How does youth unemployment affect you? How can you tackle youth unemployment through youth-led solutions? The International Essay Competition is open to all young people, students and non-students alike, between the ages of 18 and 25, from all countries of the world. If you are at least 18 and not older than 25 on May 15, 2010, you are eligible to participate.
General:
All work must be submitted by individuals, group work is not allowed. One participant may only submit one work per category. However, one participant may (but doesn’t have to, of course) submit work in both categories, that is: one essay and one video. All submissions must be made online via the Essay Competition website. Videos are submitted via YouTube. Submissions can be made in English, French or Spanish.
Essay:
Your essay may not be longer than 4000 words (about 10 pages of standard text). Essays are accepted in the following formats: .doc or .pdf. You are also required to provide a summary of no more than 250 words. The summary will be used by the jury to make a pre-selection.
Video:
Your video may not be longer than 2 minutes. To submit a video, you must create a YouTube account and upload your work on the YouTube website. Additionally, you are required to submit a form via the Essay Competition website, which will allow us to identify your work.
Rules:
• Submissions will be accepted until March 16, 2010.
• Each participant may submit entries in more than one category, but only one submission per category is allowed. This means that you may submit one essay and one video (although, of course, you can choose to submit, for example, only an essay), but you may not submit, for example, two essays.
• The essay competition is open for nationals of ALL countries of the world, students and non-students alike. Participants must be between the ages 18-25 on May 15, 2010. Students enrolled in Ph.D. courses are, however, not eligible to participate.
• Essays must not be longer than 4,000 words. Videos must not be longer than 2 minutes. There is no minimum length.
• Submissions can only be made online, in English, French, or Spanish. Essays are submitted via the Essay Competition website and videos are submitted via YouTube. Each participant must fill in a submission form on the Essay Competition website.
• Each essay must be accompanied by a summary (max. 250 words). The summary will be used by the jury to make a pre-selection.
• All submissions will be blind reviewed. References to specific individuals, firms, or schools, which might reveal the author's identity, are discouraged. It is not allowed to indicate your name anywhere on your work.
• Quotes and references must be clearly marked throughout the essay and properly cited.
• All submissions must be original. No previously published material will be accepted. Any form of plagiarism will result in automatic disqualification. Please note that all essays will be screened with specialized software to verify plagiarism.
• Essays are accepted in the .doc or .pdf format.
• The World Bank reserves the right to publish and/or to make available to the public the winning submissions. The World Bank reserves the right to modify the format and content of the submissions for publication purposes.
• The decision of the Jury is final and is not subject to an appeal.
• Participants of the previous editions of the Essay Competition are also encouraged to apply.
• Active (between the time of essay submission and the Final Jury in May 2010), paid staff (term or open-ended) of partner organizations (see list) of Essay Competition 2010 are not eligible to participate.
Awards:
Awards are sponsored by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway, the Government of Sweden, and the World Bank.
1. Essay
- Eight finalists will participate in the Final Jury in Stockholm, Sweden, in May 2010, and attend the Annual Bank Conference on Development Economics (ABCDE).
- Money awards:
1st prize: 3,000 USD
2nd prize: 2,000 USD
3rd prize: 1,000 USD
2. Video
- Author of the winning video will be invited for a screening at the occasion of the Annual Bank Conference on Development Economics (ABCDE), held in Stockholm, Sweden, in May 2010.
- Money awards:
1st prize: 2,000 USD
2nd prize: 1,000 USD
3rd prize: 500 USD
The jury reserves the right to modify award amounts based on the number of winning essays / videos selected.
More information: http://www.essaycompetition.org/index_1
