International Contest for Young People

HOW TO PARTICIPATE

  • Please send your essay by Midnight 15 March 2019, your local time, which will be the official closing date. All applications submitted after this deadline will not be considered.
  • Entries submitted must include a cover page indicating (1) your essay title; (2) your name; (3) address; (4) phone number; (5) email; (6) nationality; (7) age; (8) gender; (9) school/university name (if applicable); (10) word count.
  • The email for submissions is: essay2019@doc-research.org

THEME

My country, our world in 2030

Assuming that Europe’s future will involve both an increasing need for integration and increasing levels of importance being ascribed to national, regional, confessional, and various other social identities, dialogue and exchange will be just as crucial for inner-European relations as they are for relationships between Europeans and non-Europeans. The ‘My country, our world in 2030’ essay competition, organised in the context of the May 2019 European elections, is an opportunity for students and young people to provide insights on how they see the future of both their country and Europe more broadly. Some of the leading questions are:

  1. How do you think your country will be governed and how will it be positioned in the European and global economic and political scene in 2030?
  2. What are the main developments that will characterise your country and Europe in the future?
  3. What do you think the words ‘world’, ‘Europe’, and ‘country’ will mean to you more than a decade from now?

GUIDELINES

  • The essay competition is open to all young people, from Council of Europe and CIS countries, up to the age of 27.
  • Entries must be entirely the work of the entrant and by submitting you are confirming that the work is your own and does not make any copyright infringements. Any evidence to the contrary will result in immediate disqualification. Please take a look at the anti-plagiarism guidelines on the website.
  • Only one entry per applicant is allowed.
  • Entries should be submitted via email, in MS Word format, and in the English language, with a length up to a maximum of 5,000 words (including footnotes).
  • The essays should not contain more than two graphs, charts, or photos, with copyright secured and stated.
  • Authors should use 12pt font (any font), black, double-line spaced (i.e., a blank line space between each line), with pages numbered at the centre of the bottom of each page.
  • Authors should use either the MLA or the Chicago citation style.

JUDGING

  • Evaluation will be made by a panel of international academics, journalists, and policymakers.
  • The appointed jury will select up to five winning essays.
  • An expert panel will assist the jury in selecting shortlists.
  • The jury’s decision is final and no individual correspondence can be entered into.
  • The jury will be unable to comment on individual entries.

AWARDS

The presentation of the award will take place in Berlin in June 2019

  • ‘Best essay’ prize – full scholarship for a summer school of your choice!
  • ‘Best essays’ under 18, under 23 and under 27 – laptops and iPhones!
  • Attendance at the 2019 Rhodes Forum in Greece, October 11-12, 2019 – a unique opportunity to speak at an international event!
  • The Guerrand-Hermes Foundation for Peace Prize – your chance to participate at the International Spirit of Humanity Forum!
  • Attend and present your work at the Rising Peace Forum 2019 in Coventry, United Kingdom!
  • ‘The Russian-Armenian University Prize for the Best Essay from Armenia’ – a mystery prize!

“Best essay” prize –  full scholarship for a Summer School of your CHOICE!
This prize is offered to the winner of the best essay from overall entries, at the end of the two selection rounds. The award is represented by funding the participation at a summer school of participant’s choice. The summer school should take place in a European/Council of Europe country and should be no longer than 3 weeks and up to a 3000EUR value. Should the recipient not be able to attend, the prize will be reported for the following year. There will be no monetary equivalent paid instead.
DOC will cover the fee adjacent to the summer school, the accommodation and the travel.

“Best essays” under 18, under 23 and under 27 – competition among the best! First prize winners in these categories will each receive a laptop.
The runner up in each category will receive an iPhone.
The ceremony is planned for June 2019 in Berlin, subject to logistic changes. The prizes will be awarded no later than 14 days after the Ceremony.

Attendance at the 2019 Rhodes Forum in Greece, October 11-12, 2019 – a unique opportunity to speak at an international event!
DOC will host the winners of the Essay competition and they will be invited to speak in front of a high-level, international audience. DOC will cover the fee, accommodation and travel.

The Guerrand-Hermès Foundation for Peace Prize – Your chance to be the speaker at an international Forum!
The Guerrand-Hermès Foundation for Peace Prize will be inviting the author of the best essay to speak at the Spirit of Humanity Forum to be held on 30th May – 1st June 2019

Attend and present your work at the Rising Peace Forum 2019 in Coventry, United Kingdom!
The winners will be invited to attend and present their work at the Rising Global Peace Forum, 13-14 November 2019, which will take place in Coventry, the City of Peace and Reconciliation and the 2021 UK City of Culture. The award includes coverage of transportation and accommodation.

The Russian-Armenian University Prize for the Best Essay from Armenia!
The Russian-Armenian University will sponsor a special prize for the best essay written by an Armenian national.

  • The authors of the best five selected essays will be invited to present their papers at a public event hosted by the DOC in Berlin, as well as at the 2019 DOC Rhodes Forum in the presence of heads of state and government and other high-level guests.
  • The winners will be invited to attend and present their work at the Rising Peace Forum in Coventry, United Kingdom.
  • They can participate in a summer school program of their choice in any European country. The award includes flights and
    accommodation.
  • Our partners prepare many other surprise awards for the winners of the competition!

DEADLINE

Midnight 15 March 2019

COPYRIGHT

  • By submitting your essay, you grant us the exclusive right to both reproduce and/or distribute your text throughout the world in electronic format, print, or any other medium. You agree that we may publish your essay, distribute it, either on its own or with other related material.
  • We will ensure that your name is always clearly attached to the essay and, while we reserve the right to make necessary editorial changes, we will not make any substantial alterations to your text without consulting you. You will also retain the right to use your own work, as long as you do not promote it in ways that would conflict directly with the aim of the competition.

ANTI-PLAGIARISM CHECKLIST

  1. Did you write your essay yourself?
  2. Did you copy any text in your essay? If you did copy text in your essay, is that text in quotation marks with proper citations?
  3. Did you paraphrase anything in your essay? If you paraphrased an idea in your essay, did you properly cite it?
  4. Did you cite all the sources that you used in your essay?
  5. Did you include any photos, graphs, etc., and attribute their source?

For more info on how to cite, please refer to: http://style.mla.org/ and http://www.mendeley.com/guides/mla-citation-guide as well as http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html