winner of national essay competition

• Financial Analysis
• Corporate Stories
• Investigations
• Commodities
• Company Results
• Stock Market
• Fixed Income
• Market Views
• Company News
• Consumer Goods
• Corporate Updates
• Corporate deals
• Corporate Press Releases
• Entertainment
• Financial Services
• Hospitality & Travel
• Manufacturing
• Real Estate and Construction
• Nairalytics
• Research Analysis
• Public Debt
• Business News
• Career tips
• Personal Finance
• Billionaire Watch

Onaro Adaeze Chukwuzolem, 15, Triumphs as Winner of UBA Foundation NEC 2023

L-R: Managing Director/CEO , United Bank for Africa(UBA) Foundation, Mrs Bola Atta; winner, 2023 UBA National Essay Competition and Student of Fountain Heights Secondary School, Adaeze Onaro and Group Managing Director/CEO, UBA Plc, Mr. Oliver Alawuba during the grand finale of the 2023 UBA National Essay Competition among senior school students in Nigeria at UBA House, Lagos, on Tuesday.

In a thrilling finale to the 2023 UBA Foundation National Essay Competition, 15-year-old Onaro Adaeze Chukwuzolem, a student of Fountain Heights Secondary School, Surulere Lagos, triumphed as the overall winner beating the 11 other finalists.

Her exuberant declaration, “Yes!!! I won!! I did it!!!,” echoed through the Tony Elumelu Amphitheatre in UBA House during the Grand Finale.

Adaeze’s victory marked a historic moment as the first of three girls to claim the top prizes in a competition that attracted nearly 12,000 entries from Senior Secondary School students across Nigeria, out of which 12 finalists were initially selected.

Related Stories

Thousands benefit as UBA Foundation extends generosity at “Annual Food Bank”

International Women’s Month: UBA Foundation Holds ‘Women Digital Workshop’, Empowers Women on Critical Skills

Following the second essay written by the 12 selected finalists, Adaeze emerged winner, and secured a prestigious scholarship worth N5 million to pursue her studies in any African university of her choice, along with a modern laptop and other prizes. Her elation and gratitude were evident as she expressed, “This opportunity has changed my life, and I really appreciate the UBA and the UBA Foundation for this.”

The UBA Foundation’s commitment to fostering education and transforming lives was further underscored through constant mentoring that Adaeze will receive throughout her educational journey.

Abdulhameed Khadijah Husna of Sweet Haven High School, Kano State, clinched the second prize -a N3 million educational grant, a laptop, and additional prizes.

Meanwhile, Chukwuma-Okoh Naomi from Queens College, Yaba, Lagos, secured the third prize, which included a N2.5 million grant and a brand-new laptop.

The remaining nine finalists, which included two boys, were not left empty-handed, receiving brand new laptops and consolation prizes.

UBA’s Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Oliver Alawuba, emphasized the bank’s unwavering commitment to youth empowerment.

He stated, “UBA is proud to be associated with this event. Annually, we put aside a percentage of our profits to change lives, and we are committed to doing this annually.”

The National Essay Competition has become a pivotal platform for promoting education, literacy, and critical thinking among Nigerian youth, making a positive impact on their lives and society at large,” Alawuba said.

The Managing Director/CEO of UBA Foundation, Bola Atta, who commended the winners for their exceptional brilliance and encouraged those who did not secure top positions to view it as a challenge for improvement.

She highlighted the Foundation’s dedication to extending this impactful competition to other African countries, reinforcing its commitment to socio-economic betterment through initiatives in Education, Environment, Economic Empowerment, and Special Projects.

• “It is important to note at this point that this same competition is being replicated in some other African countries where UBA operates such as Ghana, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Senegal, Uganda, Cote D’Ivoire. Other countries like Zambia, Gabon, Chad and Benin Republic have plans to conduct the NEC in the first quarter of 2024,” Atta said.

UBA Foundation, the CSR arm of the UBA Group, is committed to the socio-economic betterment of the communities in which the bank operates, focusing on development in the areas of Education, Environment, Economic Empowerment and Special Projects.

NM Partners

"NM Partners" encompasses a diverse range of articles and content published on behalf of various organizations, including corporate entities, government and non-governmental institutions, academic bodies, and key stakeholders in the economic sphere. This content spectrum covers press releases, formal announcements, specialized content, product promotions, and a variety of corporate communications tailored to engage our readership. Notably, a portion of these articles are sponsored content. At Nairametrics, while we provide a platform for these diverse voices, it is important to clarify that our relationship with the content under "NM Partners" does not imply endorsement or affiliation. The responsibility for the content accuracy and viewpoints expressed rests solely with the respective contributors. Nairametrics maintains a firm commitment to editorial independence and integrity. Consequently, we do not assume responsibility for any of the content published under "NM Partners." For any inquiries, comments, or feedback regarding the content featured in this section, we encourage open communication and can be reached at [email protected]. Additionally, we invite our readers and contributors to familiarize themselves with our Paid Post Guidelines, which outline the standards and processes governing paid content on our platform.

Related Posts

N10.5m Scholarship up for Grabs as UBA Foundation Extends NEC 2022 Call for Entries

UBA Foundation Receives Leadership Award In Corporate Social Responsibility

UBA Foundation Opens Portal For NEC 2022, Set to Receive Digital Applications

Eziaku Esther, emerges winner of UBA Foundation’s NEC 2021

"Global smartphone market grows for the first time since 2021" - Report

Leave a reply cancel reply.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Business News | Stock Market | Money Market | Cryptos | Financial Literacy | SME |

Recent News

Breaking: airtel incurs $1.7 billion in foreign exchange loss over currency devaluation in nigeria, malawi, tinubu assures us of enhanced power supply through nigeria’s abundant gas resources.

• Africans in Diaspora Development Union request citizenship rights, visa on arrival for members

Follow us on social media:

• Download Nairametrics iOS App
• Download Nairametrics Android App
• Financial Literacy
• Ads Disclaimer

© 2024 Nairametrics

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Remember Me

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

UBA Bank Awards 2023 National Essay Competition Winners 

Accuracy is Key: UBOS Warns Against False Information During Census

China shows interest in uganda’s cotton sector as paceid delegation sparks investment talks, agriculture, ministry of agriculture launches distribution of fmd vaccines, related articles.

Uganda Scoops ‘Best investment Destination in Africa’ Award

Uganda Aviation Could Lose Key ISO Certification as Meteorological Authority is Rationalised

Local Investors Seek to Join Manufacturing Sector as UIA Lists Incentives

Museveni Upholds EFRIS After Meeting Traders

Tibihirra-Kalyegira Appointed New LDC Director

FUFA Suspends 3 over Contentious Refereeing

BIG STORY: How Rwandan Billionaire Tribert Rujugiro Ayabatwa Died in his Dubai Sitting Room 

Adblock detected.

• International 2 Open submenu
• Health & Wellbeing
• Life & Style
• Rest of the World

UBA Foundation Announce Winners of National Essay Competition

Nume Ekeghe

A 15-year-old student from Fountain Heights Secondary School in Lagos, Onaro Adaeze, has emerged as the winner of the 2023 United Bank for Africa (UBA) Foundation, National Essay Competition (NEC).

Onaro won a grand prize of N5 million in scholarship from over 12,000 entries, which was narrowed down to 12 finalists who were awarded various prize categories at the finale in Lagos recently.  

Also, AbdulHameed Khadija of Sweet Haven High School, Kano, secured the first runner-up position, claiming a scholarship valued at N3 million. Chukwuma-Okoh Naomi of Queens College, Yaba, Lagos, was recognised as the second runner-up, earning a scholarship worth N2.5 million.

Speaking at the prize presentation, the Chief Executive Officer of UBA Foundation, Bola Atta, revealed that participants were tasked with exploring the realm of artificial intelligence and its potential augmentation of their learning abilities through research-driven approaches.

Atta said: “The caliber of entries received this year was outstanding. The winners, in particular, displayed exceptional qualities, exhibiting outstanding talent and skill. There has been a consistent year-on-year enhancement in the submissions for the national essay competition.”

Expressing the competition’s objective, United Bank for Africa, Group Managing Director, Oliver Alawuba highlighted its aim to hone the critical thinking prowess of African youth and groom them for leadership roles across the continent.

He said, “The UBA National Essay Competition centers on nurturing African youth. It seeks to bolster their critical thinking and reading capabilities, preparing them for leadership roles within the continent. It encourages them to research and articulate topics relevant to the African landscape.”

Related Articles

Founded on January 22, 1995, THISDAY is published by THISDAY NEWSPAPERS LTD., 35 Creek Road Apapa, Lagos, Nigeria with offices in 36 states of Nigeria , the Federal Capital Territory and around the world. It is Nigeria’s most authoritative news media available on all platforms for the political, business, professional and diplomatic elite and broader middle classes while serving as the meeting point of new ideas, culture and technology for the aspirationals and millennials. The newspaper is a public trust dedicated to the pursuit of truth and reason covering a range of issues from breaking news to politics, business, the markets, the arts, sports and community to the crossroads of people and society.

Helpful Links

• Privacy Policy
• Terms & Conditions

You can email us at: [email protected] or visit our contact us page.

• UBA FOUNDATION
• OPEN AN ACCOUNT

UBA rewards 2022 National Essay Competition winners

United bank for africa (uba) ghana has presented a $10,000 educational grant to three winners in its 2022 national essay competition in accra..

The ultimate winner, Genevieve Budu of the Ghana International School, took home $5000 while Kenrich Nii Nakai Nettey from the Presbyterian Boys Senior High School (PRESEC) and Cecilia Akye from the Methodist Girls High School, Mamfe, who emerged second and third respectively received $3000 and $2,000.

In addition, all 10 finalists received medals and certificates of participation along with laptops and other UBA-branded items.

It was made possible through the UBA Foundation, a corporate social responsibility arm of the bank with a commitment to the socio-economic betterment of communities.

The Managing Director (MD) of UBA Ghana, Chris Ofikulu, in a statement issued by the bank, stated that the foundation believed that the future of Africa lay in its youths.

For this reason, he said the foundation had spent huge sums of money to actively facilitate educational projects and bridge the literacy gap on a Pan-African scale.

He said the National Essay Competition of the bank had grown to be one of the best initiatives that allowed every student in senior high school (SHS) to exhibit their cognitive skills and potential while developing a positive work ethic with problem-solving and critical thinking skills.

“The competition is one of our stunning initiatives to which we will forever pledge our full commitment,” he said.

Congratulations

The Director in charge of General Administration at the Ministry of Education (MoE), Catherine Agyapomaa Appiah Pinkrah, who spoke on behalf of the Minister of Education, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, congratulated all the finalists and commended UBA for its immense contributions to the country’s education and commitment to enhance the writing skills of the youth.

The Programme Officer of the Schools and Instructions Division at the Ghana Education Service (GES), Ajuba Amihere Adu-Tutu, said the GES would continue to support the UBA essay competition as the importance of essay writing could not be downplayed in education.

The ultimate winner of the National Essay Competition 2022, Genevieve Budu, expressed gratitude to the entire team at UBA for organising the competition.

The event was attended by the management of UBA Ghana, heads and representatives of participating schools, representatives from GES and the MoE.

