complete list of winners .

Patriot's Pen

Each year, nearly 68,800 students in sixth through eighth grades enter the VFW’s Patriot’s Pen youth essay contest for a chance to win their share of nearly $1 million in state and national awards. Each first place state winner receives a minimum of $500 at the national level, and the national first place winner wins $5,000! 

The essay contest encourages young minds to examine America’s history, along with their own experiences in modern American society, by drafting a 300- to 400-word essay, expressing their views based on a patriotic theme chosen by the VFW Commander-in-Chief. Before submitting your essay,  download the 2024-2025 entry form here  and find your sponsoring local VFW Post  as applications must be turned in by  midnight, Oct. 31 . 

The 2024-25 theme is:  "My Voice in America's Democracy?"

Bryant Day, an eighth grade student from Ashland, Ohio, was named the 2023-2024 Patriot's Pen first place winner. His essay on the theme, "How Are You Inspired by America?" won the national first place $5,000 award. Bryant was sponsored by VFW Post 9943 and its Auxiliary in Mansfield, Ohio.

Watch as Bryant delivered his winning essay during the VFW's Parade of Winners streamed live on Facebook, or read  his essay here.  See the complete list of 2024 national winners .

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2023-2024 VOD Winners

Voice of democracy entry form, voice of democracy national scholarship listing, 2023-2024 patriot's pen winners, patriot's pen entry form, patriot's pen national scholarship listing, sponsor a youth scholarship.

International Studies & Programs

Global Youth Advancement Network

2024 Call for Submissions

In partnership with MSU’s Muslim Studies Center  and African Studies Center the 2024 Global Voices Essay Contest is open to 15-24 year old citizens of Middle East and North African nations (see eligible nationalities/groups below). We invite youth to share their stories in order to raise awareness, amplify their voices, and inspire others. 

• Eligibility: 15 to 24 year-olds who have refugee status or citizenship from a Middle Eastern or North African nation. Dual Citizenship is permitted.  For purposes of this contest, these include: Afghan; Algerian; Armenian; Assyrian / Chaldean; Azerbaijani; Bahraini; Berber; Circassian; Djiboutian; Egyptian; Emirati; Georgian; Israeli; Iranian; Iraqi; Jordanian; Kurdish; Kuwaiti; Lebanese; Libyan; Mauritanian; Moroccan; Omani; Palestinian; Qatari; Saudi Arabian; Somali; Sudanese; Syrian; Tunisian; Turkish; Yemeni. 
• Submission Due Date:  August 30, 2024
• Essay Length: 600 - 900 words
• Submission Language: English
• Theme:  " Authoring Our Own Story"   Youth have the chance to tell a new story about their homelands and their unique, personal experiences. They can choose to claim, re-frame, or reject the dominant narratives, and give a new perspective on what life is like in the Middle East and North Africa for youth in 2024.

(Promotional PDF flyer:  Essay Contest Poster 2024 )

Step 1:  Choose one sub-theme for your essay:

The essay contest will be split into five sub-themes which are outlined below. The examples and questions given in each description are merely to inspire ideas; they are not exhaustive. You should feel free to use creativity and own voice in your response. Please select the category which most closely fits your story!

Everyday Life and Culture

While life is certainly punctuated by the large events, the majority of a life is made up of the small, everyday moments. What are the everyday aspects of life in your home country that could be perceived as ordinary, but are extraordinary to you? What are the cultural activities you take part in, and how have they shaped the person you are today? Are there ways you could use these cultural ties to help cultivate a sense of safety and belonging in your community? 

Media Coverage of Your Country

How the media portrays life in the Middle East and North Africa does not tell the whole story. How has the media coverage of your home country affected your own perceptions of where you are from? What do you wish people knew more about? Stories for this sub-theme may also include a retelling or reframing of media coverage, including how the media could be reshaped to better reflect your experience. How might young people positively influence media coverage?

Race and Citizenship

The definition of a “citizen” is “a native or naturalized person who owes allegiance to a government and is entitled to protection from it.” The relationship between race and citizenship has a complicated history, making this definition of “citizen” unapproachable or impossible for certain people groups throughout time. For this sub-theme, we invite reflections on how your racial or ethnic identity has affected your sense of citizenship in your home country. This could also include lessons learned from the experience of being displaced from your home country.

Forging Connections

Much of the global discourse today focuses on our differences—between ethnicities, cultural traditions, religions, and political beliefs. Youth have a unique chance in today’s interconnected world of technology and social media to build community across borders, forging connection in otherwise isolating contexts. Stories for this theme might include the challenges you and the youth in your community face when finding community, and how you are forging connections even in light of these barriers.

