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!