The 10 finalists were selected from more than 400 entries.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Posts

Africa to the World: Elumelu Moderates as President Kagame, Okonjo-Iweala, Tedros, Diop, Convene at UBA Africa Conversations 2021

The United Bank for Africa, leading pan-African financial institution, will once again be celebrating Africa day during its third annual UBA Africa Conversations. This year, President of Rwanda, His Excellency Paul Kagame; Director-General of the World Trade Organisation, Mrs Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; Director-General of the World Health Organisation, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and the Managing Director, International Finance Corporation, Mr. Makhtar …

UBA Ghana Breaks Ground for New Head Office Building

The United Bank for Africa (UBA) Ghana on Friday, December 15, 2023 cut sod for its new state-of-the-art head office building project located at West Cantonments in Accra. The event was graced by esteemed dignitaries, including government officials, customers of the bank, project consultants, architects, engineers, religious leaders and prominent figures within the banking sector. …

UBA Group Managing Director Holds Fruitful Meeting with Bank of Ghana Governor

The Group Managing Director (GMD) of UBA Group, Mr. Oliver Alawuba, recently paid a working visit to the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Mr. Ernest Addison, in a meeting that underscored UBA’s commitment to regulatory compliance and strategic expansion in Ghana and beyond. Mr. Alawuba assured Governor Addison that UBA would continue to adhere to regulations …

UBA Foundation Pioneers Commitment to Environmental Sustainability, Launches Tree Planting Initiative

UBA Foundation, the corporate social responsibility arm of the United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, has once again taken a remarkable step towards promoting sustainability and fostering Africa’s green revolution. Following the footsteps of the Chairman of UBA Plc, the foundation has reaffirmed its commitment to environmental preservation in line with global efforts to mitigate climate change and …

• Chat with LEO
• UBA Business School
• UBA Savings Account
• UBA Kiddies Account
• UBA Teens Account
• UBA Target Account
• UBA Next Gen Account
• Employee Savings Account
• Ruby Current Account Premium
• Ruby Current Account Classic
• Domiciliary Advantage Account
• Lion Prime Individual Account
• Lion Prime Corporate Account
• Dormant Accounts
• Diaspora Banking
• Mobile Banking
• Internet Banking
• Magic Banking
• Instant Bills Pay
• Notification Services
• Integrity Statement
• Loans & Payments
• Moneygram and Western Union
• Ria and Wari
• UBA Connect
• SME Banking
• Information Management
• Liquidity Management
• Payment Services
• Foreign Exchange
• Collections
• Other Financial Products
• Trade Services
• Investor Relations
• Tariff Guide
• Photo & Video Gallery
• News & Events
• Press Releases
• Adesa Newsletter
• National Essay Competition
• About UBA (Ghana)
• Moving to Ghana
• Branch Locations
• ATM Locations
• Download Centre
• Frequently Asked Questions

Privacy Overview

• Advertise with us
• Thursday, May 09, 2024

Most Widely Read Newspaper

PunchNG Menu:

• Special Features
• Sex & Relationship

ID) . '?utm_source=news-flash&utm_medium=web"> Download Punch Lite App

Akwa Ibom student wins UBA essay competition

Kindly share this story:

• UBA Foundation commences essay competition, raises rewards
• Winners emerge in UBA essay competition
• UBA essay competition

All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from PUNCH.

Contact: [email protected]

Stay informed and ahead of the curve! Follow The Punch Newspaper on WhatsApp for real-time updates, breaking news, and exclusive content. Don't miss a headline – join now!

ONLINE FOREX, BITCOIN AND BINARY MANAGER. Do you require the service of a tested and trusted experienced trader who can help you trade your online Forex, Bitcoin and Binary accounts for minimum 10-20% weekly profit?. Click here for details WhatsApp: +2348030797998

Want ₦100,000 in Free Bets? Sign up on Livescore to get it now! Register here .

Latest News

Oshiomhole warns against creation of more govt agencies, police investigate illegal embalming of mohbad’s body, 71-year-old landlord arrested for impregnating tenant’s teenage daughter, reps knock binance over bribery allegation, kaduna to relocate 359 schools over banditry.

CAC registration: Police to go after illegal PoS operators

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, conse adipiscing elit.

By submitting your essay, you give the Berkeley Prize the nonexclusive, perpetual right to reproduce the essay or any part of the essay, in any and all media at the Berkeley Prize’s discretion.  A “nonexclusive” right means you are not restricted from publishing your paper elsewhere if you use the following attribution that must appear in that new placement: “First submitted to and/or published by the international Berkeley Undergraduate Prize for Architectural Design Excellence ( www.BerkeleyPrize.org ) in competition year 20(--) (and if applicable) and winner of that year’s (First, Second, Third…) Essay prize.” Finally, you warrant the essay does not violate any intellectual property rights of others and indemnify the BERKELEY PRIZE against any costs, loss, or expense arising out of a violation of this warranty.

Registration and Submission

You (and your teammate if you have one) will be asked to complete a short registration form which will not be seen by members of the Berkeley Prize Committee or Jury.

REGISTER HERE.

Additional Help and Information

Winners of the 2022 Essay Competitions

By NDU Press Joint Force Quarterly 107

Download PDF

NDU Press and the NDU Foundation Congratulate the Winners of the 2022 Essay Competitions

NDU Press hosted the final round of judging on May 12–13, 2022, during which 31 faculty judges from 18 participating professional military education (PME) institutions selected the best entries in each category. There were 97 submissions in this year’s three categories—the second most entries ever. First Place winners in each of the three categories appear in the following pages.

Secretary of Defense National Security Essay Competition

The 16 th annual competition is intended to stimulate new approaches to coordinated civilian and military action from a broad spectrum of civilian and military students. Essays address U.S. Government structure, policies, capabilities, resources, and/or practices and provide creative, feasible ideas on how best to orchestrate the core competencies of our national security institution.

1 st Place Jeffrey D. Graham, Department of State National War College “Building an Enduring U.S.-India Partnership to Secure a Free, Open, and Prosperous Indo-Pacific Region”

2 nd Place Lieutenant Colonel Steven J. Curtis, USA U.S. Army War College “A New Character: Rethinking Intelligence for 2035”

3 rd Place Lieutenant Colonel Kevin J. Consedine, USA U.S. Army War College “Be All You Can Be . . . Like Your Parents”

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Strategic Essay Competition

Strategic Research Paper

1 st Place Lieutenant Colonel Ryan Tate, USA U.S. Army War College “Transparent Cyber Deterrence”

2 nd Place Commander Von P.H. Fernandes, USN; Lieutenant Colonel Nita McQuitery, USAF; Major Lucas Hoffman, USA; and Major Ashley Gunn, USAF Joint Forces Staff College–Joint and Combined Warfighting School “The World in 90 Minutes or Less: Rocket Logistics and Future Military Operations”

3 rd Place Lieutenant Commander Stephanie Pendino, USN; Major Robert K. Jahn, Sr., USA; and Mr. Kirk Pedersen, Defense Intelligence Agency Joint Forces Staff College–Joint and Combined Warfighting School “Declaratory U.S. Cyber Deterrence: Bringing Offensive Capabilities into the Light”

Strat egy Article

1 st Place Captain Kimberly Sandberg, USN; Captain Kevin Pickard, Jr., USN; Lieutenant Colonel Jay Zwirblis, USAR; and Lieutenant Colonel Speight H. Caroon, USAF Joint Forces Staff College–Joint and Combined Warfighting School “Health Diplomacy: A Powerful Tool in Great Power Competition”

2 nd Place Major Lim Wonho, Republic of Korea Air Force Air Command and Staff College “Implications of South Korea’s Growing ‘Middle Power Identity’ in the East Asia Policy”

3 rd Place Captain Jonathan J. Park, USAF Marine Corps University–Expeditionary Warfare School “Traumatic Brain Injuries: Improving the U.S. Military’s Diagnoses Process”

Joint Force Quarterly M aerz Awards

In its 7 th year, the JFQ Maerz Awards, chosen by NDU Press staff, recognize the most influential articles from the previous year’s four issues. Five outstanding articles were chosen for the Maerz Awards, named in honor of Mr. George C. Maerz, former NDU Press managing editor.

Forum Daniel E. Rauch and Matthew Tackett “Design Thinking,” JFQ 101 (2 nd Quarter 2021)

JPME Today Anand Toprani “Hydrocarbons and Hegemony,” JFQ 102 (3 rd Quarter 2021)

Commentary Montgomery McFate “The Myths of Lyme Disease: Separating Fact from Fiction for Military Personnel,” JFQ 100 (1 st Quarter 2021)

Features Brent D. Sadler “Avoiding Great Power Phony Wars,” JFQ 102 (3 rd Quarter 2021)

Recall Frank G. Hoffman “Wartime Innovation and Learning,” JFQ 103 (4 th Quarter 2021)

Joint Doctrine Michael Clark, Erik Jorgensen, and Gordon M. Schriver “Read the Manual: Reversing the Trends of Failure in NATO Humanitarian Interventions with Airpower,” JFQ 103 (4 th Quarter 2021)

Distinguished Judges

Thirty-one senior faculty members from 18 participating PME institutions took time out of their busy schedules to serve as judges. Their personal dedication and professional excellence ensured a strong and credible competition.

Announcing the winners of the 2023-2024 National Essay Contest

Published by mona ansari on march 13, 2024.

French for the Future announces the winners of the 98 scholarships, ranging from $1,000 to $20,000, of the National Essay Contest. The pan-Canadian competition rewards high school students in two categories: French as a Second Language (FSL) and French as a First Language (FLM). The scholarships encourage young people to continue their post-secondary studies in French, either fully or partially.

The winners, whose essays demonstrated creativity, eloquence, and originality, were awarded scholarships ranging from $1,000 to $20,000, which will help them pursue higher education in French at one of the 15 post-secondary institutions partnered with the contest.

For many of the participants, this opportunity to write in French is rare and highly appreciated. It allows them to challenge themselves, improve their French, and increase their sense of self-efficacy in the language.

“I’m so grateful and delighted to have been selected for this scholarship. Thanks to it, I have the opportunity to pursue a post-secondary education in French, which is important to me since, up until now, I have done all my studies in French and I aspire to continue on this path; it’s important to me as a Franco-Ontarian.”  Stella Bégin, winner of a $12,000 scholarship to the University of Ottawa.

This year’s theme

With the Olympic Games scheduled to take place on Francophone soil this year, the theme seemed an obvious one. How do you “ convince the 2024 Olympic Committee that your “incredible talent” should be selected as a new Olympic discipline?”   That’s what nearly 450 young contestants reflected on in their entries.

“With the nature of the theme, we were anticipating imaginative proposals,”   says Geneviève Gobeil, Program Manager at French for the Future.   “Even with that expectation, we were surprised by the creativity of the submissions! With each new essay we received, we wondered: what will the discipline proposed be this time?”

Artificial Intelligence

A new concern this year is how to determine which essays have merit in the age of artificial intelligence. During the evaluation process, essays are reviewed by 4 different jury members. This year, they were invited to point out compositions they thought might have been written by artificial intelligence. The identified essays were then sent to the student’s teacher to check whether the essay corresponded to their usual level.

“It’s important to remember that the National Essay Contest is about winning admissions scholarships, not cash prizes. Winners have their scholarships deducted from their tuition fees when they enroll at university in a given program partially or completely in French. So it’s not in their interest to disguise their level of French, if they intend to study in that language,”   points out French for the Future Executive Director Emeline Leurent.   “Taking part in the competition allows them to challenge their own abilities and gain confidence in their French.” 

Discover the winners!

Related Posts

Comment mon voyage en français a mené à de nombreuses opportunités enrichissantes et merveilleuses

Je m’appelle Liza Ilin et j’ai grandi à Ottawa depuis l’âge de deux ans. Depuis un jeune âge, j’ai suivi des cours d’anglais et de français pour apprendre la langue et développer mes compétences linguistiques. Read more…

Concours national de rédaction: le parcours d’une gagnante!

Au milieu de mon cours d’immersion française de 10e année, je suis tombée sur une bourse qui allait remodeler mon parcours d’apprentissage. Ce qui a commencé comme un devoir en classe s’est rapidement transformé en Read more…

FNJA: une expérience à ne pas oublier

Bonjour ! Je m’appelle Namirembe Afatsawo, j’ai 16 ans, j’habite à The Pas, MB et je suis une des ambassadrices FNJA pour l’année 2022-2023! Dans cet article, je vais vous parler de mon expérience au Read more…

Looking to publish? Meet your dream editor, designer and marketer on Reedsy.

Find the perfect editor for your next book

1 million authors trust the professionals on Reedsy. Come meet them.

Best Essay Writing Contests in 2024

Showing 51 contests that match your search.

Great American Think-Off

New York Mills Regional Cultural Center

Genres: Essay and Non-fiction

The Great American Think-Off is an exhibition of civil disagreement between powerful ideas that connect to your life at the gut level. The Cultural Center, located in the rural farm and manufacturing town of New York Mills, sponsors this annual philosophy contest.

📅 Deadline: April 01, 2024 (Expired)

Creative Nonfiction Prize

Indiana Review

Genres: Essay, Fiction, and Non-fiction

Send us one creative nonfiction piece, up to 5000 words, for a chance at $1000 + publication. This year's contest will be judged by Lars Horn.

💰 Entry fee: $20

📅 Deadline: March 31, 2024 (Expired)

Jane Austen Society of North America Essay Contest

Jane Austen Society of North America

Genres: Children's and Essay

JASNA conducts an annual student Essay Contest to foster the study and appreciation of Jane Austen's works in new generations of readers. Students world-wide are invited to compete for scholarship awards in three divisions: high school, college, and graduate school.

$1,000 scholarship

Additional prizes:

Two nights’ lodging for JASNA’s Annual General Meeting

📅 Deadline: June 02, 2022 (Expired)

Craft your masterpiece in Reedsy Studio

Plan, write, edit, and format your book in our free app made for authors.

Learn more about Reedsy Studio .

Share Your Story

FanStory.com Inc.

Genres: Essay and Memoir

Write about an event in your life. Everyone has a memoir. Not an autobiography. Too much concern about fact and convention. A memoir gives us the ability to write about our life with the option to create and fabricate and to make sense of a life, or part of that life.