Youth and Leadership

Youth have the ability to fulfill a unique role as leaders working toward sustainable and innovative solutions, not only for global issues, but also related to the development of their own countries. Stories for this sub-theme may highlight the role youth are playing or can play as a new generation of ethical leaders. You might also or discuss the challenges they face and/or the education, skills, and resources needed for youth to be able to effect transformative change. 

Step 2 : Write your essay using 600-900 words.

  Step 3 : Submit your essay:

• Save your essay as a Microsoft Word document
• Submit it via the submission system
• Note: If the writer is less than 18 years old, parental or guardian consent must also be provided via the submission system. See the blank Parent/Guardian Consent Form  which must be completed, signed, and uploaded to the submission system together with the essay submission.
• First Place Winner: $500
• Second Place: $200
• Third Place: $100

Publication

The best essays within each sub-theme will be published online and/or in print. By submitting an essay, you must agree that it may be published online and/or in print. Any proceeds will be used to advance global youth advocacy, access, and opportunity. 

Judging Criteria

Our student, faculty, and staff judging panel will rate the essays on the following criteria: 

Originality:  Essay shows a great deal of independent and thought-provoking insight. It gives a sense of the person behind the words. Original, creative, honest, and engaging. 

Appropriateness to the Theme:  Writer connects their story to the overall theme of "Authoring Our Own Stories" as well as one of the five sub-themes with well-chosen reasons/examples.

Critical Insights:  The writer demonstrates a deep, fresh understanding of the subject. Original ideas are presented and developed through facts, examples, anecdotes, details, opinions, statistics, reasons, and/or explanations.

• Solutions: The author explores ways that they themself or young people in general have a role in creating positive change. 

Organization/Use of Language:   Essay is artfully structured, moving the reader smoothly and naturally through the text. Free of spelling and punctuation errors. Grammar usage is controlled. Meets word limit.

International Youth Day 2024: Open for Proposals

Open Call for Fellows (cohort 2)!

2024 Global Voices Essay Contest is now Open!

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Call for Application: ACGEM Youth Essay Competition 2024

Published: 23 Feb 2024

The African Center for Governance and Economic Management (ACGEM) is thrilled to announce the launch of an exciting essay competition on the theme: “Embracing Homegrown Democracy in Africa: Unlocking the Potential of African Democracies”.

In pursuit of fostering intellectual discourse and promoting innovative ideas for the advancement of governance and economic management in Africa, ACGEM invites young scholars, students, policymakers, and thought leaders from across Africa to engage in a thought-provoking discussion on the subject of homegrown democracy in Africa.

ACGEM Youth Essay Competition

Benefits of acgem youth essay competition, requirements for acgem youth essay competition, selection process, application deadline, how to apply.

• $3000 cash prize
• All-expense-paid trip to ACGEM headquarters in Accra for a 1-month internship
• $2000 cash prize
• $1000 cash prize
• Open to citizens of African countries between the ages of 18 – 35.

Selection process

Submissions will be evaluated by a panel of distinguished experts in the fields of governance, economics, and democracy. Entries will be judged on the basis of originality, clarity, depth of analysis, and relevance to the competition theme.

Important Dates:

• Submission Deadline: June, 28th 2024.
• Winners Announcement: September, 30th 2024.
• Essays should be written in English and should not exceed 5000 words.
• Essays should be formatted in Times New Roman, with a font size of 12, and a line spacing of 1.5.
• Submissions should be emailed to  [email protected]  and copied to  [email protected] .
• All submissions should include a cover letter with the participant’s name, contact information, and a brief profile not exceeding 500

For more details,visit  ACGEM website

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Uganda Youth Essay Competition

Join the writing movement.

Are you a Ugandan aspiring writer? aged 12 - 25 years? Here is your chance to participate in essay writing competitions and add your voice to the Ugandan conversation also and stand a chance to win prizes.

Participate in Essay Challenges Posted on our website.

Get creative in your writing. It doesn't have to be an essay. It could be a poem.

Short Stories

We LOVE writers that create short stories

We love to hear the past stories as these shaped the future we live in. Get Creative.

Current Writing Challenges

Youth Rising 2024 Uganda Health System Essay Challenge

Youth Rising 2024 Mental Health Writing Challenge

Youth Rising 2023 International Youth Day Essay Challenge!

Winning essays.

