Deadline: March 31, 2016

The United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI), in collaboration with ELS Educational Services, Inc., (ELS) invites students to participate in the 2016 Many Languages, One World Student Essay Contest and Global Youth Forum. Share your ideas and be heard… perhaps even in the General Assembly Hall of the United Nations!

60 Students will be selected as delegates to the 2016 United Nations Academic Impact Global Youth Forum, 25-31 July, 2016, where they will create action plans related to the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The students will present these action plans at United Nations Headquarters in New York City. Airfare, Room and Meals will be provided by ELS Educational Services, Inc.

Essay Topic:

The essay should discuss global citizenship and cultural understanding and the role that multilingual ability can play in fostering these. The essay should reflect the student’s personal, academic, cultural and national context.

Benefits and Cost

• ELS will pay for roundtrip economy class airfares in carriers of its choosing between the airport nearest to the Winners’ home city and New York, and be responsible for the Winners’ travel, room and meals for the duration of the conference (6-7 days).
• Sightseeing and tourism opportunities will also be arranged by ELS. No extensions of stay or early arrivals will be possible.
• ELS will provide each winning student with a basic travel and accident insurance policy, for which the premium will be paid by ELS.
• All Winners attending the conference will be given certificates of participation by ELS, signifying they have participated in the Global Youth Forum arranged in cooperation with the United Nations Academic Impact.

Winners are responsible for all documentation relating to their journey, including passports and visas and the costs related to these, as well as appropriate medical insurance for their journey and temporary stay in the United States.

Eligibility

• You must be a full-time university student, recommended and endorsed by a Faculty Member or University Representative
• You must be 18 years of age or older by the contest deadline.
• The official United Nations languages are Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.

How To Participate

• Write an original essay (2,000 words or less) discussing global citizenship and cultural understanding and the role that multilingual ability can play in fostering these.
• The essay should reflect your personal, academic, cultural and national context. Essays must be written in an official language of the United Nations that is not your first language or primary language of instruction during your primary or secondary education.
• You will need to demonstrate both written and verbal competency in the language of the essay.

Entry Process:

1. Write your essay according to the contest rules and eligibility guidelines.
2. Share your essay with the University Faculty Member or Authorized Representative who recommended you so that s/he can attest to the fact that you have followed the contest rules.
3. Have that Faculty Member or University Administrator complete the Faculty Member/University Administrator Reference Form in support of your participation in the contest.
4. After the Faculty Reference form is submitted, the Faculty Member will receive an email from Many Languages, One World requesting confirmation of the reference.
5. Make sure that your Faculty member looks for this email and clicks on the confirmation link. They may need to check their spam or junk mail folder. If your Faculty member does not confirm their recommendation, you will not be able to submit an entry.
6. Once the Reference Form has been received and confirmed by Many Languages, One World, you will receive an email with further information, and a link where you can complete your Student Entry Form and upload your essay to the contest website.
7. The Student Entry Form must be completed in its entirety, and in English. If your entry form is incomplete, you will be disqualified. Be sure to include your government-issued identity card number or passport number, and submit your full name as it appears on your official documents or passport. Do not submit your photo.
8. At the bottom of the Student Entry form you will find the link to upload your essay to the contest website.
9. The essay must be submitted/uploaded in MS WORD format. Please title your essay as follows: LastName_FirstName-LanguageofEssay (ie, Smith_Jane-Arabic). Do not include a cover page with personal information, as the essays will be evaluated anonymously.
10. Only essays submitted through this link will be accepted. You can only submit one essay.
11. Essays must be received by 11:59pm Eastern Standard Time on Thursday 31 March, 2016 in order to qualify. Do not wait until the deadline date to submit. Give yourself time to ensure that your essay will be received successfully.