💰 Entry fee: $10

📅 Deadline: August 13, 2024

Anthology Travel Writing Competition 2024

Anthology Magazine

Genres: Essay, Non-fiction, and Travel

The Anthology Travel Writing Competition is open to original and previously unpublished travel articles in the English language by writers of any nationality, living anywhere in the world. We are looking for an engaging article that will capture the reader’s attention, conveying a strong sense of the destination and the local culture. Max 1000 words.

💰 Entry fee: $16

📅 Deadline: November 30, 2024

Berggruen Prize Essay Competition

Berggruen Institute

Genres: Essay

The Berggruen Prize Essay Competition, in the amount of $25,000 USD for the English and Chinese language category respectively, is given annually to stimulate new thinking and innovative concepts while embracing cross-cultural perspectives across fields, disciplines, and geographies. Inspired by the pivotal role essays have played in shaping thought and inquiry, we are inviting essays that follow in the tradition of renowned thinkers such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Michel de Montaigne, and Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Publication in Noema Magazine

📅 Deadline: June 30, 2024

The Letter Review Prize for Unpublished Books

The Letter Review

Genres: Crime, Essay, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Horror, Humor, Memoir, Mystery, Non-fiction, Novel, Novella, Poetry, Romance, Science Fiction, Science Writing, Short Story, Thriller, and Young Adult

Free to enter. Seeking 0-5000 word (poetry: 15 pgs) excerpts of unpublished books (Fiction, Poetry, Nonfiction), including most self-published and indie-published works. 2-4 Winners (publication of extract is optional). We Shortlist 10-20 writers. Open to writers from anywhere in the world, with no theme or genre restrictions. Judged blind.

Optional Publication of Excerpt, Letter of Recommendation

📅 Deadline: May 01, 2024 (Expired)

Stories of Inspiration

Kinsman Avenue Publishing, Inc

Nonfiction stories of inspiration wanted (between 500 to 2,000 words). Submissions should highlight the struggle and resilience of the human spirit, especially related to cultures of BIPOC or marginalized communities. Stories must be original, unpublished works in English. One successful entry will be awarded each month from April 2024 and will be included within Kinsman Quarterly’s online journal and digital magazine. Successful authors receive $200 USD and publication in our digital magazine. No entry fee required.

Publication in Kinsman Quarterly's online magazine

📅 Deadline: December 31, 2024

swamp pink Prizes

Genres: Essay, Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry, and Short Story

From January 1st to January 31st, submit short stories and essays of up to 25 pages or a set of 1-3 poems. Winners in each genre will receive $2,000 and publication.

Publication

📅 Deadline: January 31, 2024 (Expired)

Annual Contest Submissions

So To Speak

Genres: Essay, Fiction, Flash Fiction, LGBTQ, Non-fiction, and Poetry

So To Speak is seeking submissions for poetry, fiction, and non-fiction with an intersectional feminist lens! It is no secret that the literary canon and literary journals are largely comprised of heteronormative, patriarchal, cisgender, able-bodied white men. So to Speak seeks work by writers, poets, and artists who want to challenge and change the identity of the “canonical” writer.

💰 Entry fee: $4

📅 Deadline: March 15, 2024 (Expired)

Military Anthology: Partnerships, the Untold Story

Armed Services Arts Partnership

Genres: Essay, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Humor, Memoir, Non-fiction, Poetry, and Short Story

Partners are an integral aspect of military life, at home and afar, during deployment and after homecoming. Partnerships drive military action and extend beyond being a battle buddy, wingman, or crew member. Some are planned while others arise entirely unexpectedly. Spouses, family, old or new friends, community, faith leaders, and medical specialists all support the military community. Despite their importance, the stories of these partnerships often go untold. This anthology aims to correct that: We will highlight the nuances, surprises, joy, sorrow, heroism, tears, healing power, and ache of partnerships. We invite you to submit the story about partnerships from your journey, so we can help tell it.

$500 Editors' Choice award

$250 for each genre category (prose, poetry, visual art)

📅 Deadline: March 01, 2024 (Expired)

Brink Literary Journal Award for Hybrid Writing

Genres: Essay, Fantasy, Fiction, Humor, Memoir, Non-fiction, Poetry, Science Writing, and Short Story

The Brink Literary Journal Award for Hybrid Writing will be administered to the winner of a literary contest designed to champion innovative hybrid and cross-genre work.

💰 Entry fee: $22

📅 Deadline: February 16, 2024 (Expired)

Red Hen Press Women's Prose Prize

Red Hen Press

Genres: Fiction, Non-fiction, Short Story, Essay, Memoir, and Novel

Established in 2018, the Women’s Prose Prize is for previously unpublished, original work of prose. Novels, short story collections, memoirs, essay collections, and all other forms of prose writing are eligible for consideration. The awarded manuscript is selected through a biennial competition, held in even-numbered years, that is open to all writers who identify as women.

Publication by Red Hen Press

💰 Entry fee: $25

📅 Deadline: February 28, 2024 (Expired)

Narratively 2023 Memoir Prize

Narratively

Genres: Essay, Humor, Memoir, and Non-fiction

Narratively is currently accepting submissions for their 2023 Memoir Prize. They are looking for revealing and emotional first-person nonfiction narratives from unique and overlooked points of view. The guest judge is New York Times bestselling memoirist Stephanie Land.

$1,000 and publication

📅 Deadline: November 30, 2023 (Expired)

Environmental Writing 2024

Write the World

The writer and activist Bill McKibben describes Environmental Writing as "the collision between people and the rest of the world." This month, peer closely at that intersection: How do humans interact with their environment? Given your inheritance of this earth, the world needs your voices now more than ever.

Best entry: $100

Runner up: $50 | Best peer review: $50

📅 Deadline: April 22, 2024 (Expired)

Literary and Photographic Contest 2023-2024

Hispanic Culture Review

Genres: Essay, Fiction, Memoir, Non-fiction, and Poetry

As we move forward we carry our culture wherever we go. It keeps us alive. This is why we propose the theme to be “¡Hacia delante!”. A phrase that means to move forward. This year we ask that you think about the following questions: What keeps you moving forward? What do you carry with you going into the future? How do you celebrate your successes, your dreams, and your culture?

Publication in magazine

📅 Deadline: February 07, 2024 (Expired)

WOW! Women On Writing Quarterly Creative Nonfiction Essay Contest

WOW! Women On Writing

Genres: Non-fiction and Essay

Seeking creative nonfiction essays on any topic (1000 words or less) and in any style--from personal essay and memoir to lyric essay and hybrid, and more! The mission of this contest is to reward bravery in real-life storytelling and create an understanding of our world through thoughtful, engaging narratives. Electronic submissions via e-mail only; reprints/previously published okay; simultaneous submissions okay; multiple submissions are okay as long as they are submitted in their own individual e-mail. Open internationally.

2nd: $300 | 3rd: $200 | 7 runner-ups: $25 Amazon Gift Cards

💰 Entry fee: $12

📅 Deadline: April 30, 2024 (Expired)

Irene Adler Prize

Lucas Ackroyd

I’ve traveled the world from Sweden to South Africa, from the Golden Globes to the Olympic women’s hockey finals. I’ve photographed a mother polar bear and her cubs and profiled stars like ABBA, Jennifer Garner and Katarina Witt. And I couldn’t have done it without women. I’ve been very fortunate, and it’s time for me to give back. With the Irene Adler Prize, I’m awarding a $1,000 scholarship to a woman pursuing a degree in journalism, creative writing, or literature at a recognized post-secondary institution.

2x honorable mentions: $250

📅 Deadline: May 30, 2024

International Voices in Creative Nonfiction Competition

Vine Leaves Press

Genres: Essay, Memoir, Non-fiction, and Novel

Small presses have potential for significant impact, and at Vine Leaves Press, we take this responsibility quite seriously. It is our responsibility to give marginalized groups the opportunity to establish literary legacies that feel rich and vast. Why? To sustain hope for the world to become a more loving, tolerable, and open space. It always begins with art. That is why we have launched this writing competition.

Book publication

📅 Deadline: July 01, 2024

100 Word Writing Contest

Tadpole Press

Genres: Essay, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Humor, Memoir, Mystery, Non-fiction, Science Fiction, Science Writing, Thriller, Young Adult, Children's, Poetry, Romance, Short Story, Suspense, and Travel

Can you write a story using 100 words or less? Pieces will be judged on creativity, uniqueness, and how the story captures a new angle, breaks through stereotypes, and expands our beliefs about what's possible or unexpectedly delights us. In addition, we are looking for writing that is clever or unique, inspires us, and crafts a compelling and complete story. The first-place prize has doubled to $2,000 USD.

2nd: writing coach package

💰 Entry fee: $15

Tusculum Review Nonfiction Chapbook Prize

The Tusculum Review

A prize of $1,000, publication of the essay in The Tusculum Review’s 20th Anniversary Issue (2024), and creation of a limited edition stand-alone chapbook with original art is awarded. Editors of The Tusculum Review and contest judge Mary Cappello will determine the winner of the 2024 prize.

📅 Deadline: June 15, 2024

The Hudson Prize

Black Lawrence Press

Each year Black Lawrence Press will award The Hudson Prize for an unpublished collection of poems or prose. The prize is open to new, emerging, and established writers.

💰 Entry fee: $28

Lazuli Literary Group Writing Contest

Lazuli Literary Group

Genres: Essay, Fiction, Poetry, Short Story, Flash Fiction, Non-fiction, Novella, and Script Writing

We are not concerned with genre distinctions. Send us the best you have; we want only for it to be thoughtful, intelligent, and beautiful. We want art that grows in complexity upon each visitation; we enjoy ornate, cerebral, and voluptuous phrases executed with thematic intent.

Publication in "AZURE: A Journal of Literary Thought"

📅 Deadline: March 24, 2024 (Expired)

Stella Kupferberg Memorial Short Story Prize

Gotham Writers Workshop

Genres: Crime, Essay, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Horror, Humor, Memoir, Mystery, Non-fiction, Romance, Science Fiction, Short Story, Thriller, and Young Adult

The Stella Kupferberg Memorial Short Story Prize is a writing competition sponsored by the stage and radio series Selected Shorts. Selected Shorts is recorded for Public Radio and heard nationally on both the radio and its weekly podcast. This years entries will be judged by Carmen Maria Machado (In the Dream House, Her Body and Other Parties).

$1000 + free 10 week course with Gotham Writers

Artificial Intelligence Competition

New Beginnings

Genres: Essay, Non-fiction, Science Fiction, Science Writing, and Short Story

There is no topic relating to technology that brings more discussion than artificial intelligence. Some people think it does wonders. Others see it as trouble. Let us know your opinion about AI in this competition. Include experiences you have had with AI. 300-word limit. Winners will be selected January 1, 2024. Open to anyone, anywhere.

💰 Entry fee: $5

📅 Deadline: December 15, 2023 (Expired)

Askew's Word on the Lake Writing Contest

Shuswap Association of Writers

Genres: Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry, Essay, Memoir, and Short Story

Whether you’re an established or emerging writer, the Askew’s Word on the Lake Writing Contest has a place for you. Part of the Word on the Lake Writers’ Festival in Salmon Arm, BC, the contest is open to submissions in short fiction (up to 2,000 words), nonfiction (up to 2,000 words), and poetry (up to three one-page poems).

💰 Entry fee: $11

High School Academic Research Competition

Columbia Undergraduate Science Journal

The High School Academic Research Competition is where talented students from around the world compete to publish high-quality research on any topic. SARC challenges students to sharpen their critical thinking skills, immerse themselves in the research process, and hone their writing skills for success.

Indigo Research Intensive Summer Program

📅 Deadline: April 17, 2024 (Expired)

Aurora Polaris Creative Nonfiction Award

Trio House Press

Genres: Essay, Memoir, and Non-fiction

We seek un-agented full-length creative nonfiction manuscripts including memoir, essay collections, etc. 50,000 - 80,000 words.

📅 Deadline: May 15, 2024

National Essay Contest

U.S. Institute of Peace

This year, AFSA celebrates the 100th anniversary of the United States Foreign Service. Over the last century, our diplomats and development professionals have been involved in groundbreaking events in history – decisions on war and peace, supporting human rights and freedom, creating joint prosperity, reacting to natural disasters and pandemics and much more. As AFSA looks back on this century-long history, we invite you to join us in also looking ahead to the future. This year students are asked to explore how diplomats can continue to evolve their craft to meet the needs of an ever-changing world that brings fresh challenges and opportunities to the global community and America’s place in it.

Runner-up: $1,250

The Letter Review Prize for Nonfiction

Genres: Essay, Memoir, Non-fiction, Crime, Humor, and Science Writing

2-4 Winners are published. We Shortlist 10-20 writers. Seeking Nonfiction 0-5000 words. Judges’ feedback available. Open to writers from anywhere in the world, with no theme or genre restrictions. Judged blind. All entries considered for publication + submission to Pushcart.