Winning Essays May 2024: Uganda Health Systems

Welcome to the May 2024 edition of the Uganda Youth Essay Competition. This month, we focused on the critical topic of the Ugandan Health System and explored innovative ways to further improve it.

Winning Essay: Youth & Mental Health – Raymond Magomu

In the bustling halls of Uganda's educational institutions, a hidden struggle silently unfolds—the mental health challenges faced by countless students. Anxiety, depression, and other unseen burdens plague young minds, often unnoticed and unaddressed.

Winning Essay: International Youth Day 2023 – Kanyesigye Osbert

Youth skills development, poverty, and unemployment are prominent global concerns in Africa as a continent where the population of young people between the ages of 15–24

Winning Essay: World Youth Skills Day

Learn more about the writing competition

Cash prizes, social media mentions, win a tablet, get published.

Enter in any challenge but only submit one entry per challenge.

See our distinguished judges. You can join our growing list of judges and help us score applicants

How To Participate?

Partner with us, s u p p o r t y o u t h w r i t i n g c o m p e t i t i o n s.

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Writing is one of 10 artistic disciplines in YoungArts’ national competition . This discipline encompasses creative nonfiction, novel, play or script, poetry, short story and spoken word.

Competition Eligibility

To be eligible, you must be able to answer ”Yes“ to these statements:

• I am either a citizen of the United States, a permanent resident/green card recipient, or I can demonstrate that I am legally able to receive taxable income in the United States.  
• I am in grades 10–12 or 15–18 years of age on December 1 of the year I am applying. 
• If I’m selected as an award winner with distinction, this would be my first time attending National YoungArts Week.

Application Requirements

The strongest submissions demonstrate a sense of inventiveness, show attention to the complexities and technical aspects of language, and have a clear, original, and distinct point of view.

Play or Script

Spoken word.

The 2025 YoungArts application closes on October 17, 2024 at 8 PM ET .

Tips and Testimonials from Winners and Guest Artists

Application tips | Sarah Braunstein, Guest Artist

Application tips | John Murillo, Guest Artist

What it's like to be a YoungArts Winner | Nicole Cooley (1984 Writing), National Selection Panelist

Select readings from winners.

Ulysses Hill | Creative Nonfiction

Shaliz Bazldjoo | Novel

Mac Stern | Play/Script

Daniel Liu | Poetry

Amy Wang | Short Story

Zoe Dorado | Spoken Word

View select works from winners  here., see our faq for answers to common questions about the competition and application..

For the first time, I felt confident and so centered in my art—for the first time, I had the opportunity to talk to talented and powerful artists my age and learn from them.”

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Mattson wins 2024 parade of nations essay contest.

Press release

Houghton — The MTU Parade of Nations is thrilled to announce Kayleigh Mattson as the winner of the 2024 Essay Contest, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Houghton.

Kayleigh, a local high school senior, has been awarded a $1,000 scholarship and will be attending Michigan Technological University this fall. Her insightful essay stood out for its reflection on diversity, community and personal growth.

The Parade of Nations committee introduced the scholarship to encourage local high school seniors to share their perspectives on diversity and community. Applicants were required to submit a 250-300 word essay on how they have built connections with individuals different from themselves and how they plan to contribute to a sense of belonging at Michigan Tech. The contest was open to graduates from local high schools including Calumet, Lake Linden, Dollar Bay, Hancock, Houghton, Jeffers, Chassell, Baraga and L’Anse.

Kayleigh’s essay eloquently captured the spirit of the contest. She wrote:

“I was born in a rural area of Louisiana where I went to school and had friends from various backgrounds, including black and Hispanic. When I moved to Michigan, in 5th grade, I noticed a change in the student population. Living in two different places allowed me to appreciate the differences among people. Diversity is about welcoming people with different beliefs and ensuring everyone has equal opportunities.”

Reflecting on her community’s history, she continued:

“Our town was built by immigrants from various countries laboring in the mines located around the Copper Country. Following neglect of fair pay and working conditions, the union started to strike. Despite diverse backgrounds, workers united for a common cause: fair wages and better working conditions. The strike advocated for change. Our community showed that when people with diverse beliefs come together, they can achieve a shared goal. Each individual brings unique perspectives and strengths, contributing to a community’s success.”

