Deadline: June 15, 2017

Submit entries for the Goi Peace Foundation Essay Contest 2017. This annual essay contest is organized in an effort to harness the energy, imagination 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 of the UNESCO Global Action Programme (GAP) on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD).

The theme for this year is “Learning from Nature”

Prizes

The following awards will be given in the Children’s category and Youth category respectively:

• 1st Prize: Certificate, prize of 100,000 Yen (approx. US$880 as of Feb 2017) and gift for 1 entrant
• 2nd Prize: Certificate, prize of 50,000 Yen (approx. US$440 as of Feb 2017) and gift for 2 entrants
• 3rd Prize: Certificate and gift for 5 entrants
• Honorable Mention: Certificate and gift for 25 entrants
• 1st prize winners will be invited to the award ceremony to be held in Tokyo, Japan on November 25, 2017 and will receive the Minister of Education Award. (Travel expenses will be covered by the organizer.);
• Additional awards (Recognition for Effort, Best School Award, School Incentive Award) will be given if applicable.

Eligibility

• Essays may be submitted by anyone up to 25 years old (as of June 15, 2017) in one of the following age categories: a) Children (ages up to 14) b) Youth (ages 15 – 25);
• Essays must be 700 words or less in English, French, Spanish or German, or 1600 characters or less in Japanese, excluding essay title and cover page. Essays may be typed or printed;
• Essays must have a cover page indicating (1) category (Children or Youth) (2) your essay title (3) your name (4) address (5) phone number (6) e-mail (7) nationality (8) age as of June 15, 2017 (9) gender (10) school name (if applicable) (11) word count;
• Teachers and youth directors may submit a collection of essays from their class or group. Please enclose a list of participants’ names, ages and the name and contact information of the submitting teacher or director.
• Essays must be original and unpublished. Plagiarized entries will be rejected;
• Essays must be written by one person. Co-authored essays are not accepted;
• Copyright of the essays entered will be assigned to the organizer.

Application Proces

Entries may be submitted by postal mail or online.

• Submit essays online here!

All prize winners will be announced on October 31, 2017. Certificates and gifts will be mailed to the winners in December 2017.

For more information, visit Goi Peace Foundation International Essay Contest.