Publication by The Letter Review

💰 Entry fee: $2

Goldilocks Zone

Sunspot Literary Journal

Genres: Essay, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Memoir, Non-fiction, Novel, Novella, Poetry, Script Writing, and Short Story

Sunspot Lit is looking for the perfect combination of craft and appeal in stories, CNF, novel or novella excerpts, artwork, graphic novels, poems, scripts/screenplays. Literary and genre accepted. Enter through Submittable or Duotrope.

Work-In-Progress (WIP) Contest

Unleash Press

Genres: Crime, Essay, Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Humor, Memoir, Mystery, Non-fiction, Novel, Novella, Poetry, Science Fiction, Science Writing, and Young Adult

We aim to assist writers in the completion of an important literary project and vision. The Unleash WIP Award offers writers support in the amount of $500 to supplement costs to aid in the completion of a book-length work of fiction, nonfiction, or poetry. Writers will also receive editorial feedback, coaching meetings, and an excerpt/interview feature in Unleash Lit.

Coaching, interview, and editorial support

💰 Entry fee: $35

📅 Deadline: July 15, 2024

A Very Short Story Contest

Genres: Essay, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Humor, Memoir, and Non-fiction

Write a great short story in ten words or fewer. Submit it to our contest. Entry is free. Winner of the bet gets a free Gotham class.

Free writing class from Gotham Writers Workshop.

📅 Deadline: May 31, 2024

Atlas Shrugged Essay Contest

Ayn Rand Institute

Atlas Shrugged is a mystery story, not about the murder of a man’s body, but about the murder—and rebirth—of man’s spirit. We seek exceptional essays of up to 1600 words that analyze its themes and ideas. High school to graduate students worldwide are invited to participate.

📅 Deadline: June 14, 2024

Solas Awards

Best Travel Writing

Extraordinary stories about travel and the human spirit have been the cornerstones of our books since 1993. With the Solas Awards we honor writers whose work inspires others to explore. We’re looking for the best stories about travel and the world. Funny, illuminating, adventurous, uplifting, scary, inspiring, poignant stories that reflect the unique alchemy that occurs when you enter unfamiliar territory and begin to see the world differently as a result. We hope these awards will be a catalyst for those who love to leave home and tell others about it.

📅 Deadline: September 21, 2024

Discover the finest writing contests of 2024 for fiction and non-fiction authors — including short story competitions, essay writing competitions, poetry contests, and many more. Updated weekly, these contests are vetted by Reedsy to weed out the scammers and time-wasters. If you’re looking to stick to free writing contests, simply use our filters as you browse.

Why you should submit to writing contests

Submitting to poetry competitions and free writing contests in 2024 is absolutely worth your while as an aspiring author: just as your qualifications matter when you apply for a new job, a writing portfolio that boasts published works and award-winning pieces is a great way to give your writing career a boost. And not to mention the bonus of cash prizes!

That being said, we understand that taking part in writing contests can be tough for emerging writers. First, there’s the same affliction all writers face: lack of time or inspiration. Entering writing contests is a time commitment, and many people decide to forego this endeavor in order to work on their larger projects instead — like a full-length book. Second, for many writers, the chance of rejection is enough to steer them clear of writing contests. 

But we’re here to tell you that two of the great benefits of entering writing contests happen to be the same as those two reasons to avoid them.

When it comes to the time commitment: yes, you will need to expend time and effort in order to submit a quality piece of writing to competitions. That being said, having a hard deadline to meet is a great motivator for developing a solid writing routine.

Think of entering contests as a training session to become a writer who will need to meet deadlines in order to have a successful career. If there’s a contest you have your eye on, and the deadline is in one month, sit down and realistically plan how many words you’ll need to write per day in order to meet that due date — and don’t forget to also factor in the time you’ll need to edit your story!

For tips on setting up a realistic writing plan, check out this free, ten-day course: How to Build a Rock-Solid Writing Routine.

In regards to the fear of rejection, the truth is that any writer aspiring to become a published author needs to develop relatively thick skin. If one of your goals is to have a book traditionally published, you will absolutely need to learn how to deal with rejection, as traditional book deals are notoriously hard to score. If you’re an indie author, you will need to adopt the hardy determination required to slowly build up a readership.

The good news is that there’s a fairly simple trick for learning to deal with rejection: use it as a chance to explore how you might be able to improve your writing.

In an ideal world, each rejection from a publisher or contest would come with a detailed letter, offering construction feedback and pointing out specific tips for improvement. And while this is sometimes the case, it’s the exception and not the rule.

Still, you can use the writing contests you don’t win as a chance to provide yourself with this feedback. Take a look at the winning and shortlisted stories and highlight their strong suits: do they have fully realized characters, a knack for showing instead of telling, a well-developed but subtly conveyed theme, a particularly satisfying denouement?

The idea isn’t to replicate what makes those stories tick in your own writing. But most examples of excellent writing share a number of basic craft principles. Try and see if there are ways for you to translate those stories’ strong points into your own unique writing.

Finally, there are the more obvious benefits of entering writing contests: prize and publication. Not to mention the potential to build up your readership, connect with editors, and gain exposure.

Resources to help you win writing competitions in 2024

Every writing contest has its own set of submission rules. Whether those rules are dense or sparing, ensure that you follow them to a T. Disregarding the guidelines will not sway the judges’ opinion in your favor — and might disqualify you from the contest altogether. 

Aside from ensuring you follow the rules, here are a few resources that will help you perfect your submissions.

Free online courses

On Writing:

How to Craft a Killer Short Story

The Non-Sexy Business of Writing Non-Fiction

How to Write a Novel

Understanding Point of View

Developing Characters That Your Readers Will Love

Writing Dialogue That Develops Plot and Character

Stop Procrastinating! Build a Solid Writing Routine

On Editing:

Story Editing for Authors

How to Self-Edit Like a Pro

Novel Revision: Practical Tips for Rewrites

How to Write a Short Story in 7 Steps

Reedsy's guide to novel writing

Literary Devices and Terms — 35+ Definitions With Examples

10 Essential Fiction Writing Tips to Improve Your Craft

How to Write Dialogue: 8 Simple Rules and Exercises

8 Character Development Exercises to Help You Nail Your Character

Bonus resources

200+ Short Story Ideas

600+ Writing Prompts to Inspire You

100+ Creative Writing Exercises for Fiction Authors

Story Title Generator

Pen Name Generator

Character Name Generator

After you submit to a writing competition in 2024

It’s exciting to send a piece of writing off to a contest. However, once the initial excitement wears off, you may be left waiting for a while. Some writing contests will contact all entrants after the judging period — whether or not they’ve won. Other writing competitions will only contact the winners. 

Here are a few things to keep in mind after you submit:

Many writing competitions don’t have time to respond to each entrant with feedback on their story. However, it never hurts to ask! Feel free to politely reach out requesting feedback — but wait until after the selection period is over.

If you’ve submitted the same work to more than one writing competition or literary magazine, remember to withdraw your submission if it ends up winning elsewhere.

After you send a submission, don’t follow it up with a rewritten or revised version. Instead, ensure that your first version is thoroughly proofread and edited. If not, wait until the next edition of the contest or submit the revised version to other writing contests.

Join a community of over 1 million authors

Reedsy is more than just a blog. Become a member today to discover how we can help you publish a beautiful book.

Save your shortlist

Enter your email address to save your shortlist so that you don't lose it!

By continuing, you will also receive Reedsy's weekly publishing tips and access to our free webinars.

We sent over your shortlist. Thank you for using Reedsy's Writing Contest Directory, happy publishing! 🙌

Join our weekly contest

Get 5 new writing prompts every Friday. Write and submit a story for a chance to win $250.

1 million authors trust the professionals on Reedsy. Come meet them.

Enter your email or get started with a social account:

Essay  COMPETITION

2024 global essay prize, registrations are now open all essayists must register  here  before friday 31 may, 2024.

The John Locke Institute encourages young people to cultivate the characteristics that turn good students into great writers: independent thought, depth of knowledge, clear reasoning, critical analysis and persuasive style. Our Essay Competition invites students to explore a wide range of challenging and interesting questions beyond the confines of the school curriculum.

Entering an essay in our competition can build knowledge, and refine skills of argumentation. It also gives students the chance to have their work assessed by experts. All of our essay prizes are judged by a panel of senior academics drawn from leading universities including Oxford and Princeton, under the leadership of the Chairman of Examiners, former Cambridge philosopher, Dr Jamie Whyte.

The judges will choose their favourite essay from each of seven subject categories - Philosophy, Politics, Economics, History, Psychology, Theology and Law - and then select the winner of the Grand Prize for the best entry in any subject. There is also a separate prize awarded for the best essay in the junior category, for under 15s.

Q1. Do we have any good reasons to trust our moral intuition?

Q2. Do girls have a (moral) right to compete in sporting contests that exclude boys?

Q3. Should I be held responsible for what I believe?

Q1. Is there such a thing as too much democracy?

Q2. Is peace in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip possible?

Q3. When is compliance complicity?

Q1. What is the optimal global population?  

Q2. Accurate news reporting is a public good. Does it follow that news agencies should be funded from taxation?

Q3. Do successful business people benefit others when making their money, when spending it, both, or neither?

Q1. Why was sustained economic growth so rare before the later 18th century and why did this change?

Q2. Has music ever significantly changed the course of history?

Q3. Why do civilisations collapse? Is our civilisation in danger?

Q1. When, if ever, should a company be permitted to refuse to do business with a person because of that person’s public statements?

Q2. In the last five years British police have arrested several thousand people for things they posted on social media. Is the UK becoming a police state?

Q3. Your parents say that 11pm is your bedtime. But they don’t punish you if you don’t go to bed by 11pm. Is 11pm really your bedtime?

Q1. According to a study by researchers at four British universities, for each 15-point increase in IQ, the likelihood of getting married increases by around 35% for a man but decreases by around 58% for a woman. Why?

In the original version of this question we misstated a statistic. This was caused by reproducing an error that appeared in several media summaries of the study. We are grateful to one of our contestants, Xinyi Zhang, who helped us to see (with humility and courtesy) why we should take more care to check our sources. We corrected the text on 4 April. Happily, the correction does not in any way alter the thrust of the question.

Q2. There is an unprecedented epidemic of depression and anxiety among young people. Can we fix this? How?

Q3. What is the difference between a psychiatric illness and a character flaw?

Q1. “I am not religious, but I am spiritual.” What could the speaker mean by “spiritual”?

Q2. Is it reasonable to thank God for protection from some natural harm if He is responsible for causing the harm?

Q3. Does God reward those who believe in him? If so, why?

JUNIOR prize

Q1. Does winning a free and fair election automatically confer a mandate for governing?

Q2. Has the anti-racism movement reduced racism?

Q3. Is there life after death?

Q4. How did it happen that governments came to own and run most high schools, while leaving food production to private enterprise? 

Q5. When will advancing technology make most of us unemployable? What should we do about this?

Q6. Should we trust fourteen-year-olds to make decisions about their own bodies? 

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS & FURTHER DETAILS

Please read the following carefully.

Entry to the John Locke Institute Essay Competition 2024 is open to students from any country.

Registration  

Only candidates who registered before the registration deadline of Friday, 31 May 2024 may enter this year's competition. To register, click here .  

All entries must be submitted by 11.59 pm BST on  the submission deadline: Sunday, 30 June 2024 .  Candidates must be eighteen years old, or younger, on that date. (Candidates for the Junior Prize must be fourteen years old, or younger, on that date.)

Entry is free.

Each essay must address only one of the questions in your chosen subject category, and must not exceed 2000 words (not counting diagrams, tables of data, endnotes, bibliography or authorship declaration). 

The filename of your pdf must be in this format: FirstName-LastName-Category-QuestionNumber.pdf; so, for instance, Alexander Popham would submit his answer to question 2 in the Psychology category with the following file name:

Alexander-Popham-Psychology-2.pdf

Essays with filenames which are not in this format will be rejected.

The candidate's name should NOT appear within the document itself. 

Candidates should NOT add footnotes. They may, however, add endnotes and/or a Bibliography that is clearly titled as such.

Each candidate will be required to provide the email address of an academic referee who is familiar with the candidate's written academic work. This should be a school teacher, if possible, or another responsible adult who is not a relation of the candidate. The John Locke Institute will email referees to verify that the essays submitted are indeed the original work of the candidates.

Submissions may be made as soon as registration opens in April. We recommend that you submit your essay well in advance of th e deadline to avoid any last-minute complications.

Acceptance of your essay depends on your granting us permission to use your data for the purposes of receiving and processing your entry as well as communicating with you about the Awards Ceremony Dinner, the academic conference, and other events and programmes of the John Locke Institute and its associated entities.  