Kayleigh expressed her enthusiasm for joining Michigan Technological University and engaging with its diverse student body:

“As a student at our town’s university, I am excited about the diverse student body. I am entering MTU as undecided, but interested in the Humanities Department. I hope to seek out opportunities to learn about different cultures and perspectives. I am eager to attend courses that focus on embracing diversity and inclusiveness. I am also excited to explore different clubs that will introduce me to new groups and backgrounds. By joining these clubs, I hope to gain valuable insights, broaden my perspectives, and meet people from diverse backgrounds. I hope to enrich my understanding of the world and grow as an individual.”

Kayleigh’s thoughtful and inspiring essay demonstrates her commitment to fostering inclusivity and understanding. The MTU Parade of Nations and the Rotary Club of Houghton are proud to honor her as the 2024 Essay Contest winner.

Kayleigh will be recognized at the Parade of Nations on Sept. 21, 2024, where she will share her essay with the community. We invite everyone to join us in celebrating Kayleigh’s achievement and the diverse community that enriches our lives.

For more information about the Parade of Nations or the essay contest, please contact [email protected].

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Essay Writing Competition 2024 ...

Essay Writing Competition 2024 The Department of Information and Public Relations J&K is conducting an essay writing competition as part of Independence Celebrations for youth and university students aged above 13 years of age to project their innovative, exciting, novel ideas and imaginative skills on the following topic.

•Aim of Essay Competition is:

1. To project their dream of India at the 100th year of Independence. 2. Provide an excellent platform to bring out creativity, innovation & imagination among the youth and university students. 3. To provide a competitive environment across all state youth and university students to present their views and ideas. 4. To enrich the writing skills and thought-provoking in the fertile minds of young people.

•Guidelines:

1. All youth and college students of Universities in J&K above age of 13 years are eligible to participate. 2. The essays/articles can be written in only the English language. 3. The best three essays will be selected and the candidates will be felicitated at the Division level on 15th August 2024. 4. They should submit their papers on the following Google link: https://tinyurl.com/DIPREssay2024 , by 10th August 2024 5. The length of the Article should not be more than 700 words and shall be submitted in PDF formats only. 6. The papers will be evaluated based on their novelty of contribution, originality of thought, and ability to stimulate interest. 7. A district-level committee comprising the District Information Officer & Chief Education Officer under the supervision of the Deputy Commissioner is proposed to be constituted for scanning the entries at District Level 8. A Division Level Committee comprising of Director School Education & Joint Director Information under the supervision of the Divisional Commissioner will be constituted to scan the entries at Division Level.

Rewards: Ist Prize: 10,000 2nd prize: 7500 3rd Prize: 5,000

Time lines: Starting date of submission is 12th July 2024 Last Date of Submission is 10th August 2024

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Meet the Winners of the 2024 Essay Contest and Read the Essays

This year, we asked early-career scientists and health professionals to identify a scientific question that is insufficiently addressed in biomedical research today. The winning essays are published in the July 15th issue of The Journal of Clinical Investigation .

After reading their essays, we were excited to learn more about our winners. Watch the interviews to find out who inspires them, what is the best part of doing research, and what the next big thing in their field will be.

Kevin S. Blake, Washington University in St. Louis

Kevin received his PhD in biology and biomedical sciences from Washington University in St. Louis in the Center for Genome Sciences & Systems Biology. His research under Gautam Dantas investigates the diversity and evolution of antibiotic resistance in human and environmental microbiomes. Kevin’s doctoral dissertation and postdoctoral work focus on the sequence-structure-function dynamics of the tetracycline destructase family of antibiotic-inactivating enzymes. He also has a special interest in writing about science for general audiences, on topics including microbiology, genomics, and evolution. In his free time, he enjoys running, reading, and playing with his dog.

Essay: Missing microbiomes: global underrepresentation restricts who research will benefit

Who inspires you as a scientist? Kevin is inspired by two scientists: Michael Baym and Stephen Jay Gould.

What is your favorite part about doing research? Kevin loves doing experiments.

What do you think is next in your field, or in what direction do you hope it will go?  Kevin shares his hopes for microbiome-based therapeutics.

Catherine M. Bridges, Lexington Medical Center in West Columbia; Medical University of South Carolina

Catherine recently completed the MD/PhD Medical Scientist Training Program at the Medical University of South Carolina, where she was awarded a predoctoral fellowship. For her graduate research, Catherine investigated the role of microglia in a mouse model of the rare neurodevelopmental disorder MEF2C haploinsufficiency syndrome. She is a transitional-year intern at Lexington Medical Center in West Columbia, South Carolina. Catherine matched into residency in diagnostic radiology. Her research interests involve applying radiological techniques in women’s health. In her free time, Catherine enjoys spending time with her husband, playing board games, and gardening.

