2012 UNESCO/Goi Peace international Youth Essay Contest

2012 UNESCO/Goi Peace international Youth Essay Contest

Young people from around the world are invited to send in entries for the 2012 the UNESCO/Goi Peace Foundation International Youth Essay contest.

The essay is jointly organized by The Goi Peace Foundation and UNESCO Endorsed by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan Japan Private High School Federation, Nikkei Inc., Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education Supported by FELISSIMO CORPORATION.

Rationale

As today’s young people are crucial for the shaping of our future, it is imperative that they are enabled to develop to their full potential. UNESCO’s objective is to help empower young people, reaching out to them, responding to their expectations and ideas, and fostering useful and long-lasting skills.

Essay theme: “Creating the Future We Want”.
Entrants are asked to reflect on the future they want to create for themselves and the world. Share your dream and ideas for making it a reality.

Guidelines

• Essays may be submitted by anyone up to 25 years old (as of June 30, 2012) in one of the following age categories:

• a) Children (ages up to 14)

• b) Youth (ages 15 – 25)

• Essays must be 800 words or less in English, French, Spanish or German; or 1600 characters or less in Japanese, typed or printed.

Essays must have a cover page indicating:

• (1) category (Children or Youth)
• (2) essay title
• (3) your name
• (4) address
• (5) phone number
• (6) e-mail
• (7) nationality
• (8) age as of June 30, 2012
• (9) gender
• (10) school name (if applicable)
• (11) word count.

* Entries missing any of the above information will not be considered.

Teachers and youth directors may submit a collection of essays from their class or group. Please enclose a list of participants’ names and the name and contact information of the submitting teacher or director.

Entries may be submitted by postal mail or online.

IMPORTANT: To send your essay online, you must go to the online registration page at www.goipeace.or.jp and follow the required steps.

Essays must be original and unpublished.

Essays must be written by one person. Co-authored essays are not accepted

Copyright of the essays entered will be assigned to the organizers.

Prizes

First prize: Certificate and prize of 100,000 Yen (approx. US$1,300) for one entrant. 1st prize winners will be invited to the award ceremony in Tokyo, Japan scheduled for November 2012. (Travel expenses will be covered by the organizers.)

Second prize: Certificate and prize of 50,000 Yen (approx. US$650) for two entrants.

Third prize: Certificate and gift for five entrants

Honourable Mention: certificate and gift for 25 entrants.

All prize winners will be announced in November 2012 on the Goi Peace Foundation web site and the UNESCO web site. Certificates and gifts will be mailed to the winners in December.

How to Enter

You can either send your entry by post or upload it online. If you want to post it, send it to:

International Essay Contest
c/o The Goi Peace Foundation
1-4-5 Hirakawacho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-0093 Japan

OR

You can submit it online through the link here.

Deadline: June 30, 2012

Sample of esays which won the Goi/UNESCO essay competition in 2009 - (These will give you an idea of the type of writing that is valued in this competition).

This information was taken from the Goi Peace Foundation website here>>>

Here is the collection of award winning stories from the 2011 UNESCO/GOI Peace international essay competition. The theme for the essays was "My story of inspiration".

These essays are available on the Goi Peace Foundation website>>>

(This is a .pdf file. You will need Adobe Acrobat reader to open this file)