Late entries

If for any reason you miss the 30 June deadline you will have an opportunity to make a late entry, under two conditions:

a) A late entry fee of 20.00 USD must be paid by credit card within twenty-four hours of the original deadline; and

b) Your essay must be submitted  before 11.59 pm BST on Wednesday, 10 July 2024.

To pay for late entry, a registrant need only log into his or her account, select the relevant option and provide the requested payment information.

Our grading system is proprietary. Essayists may be asked to discuss their entry with a member of the John Locke Institute’s faculty. We use various means to identify plagiarism, contract cheating, the use of AI and other forms of fraud . Our determinations in all such matters are final.

Essays will be judged on knowledge and understanding of the relevant material, the competent use of evidence, quality of argumentation, originality, structure, writing style and persuasive force. The very best essays are likely to be those which would be capable of changing somebody's mind. Essays which ignore or fail to address the strongest objections and counter-arguments are unlikely to be successful .

Candidates are advised to answer the question as precisely and directly as possible.

The writers of the best essays will receive a commendation and be shortlisted for a prize. Writers of shortlisted essays will be notified by 11.59 pm BST on Wednesday, 31 July. They will also be invited to London for an invitation-only academic conference and awards dinner in September, where the prize-winners will be announced. Unlike the competition itself, the academic conference and awards dinner are not free. Please be aware that n obody is required to attend either the academic conference or the prize ceremony. You can win a prize without travelling to London.

All short-listed candidates, including prize-winners, will be able to download eCertificates that acknowledge their achievement. If you win First, Second or Third Prize, and you travel to London for the ceremony, you will receive a signed certificate. 

There is a prize for the best essay in each category. The prize for each winner of a subject category, and the winner of the Junior category, is a scholarship worth US$2000 towards the cost of attending any John Locke Institute programme, and the essays will be published on the Institute's website. Prize-giving ceremonies will take place in London, at which winners and runners-up will be able to meet some of the judges and other faculty members of the John Locke Institute. Family, friends, and teachers are also welcome.

The candidate who submits the best essay overall will be awarded an honorary John Locke Institute Junior Fellowship, which comes with a US$10,000 scholarship to attend one or more of our summer schools and/or visiting scholars programmes. 

The judges' decisions are final, and no correspondence will be entered into.

R egistration opens: 1 April, 2024.

Registration deadline: 31 May, 2024. (Registration is required by this date for subsequent submission.)

Submission deadline: 30 June, 2024.

Late entry deadline: 10 July, 2024. (Late entries are subject to a 20.00 USD charge, payable by 1 July.)

Notification of short-listed essayists: 31 July, 2024.

Academic conference: 20 - 22 September, 2024.

Awards dinner: 21 September, 2024.

Any queries regarding the essay competition should be sent to [email protected] . Please be aware that, due to the large volume of correspondence we receive, we cannot guarantee to answer every query. In particular, regrettably, we are unable to respond to questions whose answers can be found on our website.

If you would like to receive helpful tips  from our examiners about what makes for a winning essay or reminders of upcoming key dates for the 2024  essay competition, please provide your email here to be added to our contact list. .

Thanks for subscribing!

The John Locke Institute's Global Essay Prize is acknowledged as the world's most prestigious essay competition. 

We welcome tens of thousands of submissions from ambitious students in more than 150 countries, and our examiners - including distinguished philosophers, political scientists, economists, historians, psychologists, theologians, and legal scholars - read and carefully assess every entry. 

I encourage you to register for this competition, not only for the hope of winning a prize or commendation, and not only for the chance to join the very best contestants at our academic conference and gala ceremony in London, but equally for the opportunity to engage in the serious scholarly enterprise of researching, reflecting on, writing about, and editing an answer to one of the important and provocative questions in this year's Global Essay Prize. 

We believe that the skills you will acquire in the process will make you a better thinker and a more effective advocate for the ideas that matter most to you.

I hope to see you in September!

Best wishes,

Jamie Whyte, Ph.D. (C ANTAB ) 

Chairman of Examiners

Q. I missed the registration deadline. May I still register or submit an essay?

A. No. Only candidates who registered before 31 May will be able to submit an essay. 

Q. Are footnote s, endnotes, a bibliography or references counted towards the word limit?

A. No. Only the body of the essay is counted. 

Q. Are in-text citations counted towards the word limit? ​

A. If you are using an in-text based referencing format, such as APA, your in-text citations are included in the word limit.

Q. Is it necessary to include foo tnotes or endnotes in an essay? ​

A. You  may not  include footnotes, but you may include in-text citations or endnotes. You should give your sources of any factual claims you make, and you should ackn owledge any other authors on whom you rely.​

Q. I am interested in a question that seems ambiguous. How should I interpret it?

A. You may interpret a question as you deem appropriate, clarifying your interpretation if necessary. Having done so, you must answer the question as directly as possible.

Q. How strict are  the age eligibility criteria?

A. Only students whose nineteenth birthday falls after 30 June 2024 will be eligible for a prize or a commendation. In the case of the Junior category, only students whose fifteenth birthday falls after 30 June 2024 will be eligible for a prize or a commendation. 

Q. May I submit more than one essay?

A. Yes, you may submit as many essays as you please in any or all categories.

Q. If I am eligible to compete in the Junior category, may I also (or instead) compete in another category?

A. Yes, you may.

Q. May I team up with someone else to write an essay?  

A. No. Each submitted essay must be entirely the work of a single individual.

Q. May I use AI, such as ChatGPT or the like, in writing my essay?

A. All essays will be checked for the use of AI. If we find that any content is generated by AI, your essay will be disqualified. We will also ask you, upon submission of your essay, whether you used AI for  any  purpose related to the writing of your essay, and if so, you will be required to provide details. In that case, if, in our judgement, you have not provided full and accurate details of your use of AI, your essay will be disqualified. 

Since any use of AI (that does not result in disqualification) can only negatively affect our assessment of your work relative to that of work that is done without using AI, your safest course of action is simply not to use it at all. If, however, you choose to use it for any purpose, we reserve the right to make relevant judgements on a case-by-case basis and we will not enter into any correspondence. 

Q. May I have someone else edit, or otherwise help me with, my essay?

A. You may of course discuss your essay with others, and it is perfectly acceptable for them to offer general advice and point out errors or weaknesses in your writing or content, leaving you to address them.

However, no part of your essay may be written by anyone else. This means that you must edit your own work and that while a proofreader may point out errors, you as the essayist must be the one to correct them. 

Q. Do I have to attend the awards ceremony to win a prize? ​

A. Nobody is required to attend the prize ceremony. You can win a prize without travelling to London. But if we invite you to London it is because your essay was good enough - in the opinion of the First Round judges - to be at least a contender for First, Second or Third Prize. Normally the Second Round judges will agree that the short-listed essays are worth at least a commendation.

Q. Is there an entry fee?

A. No. There is no charge to enter our global essay competition unless you submit your essay after the normal deadline, in which case there is a fee of 20.00 USD .

Q. Can I receive a certificate for my participation in your essay competition if I wasn't shortlisted? 

A. No. Certificates are awarded only for shortlisted essays. Short-listed contestants who attend the award ceremony in London will receive a paper certificate. If you cannot travel to London, you will be able to download your eCertificate.

Q. Can I receive feedba ck on my essay? 

A. We would love to be able to give individual feedback on essays but, unfortunately, we receive too many entries to be able to comment on particular essays.

Q. The deadline for publishing the names of short-listed essayists has passed but I did not receive an email to tell me whether I was short-listed.

A. Log into your account and check "Shortlist Status" for (each of) your essay(s).

Q. Why isn't the awards ceremony in Oxford this year?

A. Last year, many shortlisted finalists who applied to join our invitation-only academic conference missed the opportunity because of capacity constraints at Oxford's largest venues. This year, the conference will be held in central London and the gala awards dinner will take place in an iconic London ballroom. 

TECHNICAL FAQ s

Q. The system will not accept my essay. I have checked the filename and it has the correct format. What should I do?  

A. You have almost certainly added a space before or after one of your names in your profile. Edit it accordingly and try to submit again.

Q. The profile page shows my birth date to be wrong by a day, even after I edit it. What should I do?

A. Ignore it. The date that you typed has been correctly input to our database. ​ ​

Q. How can I be sure that my registration for the essay competition was successful? Will I receive a confirmation email?

A. You will not receive a confirmation email. Rather, you can at any time log in to the account that you created and see that your registration details are present and correct.

TROUBLESHOOTING YOUR SUBMISSION

If you are unable to submit your essay to the John Locke Institute’s global essay competition, your problem is almost certainly one of the following.

If so, please proceed as indicated.

1) PROBLEM: I receive the ‘registrations are now closed’ message when I enter my email and verification code. SOLUTION. You did not register for the essay competition and create your account. If you think you did, you probably only provided us with your email to receive updates from us about the competition or otherwise. You may not enter the competition this year.

2) PROBLEM I do not receive a login code after I enter my email to enter my account. SOLUTION. Enter your email address again, checking that you do so correctly. If this fails, restart your browser using an incognito window; clear your cache, and try again. Wait for a few minutes for the code. If this still fails, restart your machine and try one more time. If this still fails, send an email to [email protected] with “No verification code – [your name]” in the subject line.

SUBMITTING AN ESSAY

3) PROBLEM: The filename of my essay is in the correct format but it is rejected. SOLUTION: Use “Edit Profile” to check that you did not add a space before or after either of your names. If you did, delete it. Whether you did or did not, try again to submit your essay. If submission fails again, email [email protected] with “Filename format – [your name]” in the subject line.

4) PROBLEM: When trying to view my submitted essay, a .txt file is downloaded – not the .pdf file that I submitted. SOLUTION: Delete the essay. Logout of your account; log back in, and resubmit. If resubmission fails, email [email protected] with “File extension problem – [your name]” in the subject line.

5) PROBLEM: When I try to submit, the submission form just reloads without giving me an error message. SOLUTION. Log out of your account. Open a new browser; clear the cache; log back in, and resubmit. If resubmission fails, email [email protected] with “Submission form problem – [your name]” in the subject line.

6) PROBLEM: I receive an “Unexpected Error” when trying to submit. SOLUTION. Logout of your account; log back in, and resubmit. If this resubmission fails, email [email protected] with “Unexpected error – [your name]” in thesubject line. Your email must tell us e xactly where in the submission process you received this error.

7) PROBLEM: I have a problem with submitting and it is not addressed above on this list. SOLUTION: Restart your machine. Clear your browser’s cache. Try to submit again. If this fails, email [email protected] with “Unlisted problem – [your name]” in the subject line. Your email must tell us exactly the nature of your problem with relevant screen caps.

READ THIS BEFORE YOU EMAIL US.

Do not email us before you have tried the specified solutions to your problem.

Do not email us more than once about a single problem. We will respond to your email within 72 hours. Only if you have not heard from us in that time may you contact us again to ask for an update.

If you email us regarding a problem, you must include relevant screen-shots and information on both your operating system and your browser. You must also declare that you have tried the solutions presented above and had a good connection to the internet when you did so.

If you have tried the relevant solution to your problem outlined above, have emailed us, and are still unable to submit before the 30 June deadline on account of any fault of the John Locke Institute or our systems, please do not worry: we will have a way to accept your essay in that case. However, if there is no fault on our side, we will not accept your essay if it is not submitted on time – whatever your reason: we will not make exceptions for IT issues for which we are not responsible.

We reserve the right to disqualify the entries of essayists who do not follow all provided instructions, including those concerning technical matters.

Winning Essays

[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_button2 title=”Go back” style=”square” color=”sky” size=”sm” link=”url:http%3A%2F%2Fwww.yalescientific.org%2Fsynapse%2Fcontest-winners%2F|title:Contest%20Winners|”][vc_empty_space height=”32px”][vc_column_text css_animation=”top-to-bottom” el_class=”winning-essays”]

Congratulations to the winner of the 2019 Yale Scientific Synapse High School Essay Contest!

This year’s essay prompt was:

There is a moment that defines success, that “ah-ha” moment when the barrier of your expectations of what is possible to achieve is shattered. Yet, for every Nobel Prize success story or every innovation that is deemed media frenzy worthy, there are hundreds of breakthroughs that go unnoticed by the general public. Choose an important but under-discussed breakthrough from the past 5 years, and describe why it is so significant.

Entangled in a Quantum Future

1st Place Winner, Yale Scientific Magazine National Essay Competition 2019 Kelvin Kim Bergen Catholic High School, Oradell, NJ

The rate of discovery in science has accelerated dramatically since the 20th century. This should not be surprising since our knowledge base doubles approximately every 13 months. Some scientists even predict that the “internet of things” will lead to even more dramatic accelerations. Many of these advancements have gained widespread recognition while others are relatively unknown to the general public.