Essay: Illuminating maternal sepsis: a call for improved recognition and prevention

When are you inspired as a scientist? Catherine shares how patients inspire her research.

What is your favorite part about doing research?  Catherine is excited when she sees the results of an experiment.

What do you think is next in your field, or in what direction do you hope it will go?  Catherine hopes there will be increased attention and broader accessibility to women’s health.

Andrea M. Maxwell, University of Minnesota Medical School

Andrea is a sixth-year MD/PhD student at the University of Minnesota. Her thesis work focuses on sex/gender differences in the roles of social support, stress, and brain function in alcohol misuse. She received a Ruth L. Kirschstein Predoctoral National Research Service award from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Andrea plans to pursue clinical training in psychiatry, focusing on addiction and reproductive psychiatry. Outside work, Andrea likes to camp, travel, take care of her backyard chickens, and read and write for fun. She and her husband are welcoming a baby boy in July 2024.

Essay: What happens to the brain during pregnancy?

Who inspires you as a scientist? Andrea was inspired by Dr. Sylvia Earle, whom she discovered in a book that her parents gave her when she was a child.

What is your favorite part about doing research?  Andrea enjoys working with an interdisciplinary team and writing about science.

What do you think is next in your field, or in what direction do you hope it will go?  Andrea explains that deep data collection will help us understand complex pathologies such as substance use disorder during pregnancy.

Subashan Vadibeler, University of Leeds; University of Oxford, UK

Subashan is an academic foundation doctor at St. James’s University Hospital, researching health inequities as part of the Child Health Outcomes Research at Leeds team. Born and raised in Malaysia, he attended medical school at the University of Malaya, developing an interest in urban poverty, child health, and the immune system. He later matriculated as a Rhodes scholar at Oxford University, where his research under Eileen Parkes focused on immune evasion mechanisms in cancers and viruses. He aspires to become a clinician–scientist working toward solutions for tropical infectious diseases. He finds balance through long-distance running.

Essay: The (unresolved) antibody paradox

Who inspires you as a scientist? Subashan shares how the high prevalence of dengue disease in Malaysia directed his research focus.

What is your favorite part about doing research?  Subashan enjoys being challenged and tackling novel scientific questions.

What do you think is next in your field, or in what direction do you hope it will go?  Subashan is optimistic that increased attention to tropical infectious diseases will advance the field.

Sarah Voss, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine

In the suburbs of Fort Worth, Texas, Sarah spent her childhood as a nationally ranked springboard diver until she hopped off the diving board and into the research lab. Her undergraduate research experiences catapulted her into PhD work at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in the lab of Joshua Modell, where she studies bacterial defense systems and fundamental phage biology. In her free time, Sarah loves to creatively express herself, whether that’s through the footprints she painted on her living room ceiling, solving a rock-climbing puzzle, or mastering a new yoga move.

Essay: The enemy of my enemy is my friend

Who inspires you as a scientist? Sarah chose Jane Goodall as a role model.

What is your favorite part about doing research? Sarah loves discussing science and sharing ideas with her peers.

What do you think is next in your field, or in what direction do you hope it will go?  Sarah tells us what is next in phage therapy research.

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Youth Scholarships

The VFW is dedicated to promoting patriotism and investing in our future generation. If you are a democracy-loving high school student interested in a $35,000 college scholarship or a patriotic middle school student interested in winning $5,000, these scholarships may be for you.

Voice of Democracy

Established in 1947, our  Voice of Democracy  audio-essay program provides high school students with the unique opportunity to express themselves in regards to a democratic and patriotic-themed recorded essay.  Each year, nearly 25,000 ninth through 12th grade students from across the country enter to win their share of more than $1 million in educational scholarships and incentives awarded through the program. 

The national first place winner receives a $35,000 scholarship paid directly to the recipient’s American university, college or vocational/technical school. A complete list of other national scholarships range from $1,000-$21,000, and the first place winner from each VFW Department (state) wins at least a scholarship of $1,000. Before submitting your essay, download the  2024-2025 entry form here  and find your sponsoring  local VFW Post  as applications must be turned in by  midnight, Oct. 31 . 

The 2024-25 theme is:  "Is America Today Our Forefathers' Vision?"

About the 2023-2024 winner ...

Sophia Lin, a high school junior at BASIS Scottsdale in Scottsdale, Arizona, was named the 2023-2024 Voice of Democracy first place winner. Sophia's speech on the theme, "What Are the Greatest Attributes of Our Democracy?" won her a $35,000 college scholarship. Sophia was sponsored by Scottsdale VFW Post 3513.  Watch as Sophia delivered her speech during the VFW's Parade of Winners award  ceremony or  read it here .

Want to catch up on everything that happened this year? You can watch the full  Parade of Winners ceremony  which was streamed live on Facebook, or  see this year's complete list of winners .

Patriot's Pen

Each year, nearly 68,800 students in sixth through eighth grades enter the VFW’s  Patriot’s Pen  youth essay contest for a chance to win their share of nearly $1 million in state and national awards. Each first place state winner receives a minimum of $500 at the national level, and the national first place winner wins $5,000! 

The essay contest encourages young minds to examine America’s history, along with their own experiences in modern American society, by drafting a 300- to 400-word essay, expressing their views based on a patriotic theme chosen by the VFW Commander-in-Chief. Before submitting your essay,  download the 2024-2025 entry form here  and  find your sponsoring  local VFW Post  as applications must be turned in by  midnight, Oct. 31 . 

The 2024-25 theme is:  "My Voice in America's Democracy?"

Bryant Day, an eighth grade student from Ashland, Ohio, was named the 2023-2024 Patriot's Pen first place winner. His essay on the theme, "How Are You Inspired by America?" won the national first place $5,000 award. Bryant was sponsored by VFW Post 9943 and its Auxiliary in Mansfield, Ohio.

Watch as Bryant delivered his winning essay  during the VFW's Parade of Winners streamed live on Facebook, or  read  his essay here.  See the complete list of 2024 national winners .

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The attempted assassination of Donald Trump is shocking but hardly surprising. The US has travelled this perilous path for decades

Analysis The attempted assassination of Donald Trump is shocking but hardly surprising. The US has travelled this perilous path for decades

Shocking but not surprising. As a BBC correspondent covering the Trump presidency, I used that four-word formulation so often that it became something of a personal and professional mantra.

To hear Donald Trump address the United Nations in New York and threaten to "totally destroy" one of its member states, North Korea, was shocking but not surprising given the belligerence of his rhetoric.

To witness him describing the neo-Nazis who had marched with tiki torches in Charlottesville, Virginia, as "very fine people" could be described in the same terms because Trump had repeatedly failed to disavow his far right supporters.

Even the insurrection that Trump incited on January 6, 2021 fell under this rubric. The storming of the US Capitol, with the aim of preventing the certification of Joe Biden's clear-cut election victory, fitted a pattern of norm-busting and democracy denying. When he urged his supporters to " fight like hell ", MAGA diehards were prepared to act on this violent presidential directive.

Over the weekend, then, when the first reports came through that shots had rung out at a Trump rally in Pennsylvania and that the former president had been rushed off the stage bloodied but unbowed, I found myself revisiting those words. It was shocking to see his bullet-pierced ear. It was extraordinary to think the former president had come within centimetres of being assassinated. It was dismaying to think that a 20-year-old gunman, not long out of high school , could outwit the Secret Service and local law enforcement.

But this grievous act of political violence could scarcely be described as surprising, not least because so many of the country's problems intersected in that near fatal moment.

An alarming escalation of political violence

To begin with, gun violence in the US, fuelled by such easy access to high-powered weaponry, has become depressingly and distressingly routine.

An irony of the assassination attempt in Pennsylvania is that it was carried out with an AR-15 rifle, a weapon that has become especially popular among gun enthusiasts because it is the firearm that gun control advocates most want to ban. Its trophy-like status has been explained by conservatives as a "f*** you" to the left.

In recent years, there has also been an alarming escalation of political violence. America's first Black president Barack Obama received three times more death threats than his predecessors — 30 death threats a day. Michelle Obama became the first First Lady to have assigned to her motorcade a Counter Assault Team, the helmeted agents wearing full black battle dress, who appeared on stage in Pennsylvania.

In June 2017, a Bernie Sanders supporter carried out a gun attack targeting Republican lawmakers training for the annual congressional baseball match in Alexandria, Virginia.

In 2020, there was a plot to kidnap the Democratic governor of Michigan, Gretchen Whitmer. In 2022, a man broke into the San Francisco home of the then House Speaker Nancy Pelosi , with the aim of taking her hostage. When he realised she was not home at the time, he bludgeoned her husband, Paul Pelosi, with a hammer.