For example, Chinese researchers at Shanghai’s University of Science and Technology made advances on data teleportation based on quantum entanglement but remained underrecognized. In 2017, this team, led by Ji-Gang Ren, shattered previous distance records for such teleportation experiments. The previous record, set in 2015, achieved successful transmissions using 104 kilometers of superconducting molybdenum silicide fiber. Firing a high-altitude laser from Tibet to the orbiting Micius satellite, the Chinese team achieved successful transmissions over distances up to 1400 kilometers. Later, they successfully transmitted quantum data from the satellite back to Earth at distances ranging from 1600 to 2400 kilometers. In doing so, they demonstrated the viability of someday being able to create a “quantum internet,” over which information could be exchanged far more securely than is possible today.

The phrase quantum teleportation is somewhat misleading. In the Chinese experiments, no particles were physically teleported from Earth to space like most people might imagine after watching sci-fi programs like Star Trek . “Quantum teleportation” involves information, not matter. To grasp this, we need to understand the basic nature of quantum entanglement.

Quantum entanglement is a way of describing two particles with matching quantum states. The states in question, of which there are four possibilities, have to do with vertical or horizontal polarization. The entangled particles are linked in such a way as to mutually influence one another. Moreover, when one particle is observed, information about the other can be known. These effects hold true even if the entangled particles are separated by great distances.

Dr. Chien-Shiung Wu first experimentally demonstrated quantum entanglement in a laboratory, showing an Einstein-type correlation between two photons that were well separated from one another. Back then, all she could do was show correlations between entangled photons separated by a small distance. The experiment conducted by Dr. Ren’s team in 2017 is fundamentally the same as the experiment that was conducted by Dr. Wu almost seventy years ago. However, the Chinese researchers’ achievement is significant because they strove to do what Dr. Wu did at a far greater scale. Instead of performing the experiment in a laboratory, the Chinese physicists demonstrated entanglement between a photon on Earth and a photon on an orbiting satellite. These particles were separated by distances of at least 500 kilometers—the greatest distances that quantum entanglement have ever been recorded. This accomplishment was all the more impressive as it was achieved using detectors on a satellite that was traveling around Earth at orbital speeds.

Quantum entanglement means that data can seemingly be “teleported” since the information about one of the particles in an entangled pair will always reflect information relevant to the other particle. This is the main concept behind the potential applications being investigated by scientists. While nothing may be physically teleported, the fact that information about an object can be accessed instantaneously from anywhere has significant implications for the future.

One potential application of this concept is the quantum internet. The researchers showed that working with entangled particles while they are separated and moving at fast speeds is possible. This could provide a means of ensuring data security. Since the mere act of observing a particle changes its quantum properties, recipients of information over a quantum network could instantly know, by comparing the state of the paired particle at the point of transmission to that of its partner at the point of reception, not only if a message had been decrypted, but even if it had been merely observed. To this end, the Chinese scientists—in collaboration with European partners at the University of Vienna and the Austrian Academy of Sciences—aim to establish a secure quantum-encrypted channel by next year, and a global network in the following decade.

It is not surprising that the first practical applications of quantum entanglement are expected to appear in the realm of cyber-security. The regular internet is vulnerable to hacking because data still flows through cables in the form of bits, into which the hacker can tap and decrypt. A bit can either represent a zero or a one, but not both at the same time. The quantum internet, on the other hand, doesn’t have this problem because it utilizes qubits, a quantum state a particle is in when it represents both zero and one simultaneously. If a hacker tried to access a stream of qubits, the qubits would seem to have values that are either zero or one, but not both. This means that by trying to access information in the stream of qubits, the hacker would just end up destroying the data he is trying to hack.

Beyond this, the term “quantum internet” doesn’t actually have a clear definition. “Quantum internet is still a vague term,” explains physicist Thomas Jennewein of the University of Waterloo.

In summary, the research being conducted by Dr. Ren, his colleagues, and their European partners on data teleportation via quantum entanglement is significant because it represents the scaling-up of this technology to the point where its practical application is imminent. Before 2017, no previous experiments in this field had been done over comparable distances with such reliable results. The fact that global partners are planning to establish secure quantum channels based on these experiments in the near future ensures not only that such networks will soon be a global reality, but also that scientists will be delving ever deeper into the mystery of quantum entanglement. This research places humanity on the threshold of a new world of quantum applications that we can scarcely imagine today.

Congratulations to the winners of the 2018 Yale Scientific Synapse High School Essay Contest!

A Plantastic Solution to an Aqueous Problem

By John Lin

Water covers about 71 percent of Earth’s surface, but throughout the world, this natural resource appears to be drying up.1​ ​Due to global warming, desertification is rapidly spreading across the world. The world is finding that critical freshwater reserves are disappearing in the face of increasing population growth.2​ ​Just as more water is needed, less water is available. However, cacti have dealt with this problem for millennia and have adapted to arid climates. We can learn from these prickly plants to solve one of the world’s most pressing problems.

Our current stopgap measures are failing. Most modern water storage methods use jerry cans, lidded buckets, and clay pots but require backbreaking labor that is predominantly done by females.3​ ​UNICEF estimates that across the world, women and girls spend 200 million hours collecting water each day, forcing them to abandon their education and employment and enter a cycle of poverty and dependence.4​ ​Additionally, this water is often dirty, resulting in major waterborne disease outbreaks that devastate developing nations, Finally, these buckets require a tradeoff between water supplies, temperature, and sanitation. For example, clay pots lose water to evaporation but are cooler.5​ ​On the other hand, buckets create a warm environment ripe for bacteria growth.

Instead of using costly chemical reactions to synthesize hydrogen and oxygen, scientists can find a cheap solution in biomimicry. Succulent plants are uniquely adapted to absorb and retain water from their arid surroundings. Learning from them will help us efficiently deal with desertification and minimize water conflicts. Cacti are among the most effective succulents, surviving in habitats from the Atacama Desert to the Patagonian steppe.6​ ​Semiarid and arid areas experience varying levels of rainfall, demanding different tissue thicknesses and structural designs. We should study cacti to produce location-specific containers that can absorb and store safe water at optimal temperatures.

Scientists should explore water retrieval methods including cacti’s water absorption. Cacti build shallow roots that can branch out, allowing them to react quickly to rainfall.7​ ​We can utilize capillary action, much like plant roots, to gather water at a cheap energy cost. Researchers at the Chinese Academy of the Sciences are studying artificial root systems that could store rainwater.8​ ​Some cacti also store fog water, thanks to spines that collect water molecules. Scientists from Beihang University are already developing similar structures by electrospinning polyimide and polystyrene.9​ ​Moreover, this could help improve filtration systems. Dr. Norma Alcantar from the University of South Florida found that prickly pear cactus gum effectively removes sediment and bacteria from water.1​ 0​ We could eliminate common diseases, free women to pursue studies, leisure, or careers, and save millions of lives.

Researchers can also improve water storage by focusing on cacti because of their high water retention. Because of their fleshy tissue, many cacti can hold large amounts of water. In fact, Charles Gritzner, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Geography at South Dakota State University, notes that some can store up to 2 tons of water, or 1,800 liters.1​ 1​ We can learn from their thick structures to maximize the quantity of water stored. Cacti also have unique structural designs including protective hair to deflect sunlight, which defends against dangerous heat levels.1​ 2​ Cacti have additionally developed waxy skin to prevent water loss.1​ 3​ We can combine this with biodegradable material to promote environmental sustainability by avoiding plastic. These innovations fix the current temperature-water loss tradeoff and maximize utility.

This large, bulky bucket would be incredibly adaptable. In foggier areas like the Atacama Desert, artificial spines would help collect water, while mechanical roots would work better in drier places. The layer of gum-like lining on the inner walls of the pail would improve sanitation. The water would be protected from heat through intricate designs of folds and hair. The outer waxy coating would help preserve water while maintaining cooler temperatures. Humanitarian organizations could distribute this in developing nations, ensuring that each family has a stable, safe source of water.

The consequences of ignoring water shortages are dire because water is the most precious resource of life. Not only is approximately 60 percent of the adult human body made of water, each American uses around 80-100 gallons of water every day.1​ 4,15​ This has promoted hygiene and eliminated disease outbreaks, with handwashing alone reducing diarrheal disease-related deaths by almost 50%.1​ 6​ With antibiotic-resistant bacteria developing rapidly, hygiene is critical for public health. Water is also heavily used in food production, irrigating 62.4 million acres of American cropland in 2010.1​ 7​ Agriculture accounts for 70% of freshwater withdrawals each year.1​ 8​ As global warming intensifies regional climates, more water is needed. Otherwise, the world would be torn apart by hunger and thirst.

Losing water will also have major geopolitical implications. The World Economic Forum has ranked water crises among the five most impactful global issues for the past four years.1​ 9​ As countries compete for an ever-shrinking supply of water, wars are bound to break out. The Global Policy Forum predicts that more than 50 countries across five continents will likely be forced into water conflicts.2​ 0​ Already, nuclear armed states such as India and Pakistan engage in water fights.2​ 1​ The resulting wars could claim billions of innocent human lives.

Although more advanced technology is being developed, biomimicry provides a cheap, clean, and quick answer to the billions of people surviving on inadequate and unsafe water. Unless we take action, water wars, food shortages, and disease outbreaks will tear the world apart. For the sake of humanity’s survival, we must turn to cacti to guide our water foraging efforts in the developing world.

Congratulations to the winners of the 2017 Yale Scientific Synapse High School Essay Contest!

If Science were to make a huge breakthrough in the next year, what do you think would be the most beneficial one to society? Why?

Breaking Through Ocean Acidification

1st Place Winner, Yale Scientific Magazine National Essay Competition 2017 Clara Benadon Poolesville High School, MD

As a Marylander, one of my favorite things to do is make the trek up to the Chesapeake Bay. Its sparkling waters and abundant wildlife set it apart as a prime jewel of the East Coast. Nothing can compare to the experience of paddling down the Potomac River on a sunny day, the boughs of a sycamore arching overhead.

Apart from being a stunner, the Bay provides major cultural and economic benefits. Its unique way of life is perfectly encapsulated in the small towns of Smith Island, where watermen make a living from the estuary’s riches. On a recent visit, one local said to me, “We truly build our lives around the water.” From the local fisherman to larger commercial operations, the Chesapeake provides $3.39 billion annually in seafood sales alone, part of a total economic value topping $1 trillion. The stability of these waters is endangered by the growing problem of ocean acidification. This occurs when the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is absorbed into bodies of water, causing surging acidity levels. Acidification leads to the protective carbonate coverings of shellfish to disintegrate, killing off large amounts of oysters, mussels, and scallops. Oyster reefs filter the Bay; without a thriving population, harmful pollutants run rampant. The low oxygen conditions caused by high acidity also make it hard for fish to breathe. Even with survivable oxygen levels, low pH can be fatal for fish.

The plummeting numbers of these Chesapeake staples make a dent on the economy. According to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Maryland and Virginia have suffered losses exceeding $4 billion over the last three decades stemming from the decline of oyster health and distribution. High acidity causes oysters’ growth to be stunted, so that shellfish fisheries cannot profit from the smaller, thinner shells.

The losses aren’t economic alone. An estimated 2,700 species call the Bay their home, a remarkable level of biodiversity that is threatened by ocean acidification. The loss of even one species causes a ripple effect through the entire food web, sending it into a state of unbalance.  According to a 2004 study in Science, the survival of threatened and nonthreatened species is closely intertwined: when an endangered species goes extinct, dependent ones suffer. Moreover, biodiversity keeps in check the amount of carbon dioxide in any body of water. Zoom out from the Chesapeake to the world ocean. Skyrocketing acidity is present in almost every aquatic biome on our planet. When pH is low, coral reefs cannot absorb the calcium carbonate that makes up their skeleton. Corals, along with snails, clams, and urchins, disintegrate en masse. A particularly disturbing image of ocean acidification is its effect on the neurology of fish. Their decision making skills are significantly delayed to the level where they sometimes swim directly into the jaws of predators.

Economically, the UN estimates that ocean acidification will take a $1 trillion bite out of the world economy by the year 2100. This massive cost has direct human implications, including health, job security, and cultural heritage. In addition, the economies of many countries are wholly dependent upon reef based tourism and other activities built around the water.

We need a solution to our world’s rapidly acidifying oceans. If science were to make a major breakthrough, solving this problem would be beneficial to our economy and ecology on an unprecedented scale. Methods that at first appeared brilliant have either been limited by their feasibility or come to be outweighed by their negative side effects, ultimately prolonging the search for a solution.