A new attack exposes familiar fault lines

Then, of course, there was January 6th, when Trump supporters rampaged through the halls of Congress, invaded its chambers and erected a noose outside . Around these gallows they chanted "Hang Mike Pence", the then vice-president who had resisted Trump's pleadings to overturn the election result, something Pence did not have the constitutional authority to do.

The violence on January 6th was seen by many of its perpetrators as historically legitimate. Many of these insurrectionists chanted "1776", believing themselves to be American patriots acting in the spirit of the revolution.

Thomas Jefferson, the primary author of the Declaration of Independence, once said that the "tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants". Over the years, those words have become something of a far right meme, and taken at face value.

Partisan rage has now become the defining characteristic of US politics, and it came to the fore immediately after the assassination attempt in Pennsylvania. This time it was Republicans who blamed Democrats for inciting violence through their demonisation of Donald Trump. The kind of attack which in another country might unify the nation ended up exposing its all too familiar fault lines.

Minutes after the shooting, conspiracy theories also abounded on social media, that modern-day super-spreader of misinformation. Had the Secret Service allowed the attack to take place, given so many rally attendees had noticed the gunman lying on the roof? Had Joe Biden or the "deep state" ordered and orchestrated a hit? Had the Republicans staged the entire event?

But, as with political violence and mass shootings, conspiracy mongering has long been an American contagion. On the day of his assassination in November 1963, John F Kennedy was on his way to deliver a speech in Dallas where he intended to warn against "ignorance and misinformation" and "voices preaching doctrines wholly unrelated to reality".

On the eve of the Kennedy assassination, the eminent historian Richard Hofstadter delivered a bleak lecture at Oxford University, which became the basis for his seminal essay, The Paranoid Style in American Politics. Political life back at home, Hofstadter argued, had "served again and again as an arena for uncommonly angry minds". The paranoid style, he called it, "because no other word adequately evokes the qualities of heated exaggeration, suspiciousness and conspiratorial fantasy".

What happened on Saturday, then, is deeply rooted in American history, and follows the same perilous path the country has been travelling for decades.

A crucial turning point

The electoral ramifications of the failed assassination attempt are potentially immense.

The image of Trump punching the air, and shouting "fight, fight, fight", with the stars and stripes fluttering above, became instantly iconographic. Often his supporters have borrowed warrior-like imagery, casting him as Rambo or the Terminator on their t-shirts and ensigns.

But now many of his supporters are inking that dramatic image of his near martyrdom into their skin.

In an election where turnout will be so vital — especially in battleground states such as Pennsylvania — Trump's base will now be super-mobilised.

Conservative waverers, many of whom backed the former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley during the Republican primaries, might also be persuaded to come back to the fold. For now, criticism from Republican Never Trumpers is more muted.

Joe Biden will now find it harder to prosecute his argument that Donald Trump poses a threat to democracy for the simple reason his opponent has become the victim of an attack on democracy. Reassembling his winning coalition from 2020 is also more problematic. After all, anti-Trump sentiment, rather than a pro-Biden groundswell, was the key to his victory four years ago.

A Trump restoration is not guaranteed

Whereas Republicans are now hyper-motivated, Democrats remain hesitant about whether Biden should even contest the election. This is a potentially decisive energy gap.

Trump's show of defiance after surviving his would-be assassin's bullets stands in glaring contrast to Biden's disastrous debate performance, which has stirred dismay within the Democratic Party. Indeed, just as Trump's fist pump has become the defining image of the 2024 election, Biden's fumbled answers have become its defining soundbites.

Talk of replacing Joe Biden, the storyline that dominated so many news cycles pre-Pennsylvania, is on pause. It will be difficult to push for his removal at a time of such national trauma, when Biden is trying to present himself as the healer-in-chief. The 81-year-old has always believed that his elder statesman status makes him unusually well qualified to bring the country together.

So, for now at least, the attempt on Trump's life has strengthened Biden's position when it comes to holding onto his party's presidential nomination, while simultaneously weakening his chances of winning another four years in the White House.

Nothing is preordained. A Trump restoration is not guaranteed. The race for the White House will see more twists and turns.

But in this emphatically American moment, a convicted felon, who as president incited an insurrection, is the favourite to win one of the most consequential elections in US history . That may be shocking to his detractors, both in America and abroad, but surely few would find it surprising.

Nick Bryant is a former BBC Washington correspondent and the author of The Forever War: America's Unending Conflict with Itself.

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How Crew defied expectations ... and what's next

Adam McCalvy

This story was excerpted from Adam McCalvy’s Brewers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here . And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

MILWAUKEE -- It wasn’t a smooth road, but it is difficult to quibble with where the Brewers wound up at the All-Star break.

The Brewers are in first place in the National League Central at 55-42, and they have been there for all but one day since April 10, and every day since April 29. FanGraphs pegged their postseason odds at 30 percent on Opening Day, and the figure is up to 83.6 percent today.

That’s a surprise to many, including the 88 MLB.com voters who weighed in at the start of the season and mostly picked the Cubs to win the division. The Cardinals were the next-most popular pick, then the Reds and then the Brewers, who had a new manager in Pat Murphy and great uncertainty surrounding a starting rotation that had been the team’s strength for several years.

“I think it’s gonna be hard-nosed, aggressive baseball…that would be my guess.” pic.twitter.com/R2ZneIEoRw — Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) July 20, 2024

It’s a different team now, one mostly characterized by defense, speed and youth -- and a much more versatile offense than a year ago. Here’s where they ranked in key categories coming out of the All-Star break:

Winning percentage : .567 (6th in MLB) Batting average : .255 (tied for fourth) On-base percentage : .333 (second) Slugging percentage : .400 (14th) OPS : .733 (10th) Runs per game : 4.8 (eighth) Home runs per game : 1.02 (tied for 21st) Stolen bases : 133 (second) ERA : 3.81 (11th) WHIP : 1.25 (11th) Strikeout percentage : 21.2 (tied for 25th) Quality starts : 25 (28th)

“We’ve had our share of bumps along the way, but this is a really good group,” GM Matt Arnold said. “We’re in almost every game, like ‘Murph’ says. I’m excited to see what we can do in the second half.”

Second-half goal: Defend the NL Central crown After making the postseason in five of the previous six seasons, including division titles in 2018, ‘21 and ‘23, the Brewers were expected by many prognosticators to take step back in ‘24 after losing their top two starters, Corbin Burnes (traded to Orioles) and Brandon Woodruff (offseason right shoulder surgery), and then losing 2023 NL Reliever of the Year Devin Williams to a back injury in Spring Training that cost him the entire first half. But here they are in first place once again, 4 1/2 games up on the second-place Cardinals, with just enough pitching and a young but much more proficient offense. Oh, and Williams is expected back by the end of July.

• Williams progressing, but taking it 'one day at a time'

Likely Trade Deadline strategy: Add pitching (at the right price) The Brewers’ recent bullpen adds have not panned out (Andrew Chafin last season; Taylor Rogers, Matt Bush and Trevor Rosenthal in 2022; Daniel Norris and John Curtiss in ‘21) but they will scour that market once again because the need for innings of any kind is clear. Arnold already acquired ( and moved on from ) Dallas Keuchel, and he jumped the rest of the market by acquiring starter Aaron Civale from the Rays on July 3 .

The Brewers do have some pitchers due back from the IL soon after the All-Star break in “length” options Joe Ross and DL Hall, plus Williams and Jared Koenig. But this year and every year shows that a contender can never have too much pitching.

Key second-half player: 1B Rhys Hoskins Hoskins’ 100 OPS+ at the All-Star break means he was a league-average hitter in the first half. On one hand, that’s pretty good considering he missed the entire 2023 season with the Phillies after tearing the ACL in his left knee and undergoing surgery. On the other hand, Hoskins signed with the Brewers aiming for better, and the hope is that he’ll hit for more power in the second half now that he has his legs under him. Hoskins is 5-for-38 in July, but it’s notable that all five of those hits inflicted damage. He has hit three home runs and two doubles with 10 RBIs this month. The Brewers need more of that right-handed pop after a disappointing 13-13 record against left-handed starters in the first half.

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Prospect to watch: RHP Jacob Misiorowski In a perfect season, the Brewers would probably let Misiorowski ( No. 2 prospect, No. 32 overall) spend the entire season honing his command in the Minor Leagues. But this hasn’t been a perfect season. Because of injuries, the Brewers have already used 16 starting pitchers this year, one shy of the franchise record established by the expansion Seattle Pilots in 1969. Misiorowski could be one of the arms to push the club into record territory. The 22-year-old was 3-1 with a 1.71 ERA in his final five starts of the first half with Double-A Biloxi, with only seven walks in 26 1/3 innings -- and 38 strikeouts!

"You kind of want to put bubble wrap around that guy right now because he's been awesome,” Arnold said. “Excited to see what he can do. He’s certainly a factor we've talked about in the second half."