The unorthodox method of dumping enormous amounts of iron sulphate into the water is based on the principle that iron fertilizes phytoplankton, microscopic organisms found in every body of water. The energy phytoplankton gain from the iron allows them to bloom, absorbing CO 2 from the atmosphere and the ocean. When the phytoplankton die they sink to the bottom of the ocean, locking the CO 2 there for centuries. In 1988, the late oceanographer John Martin proclaimed, “Give me a half tanker of iron, and I will give you an ice age.” It is theorized that fertilizing 2% of the Southern Ocean could set back global warming by 10 years.

Why not implement this magic fix? First off, iron fertilization has come under fire for its negative side effects. A 2016 study in Nature determined that the planktonic blooms would deplete the waters of necessary nutrients. Additionally, when the large bloom dies, it would create large “dead zones,” areas devoid of oxygen and life. Side effects aside, this technique may be entirely ineffective. Carbon dioxide may simply move up the food chain when the phytoplankton are eaten and be respired back into the water. This was observed when the 2009 Lohafex expedition unloaded six tons of iron off the Southern Atlantic. The desired phytoplankton bloom it caused was promptly gobbled up by miniscule organisms known as copepods.

The alternative solution of planting kelp is less drastic. Revitalizing expansive forests of algae has proven to be effective in sucking up underwater CO 2 . Kelp grows as quickly as 18 inches a day, and once established offers the added benefits of providing a habitat for marine species and removing anthropogenic nutrient pollution. Researchers from the Puget Sound Restoration Fund, who have been monitoring the capability of this process, have found that kelp forests are effective at diminishing acidification on a local scale. While planting carbonsucking species across the ocean would not be a feasible global solution, kelp forests could help solve the acidification crises found in less expansive areas.

To date, there is not one straightforward fix to combat ocean acidification and its corrosive effects. If a scientific breakthrough were to occur, it would perhaps be comprised of a combination of methods. However, as science and technology continuously evolve, the key to deacidifying our oceans may well turn out to be something beyond our wildest dreams.

A Revolutionary Combatant to Global Warming

2nd Place Winner, Yale Scientific Magazine National Essay Competition 2017 Arjun Marwaha Fairmont Schools, Anaheim CA

Accelerated industrialization and incredible innovation by the human species has completely morphed our 4.54 billion year-old planetary home in just a few centuries. Through feats of agriculture and language, humans have profoundly suggested superiority over all domains that dwell on Earth. Just recently, the culmination of human capability appears evident; through scientific means such as CRISPR’s gene splicing technique and Elon Musk’s inconceivable vision to send people around the moon, humanity is on the verge of a new creation: a feasible “dominance” over our galaxy.

Nonetheless, several ramifications have scarred our Earth ever since humans have undertook these robust, industrial actions. As first priority, scientists should direct their focus onto preserving our planet from the cataclysmic effects of the greenhouse effect — the trapped carbon dioxide gas in Earth’s atmosphere which thereby generates additional heat into our planet. This can be achieved by developing a renewable energy-based device to chemically convert carbon dioxide into clean products, which in turn will inherently benefit our environment and most definitely the society with the future generation of useful, renewable products.

One prominent solar example of this was physically engineered at the University of Illinois in Chicago, by mechanical engineer Amin Salehi-Khojin, in July of 2016. In their prototyping phase, the research team was able to construct a device that can absorb carbon dioxide, utilize sunlight to break CO2 into “syngas” (gas similar to hydrogen and carbon monoxide), and then use this synthesized gas directly as diesel or be turned into other liquid fuels. Just from this experiment alone, it is discernible that the potential to create such a device to eliminate the excess carbon dioxide exists within the scientific community; thus one can expect multiple breakthroughs in this field in the coming year alone, from solar to maybe even wind based technology. Furthermore, this prototype exemplifies the truly infinite possibilities that renewable energy sources can harness by converting the harmful gas into beneficial compounds.

Indisputably, this methodology has positive consequences, with little to no risk, hence producing an overall positive for both the Earth’s maintenance, and all animals and humans in regards to air quality. However, one may argue that this “breakthrough” has existed for epochs: plants, as they convert the carbon dioxide from the air into valuable sugars through the cyclical, self-sufficient process known as photosynthesis. But due to recent industrialization leading to deforestation, plants in general are becoming more and more rare in an industrial-based city. So without having the plants absorb the toxins and carbon dioxide in the air, the breeding ground for extreme pollution in cities, like New Delhi, India, exists. This eventually triggers an urgent necessity for renewable methods to get rid of these pollutants and toxins; and if plants cease to exist in harsh climates where toxins exist, then this innovative technique of splitting the carbon dioxide into useful products surely will have the ability to stay in industrial cities like these; and if they have capability to withstand the worst toxins, they surely will have the staying power in the international market.

In addition to its efficiency, the mere utilization of such a technology will sincerely resonate with the scientific community. Since numerous attempts have been made by scientists to find sustainable solutions to the greenhouse effect, the community — and more so the public — are desperate for a panacea. This solution not only thrives off the absorption of carbon dioxide, but it also creates several efficient products including but not limited to gaseous compounds that can provide liquid fuel or diesel, thereby acting as a detriment to further carbon emissions. Now, the world has seen this technology exist in one small laboratory. Through extensive research on maximizing the utility of the materials, the next massive breakthrough will be attempting to scale this technology to the international market, while ensuring that this device can be inexpensive as possible so that the scientific community can make some slot of profit. For this effective cost and efficient design, this device can essentially gain international acclaim after scientists give their approval to showcase a brand of these carbon emission combatants, all of which exist in different shape or form but run on renewable, green energy.

Without a cast of a doubt, the renewably-energized devices will completely revolutionize our approach to global warming. By developing a method that can concurrently reduce the carbon dioxide emissions and generating “split” products that promote green energy, the scientific community would absolutely gain the same recognition of this breakthrough as, for instance, circulating two men around the moon. This ideology, in effect, prompts people to question who they really are. Scientists are curious and explorative. But can they halt this mindset and instead focus on a more impeding dynamic: introspection of our character. Thus, it is only ethically sound that we as humans understand one blatant reality: our curiosity has, in essence, disrupted the nature of our Earth. So, it is only morally correct that we humans disband from our brigades in space, leave the hospital’s dissections and illnesses, and truly save our only home known to man.

Congratulations to the winners of the third Yale Scientific Synapse High School Essay Contest!

This year’s essay prompt was: “How does bias affect the course of scientific research? Discuss how public and personal bias has hindered and facilitated scientific progress.”

The Duality of Bias

By rocel beatriz balmes 1st place winner, yale scientific magazine national essay competition 2014 haines city high school lake alfred, florida.

Traditionally defined as a partiality towards particular people, objects, or beliefs, bias has developed a rather negative connotation—particularly in science—of resulting in unfair advantages and, thus, inaccurate results. Though this has, in effect, rendered it equivalent to a social pariah to the scientific community, throughout the years, it has persisted as a definitive barrier to scientific and social progress.

Take, for example, the emergence of “Social Darwinism” in the late 1800s. Despite the fact that Darwin focused only on biological evidence in animals and seldom mentioned ramifications for humans, public bias took the words of famed eugenicist Francis Galton and perpetuated the idea of a biologically superior race. Observing and dissecting the differences between their own fair features and the large lips and dark skin of their slaves, Americans came to the conclusion that they were the de facto superior race in all aspects of humanity, despite the lack of scientific empiricism. Instead of obtaining impartial evidence for their superiority—of which, they would actually find none—they focused their efforts on finding justification for their enslavement and systematic dehumanization of African Americans for centuries to come. Though this pseudoscience was nothing but a gross perversion of Darwin’s widely supported Theory of Evolution and Natural Selection, the concept of a harsher eugenics outlined by Vacher de Lapouge based on this very theory and the idea of white supremacy became the underpinnings of Nazi Germany’s eugenics agenda. This form of scientific racism, verified only by the bias of a racist, ethnocentric society led to the creation of global selective breeding programs that eliminated—and, in fact, continue to eliminate—millions of innocent people leaving only masses of unrealized potential for scientific and social progress.

Unfortunately, such bias is not unique to eras of the past. From the very dawn of its conception in the mid-to-late 1900s, stem cell research has been influenced by bias. Though the utilization of the cells as transformative tissues has been revolutionary, this was only possible with the extraction of the inner cell mass in a human embryo. Such procedures, when first introduced, shocked the public as a process strikingly similar to the very destruction of human life, regardless of the undeveloped status of said human. Researchers were swayed by some of the strongest proponents of the ban of such procedures. Rather than specific religious denominations or political parties, the conflict attracted masses of people from differing backgrounds to forge a formidable opposition to the progression of health science. Consequently, some research institutions succumbed to the period’s public and private moral bias and halted experimentation. That is not to say, of course, that this bias was in any way intended with malice or aimed to deprive severely ill people of life-saving stem cells. Bias—public bias in particular—is oftentimes muddled with the fear of the unorthodox and the unconventional. In this case, though the bias did prevent scientific progression, it is important to note that it was influenced by a people that was, perhaps, not quite ready for such progression.

Alternatively, bias can provide the push that some societies need in order to develop and revolutionize. Just as most words in the English language, the word bias is double-faceted by nature. Far from the unscrupulous reputation it usually holds in science, it can also be defined as a predilection or a fondness for something—an emotion that all scientists must have in order to undertake the challenges of their satisfying yet simultaneously grating careers. Thus, through the years, bias has had the dual role of barrier and catalyst to major scientific breakthroughs.

Take, for example, the conflict with stem cell research. Stem-cell pioneer James Thomson was a researcher in one of only two laboratories in 1998 to successfully extract stem cells and, at the same time, destroy the human embryo from which they were plucked. In a New York Times Article titled “Man Who Helped Start Stem Cell War May End It”, Thomson says that he knew of the social stigma that surrounded his research and that he himself was, at first, very skeptical of the moral implications and had even worked with ethicists before he unknowingly detonated a moral bomb with his ground-breaking scientific research. When public opinion proved to be a seemingly significant barrier biased against his progress, however, instead of backing down and raising the metaphorical white flag of surrender, Thomson’s determination was only fueled by this bias against him. Working with researchers from Kyoto University, Thomson helped developed a new technique of adding a few genes to ordinary skin cells to make them function like stem cells. The scientific ramifications of this ethically sound method are infinite. Aside from the obvious benefits in research, the medical world is now bombarded with revolutionary new methods and treatments as vital tissue generation without the need to wait for donors becomes a possibility. Though the road ahead may still be paved with challenges in production for Thomson, without the public and his own personal bias of morality pressuring him, his systematic search for and discovery of an ethical method would not have become a reality.

Though one might be tempted to label the above example as the exemption to the rule of bias’ role in science, it is important to note that some of the greatest innovations and fundamental truths of our world were conceived under researchers’ personal bias of belief in their ideas. From Galileo Galilei and Louis Pasteur, to Marie Curie and Jane Goodall, these scientists lived during eras during which they were ridiculed by a public inexorably biased against them for daring to have an alternative model of the world and, in the latter individuals’ cases, a gender unorthodox for a scientist. Yet, personal conviction, determination and, yes, bias led these three scientists to international acclaim. Indeed, bias possesses a dual dynamism that allows it to stand as an obstruction to and creator of scientific progress. Suspended between these two polarities is where revolution, innovation, and true science emerge.

Everything is Awesome

By marina tinone 2nd place winner, yale scientific magazine national essay competition 2014 william h. hall high school west hartford, connecticut.

My brother and I were blessed to have our own Lego collections. Our rooms were lined with shelves and shelves of our own creations, some of them built using the instructions from the Lego sets, most of them made by ourselves. We ditched the boring booklets in the box and just made what we needed.

For my brother, his bricks were used to build complex helicopters and submarines, usually creating machines significantly more complicated than the ones designed by Lego. When I asked him about his submarine, and why all the pieces he used weren’t the same color, he told me that the submarine was supposed to be invisible, so the colors didn’t need to match. Besides, the hinges, the pulleys, the contraptions he made by himself– those were the important parts.

In my world, my Lego creations weren’t invisible. My stuffed animals needed sleds to play in the snow, houses to sleep in, school buses to go to school in the morning and come back in the evening. My machines were not as complex as my brother’s, but they worked, and my colors matched. The stuffed animals needed their yellow school buses, and I thought a sled would look nice in blue.

My brother’s Legos always impressed our parents. He definitely had the eyes of an engineer, a scientist. Now, when Mom and Dad looked into my room and watched their daughter raise a blue sled loaded with stuffed rabbits into the air, well… the kids were different, that’s for sure.

Watching my brother receive praise for his creations from our chemist and engineer parents, I thought that science was restricted to those interests. Science was for the ones who made Legos for the sake of the machine, not for the ones whose stuffed rabbits wore scarves.

I wonder– did the world think the same way I did when Rosalind Picard introduced affective computing in 1997? Upon learning more about the limbic system and its role in shaping perception, Picard realized that it was not enough to simply create new microprocessors and develop energy-efficient chips if they didn’t interact with the user’s emotions and social cues. Technology needed a more human touch to develop. When she created this novel field and opened it to the world, did her peers find such emotion-based studies unworthy? Did they believe that such “science” was an aberration to the disciplines that touted rational, sentiment-free thinking?

As Picard explained to Adam Higginbotham of Wired magazine, “I realized we’re not going to build intelligent machines until we build, if not something we call emotion, then something that functions like our emotion systems.”

Today, there is an international conference and a journal dedicated to affective computing, and labs around the world continue to further the field by finding applications for their “intelligent machines” to shape how we interact with technology every day.

What about those who supported computer science in the 1970s, back when computer science looked like a pile of hole-punched papers? Computer scientists once had to suade others of the viability of a field that would later become one of the most relevant and lucrative areas of study.

What about Gregor Mendel’s investigation with pea plants in 1866? Mendel’s contemporaries criticizing his work surely did not know that he would be credited for fathering the ever-evolving field of genetics.

What about Edward Jenner’s smallpox vaccine in 1798? No one believed that the ungodly idea of infecting someone to treat someone would save millions of lives.

Did those biased against the potential, the validity of these new fields and scientific pursuits, really understand their purposes and merits? With their closed interpretations of science, did they really understand what science is and can be? Over time, scientists have attempted to define science. Astronomer Carl Sagan asserted that “Science is a way of thinking much more than it is a body of knowledge.” Physicist Stephen Hawking describes science as “not only a disciple of reason but, also, one of romance and passion.”

Although both eloquently stated their thoughts, I am convinced by the words of chemist Marie Curie –

“I am among those who think that science has great beauty. A scientist in his laboratory is not only a technician; he is also a child placed before natural phenomena which impress him like a fairy tale. We should not allow it to be believed that all scientific progress can be reduced to mechanism, machines, gearings, even though such machinery also has its own beauty.”

I remember comparing my blue sled to my brother’s invisible submarine, and I hold onto my creation a little tighter. Maybe there is something more to science than my brother’s sophisticated machines. When my younger self stood in her room, surrounded by her Lego bricks, she shouldn’t have diminished the progress she had made in her Lego laboratory, just because she didn’t use pulleys or interlocking gears.

I shouldn’t have been so close-minded against my own science, just because the world around me was biased against my ideas. From my studies, I hypothesized, I tested, I built upon my past results. My world needed science, but it didn’t need what had already been done, or was already deemed acceptable. It needed my own input. Call my ideas biased, call them faulted. But without the individuals interpreting and solving their world’s struggles using their own definitions, science would cease to develop.

Scientists continue to stand in their laboratories in child-like wonder, enraptured by the phenomena that enchant them, in all shapes and forms. Science is about discovering what you find beautiful in your world, and working, playing, in order to fulfill your personal curiosity and the needs of your imagination.

Let’s sit down. Let’s open up those boxes filled with possibilities. Throw away the instructions.

Let’s play.

The Good and Bad of Bias and Prejudice in Science

By jonathan chan 3rd place winner, yale scientific magazine national essay competition 2014 milton academy milton, massachusetts.

Scientists take pride in using the scientific method that dictates testing a hypothesis dispassionately with objective experiments, scrutinizing that the results are replicable, presenting all the data for independent peer review, and addressing any dissenting views vigorously. Over the years, scientists have been very successful in creating the public myth that they love second guessing their own hypotheses to safeguard themselves from unintentional bias and prejudice. This rigorous process has enabled science to become exalted as an arbiter of truth by most people. In reality, however, scientists behave very differently and bias in scientific research is in fact quite common; a steadily growing number of published papers have been found to be not replicable, calling into question the validity of many widely accepted hypotheses.

Scientists are humans, with personal beliefs and values. It is human nature to look for evidence to support one’s beliefs. A fundamental flaw of human nature is its love for being proven right and hate for being proven wrong. This flaw causes scientists to unconsciously find data to confirm their preferred hypotheses or preconceptions, and they overlook – even disregard – evidence that is contrary. This phenomenon is known to psychologists as “confirmation bias”. A study of the efficacy of Chinese acupuncture is an interesting example of how cultural beliefs of scientists affect their research. Clinical experiments on acupuncture performed in Asia overwhelmingly support its therapeutic effectiveness, while trials implemented in the West show inconclusive results.

“Confirmation bias” can influence every step of any scientific experiment set up to test a hypothesis, from how the experiment is designed, to how the results are measured, to how the data are interpreted. Scientific research today is highly competitive and involves significant financial resources; a culture of publish or perish is pervasive. There is constant pressure on scientists to generate groundbreaking discoveries in drugs, materials, and technologies. The experimental methods are highly complex, and as a result, “positive results” are extremely difficult to produce, measure, and assess. No wonder many researchers become overly excited over the first piece of positive data, giving it biased prominence over the mundane, negative results and subsequently “shoe- horning” the flawed data that eventuate a faulty conclusion.

In theory, peer review by independent professionals and publications should provide an effective defense against these subtle biases. In practice, however, this process is just as prone to the same kind of confirmation biases which favors positive results over null data and negative hypotheses. A recent study on the selection process of scientific publications concludes that papers are less likely to be published and to be cited if they report “negative” results. A prominent example of this institutional bias involves a high-profile study which linked child MMR vaccination with increased incidences of autism. This study caused widespread panic and resulted in a detrimental decade-long decrease in child immunization. Although numerous studies were conducted at the same time supporting a contrary conclusion, these “negative-result” papers failed to gain the level of attention of the “positive-result” paper the retraction of which took ten years.

History is replete with incidences where biases and prejudices have not only steered scientific research, but also fostered malicious prejudice of the research on an unsuspecting public. The prejudicial practice of eugenics in the early 1900’s caused thousands of innocent people to be labeled as inferior and unjustly persecuted for no scientific reason. Lysenkoism in the 1930’s in the Soviet Union advocated bias and useless “scientific” methods to increase crop yields for political purpose, resulting in the deaths of millions of starving peasants. On the other hand, bias has not always hindered scientific progress. Scientists in the past could not have known whether their brilliant ideas were right or wrong. Many of the problems they were trying to solve were not only difficult but also inductive due to a lack of evidence. These ideas necessarily originated as wild guesses encompassing the scientists’ individual biases and prevailing societal values.

Astrophysicist Mario Livio in his book “Brilliant Blunders” provides a litany of bias- induced scientific blunders which in time transformed into breakthrough scientific discoveries. Linus Pauling was a protein specialist and was likely to be biased in favor of proteins, which fueled his erroneous prediction of the DNA structure. Charles Darwin came out with the flawed theory of inheritance because he was likely influenced by the biases of the plant and animal breeders prevalent during his career. Lord Kelvin’s inordinate devotion to tidy mathematics and his bias against messiness resulted in his inaccurate calculation of earth’s age.

However, as these unconscious personal biases and societal prejudices are “uncovered” and properly understood, this development can actually facilitate the pursuit of true scientific knowledge. Bias and prejudice in science have caused unfortunate setbacks but at the same time have generated clarity for decisive shifts in thinking and accelerated advances. The scientific process is complex, messy, and at times even boring, full of starts and stops. Yet, this system of inquiry encompasses a self-correcting tendency which has withstood the test of time and remains a stunning success in understanding nature and improving lives. As influential German philosopher Hans-Gerog Gadamer writes: a researcher “cannot separate in advance the productive prejudices that enable understanding from the prejudices that hinder it”. Preconceptions can spur as well as blind in scientific research.

Unfortunately, scientific research today may have become overly zealous in guarding itself against biases and prejudices, succumbing to politically correct social forces and avoiding tackling sensitive problems and issues which may offend the prevailing public morality. Scientific research is increasingly constrained by these forces dictating what topics can be studied, how we study them, why we need to study them, and who gets to do the studying. A bigger crisis looms should science lose its relevance and importance due to excessive fear of unavoidable bias and prejudice in scientific research. As the Wright brothers said: “If a man is in too big a hurry to give up an error he is liable to give up some truth with it.”[/vc_column_text][vc_button2 title=”Go back” style=”square” color=”sky” size=”sm” link=”url:http%3A%2F%2Fwww.yalescientific.org%2Fsynapse%2Fcontest-winners%2F|title:Contest%20Winners|”][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

THE NATION'S OLDEST COLLEGE SCIENCE PUBLICATION

Studentship » Scholarship » UBA Foundation National Essay Competition 2024

UBA Foundation National Essay Competition 2024

Now in its 12th edition, the UBA National Essay Competition , targeted at senior secondary students in Nigeria, is organized annually as part of the UBA Foundation’s education initiative.

The essay competition promotes the reading culture and encourages healthy and intellectual competition amongst secondary school students in Nigeria and across Africa.

Table of contents

Scholarship requirements, selection procedure, essay topic, how to apply.

• Must be a secondary school student
• Must submit a handwritten essay (750 words MAX)
• Must submit a passport photograph
• Must submit a copy of a birth certificate, National ID or Passport

Entries received for the competition will be reviewed by a distinguished panel of judges made up of professors from reputable Nigerian Universities , who will then shortlist 12 essays for further assessment.

Following this, the second round of the competition will involve the 12 finalists who will write a second supervised essay.

The three best essays will be selected as the winners from the 12 finalists who emerged from the first round of the competition.

Will Artificial Intelligence (AI) take over Human Intelligence?

What should students do to ensure AI doesn’t override but enhance their ability to learn through research?

• Winner: N5 million educational grant to any African University of their choice.
• 1st Runner-up: N3 million educational grants to any African University.
• 2nd runner-up: N2.5 million educational grants to any African University.
• Applicant must submit their completed contact information (Name, Age, School, Address of school, Telephone Number, Residential Address and Email Address).
• Applicants must attach photocopies of their original birth certificates or international passport data pages.
• Applicants must upload a handwritten essay on the portal

Entries for the UBA National Essay Competition open on Wednesday, September 13th, 2023, and close on Friday, October 20th, 2023 .

Let me know if you have any questions or need further clarification. I would love to assist you.

You can watch my videos on the Studentship YouTube Channel by clicking here .

Join my Facebook Group , Like my Facebook Page or Follow Me on WhatsApp for more interactive discussions.

Related posts:

• How to Become a Celebrity Makeup Artist in Nigeria 2024
• How to Become a Successful Upcoming Artist in Nigeria 2024
• How to Create UNN Student Profile 2024
• Change of Date of 2022 OAU Post UTME Screening Exercise
• JAMB, Tertiary Institutions Decide Admission Cut-Off Marks June 24 2024
• The FATE Scholar Foundation Scholarship Programme 2024
• Tracking Canada Visa Application in Nigeria 2024
• Requirements to Study Economics in Nigerian Universities 2024
• Enugu State College of Health Technology, Oji River Admission Form 2024
• Borno State University Post UTME Admission Form 2024/2025

Enter your Email Here

Blessing Olarewaju

Your go-to education blogger, offering practical strategies, expert advice, and educational resources to help students thrive academically and unlock their full potential.

30 thoughts on “UBA Foundation National Essay Competition 2024”

I AM LOOKING FOR ESSAY WRITING COMPETITIONS THAT WILL TAKE ME ABROAD

Hello Chimuoma,

What’s your academic qualification?

Hi, i tried applying but when i clicked on apply here, i was directed to a page that said that no more forms were being received, even though the expiration of the application has not been reached

Try again. This time, change your Chrome browser to desktop mode.

i am looking for a competition to take me abroad through essay writing can you help

I am trying to apply but it not working

What is the challenge?

I can help you.

hi,am trying to apply for the competition but it not working

What response are you getting?

I can’t enter the competition why.

You can only enter the competition when the application is open.

Good morning ma or sir. Please how do I know if I am part of the top twelve in the essay competition.

Hello Ngozi

You would be contacted via your personal details or through your school.

Good afternoon ma or sir. Please I want to know when I will get the reply from you people.

You will be contacted in due time.

Hello… Pll Please is the commencement of this year’s essay competition.. Can I be notified..??

You will get the information here immediately after the commencement of the UBA essay competition.

Please is the competition still going on?

Hello Kate,

The UBA Foundation Essay Competition is yet to start this year.

You will get the update here when the essay competition kicks off.

Do have a wonderful day.

it is not working when i click on the link nd i tried using customer care but it didn’t work

The essay competition for this year is yet to begin.

Excuse me,as entry to apply closed

Submission of Essay is not yet open for Secondary School students .

You will see the update here when the essay competition commences.

I’ve been trying since yesterday to upload my nephew’s essay and other documents, but it keeps rejecting it saying files could not be uploaded. Please, does anyone have an alternate means of submitting them? Like via email or something? Thanks.

There isn’t any other method to apply for the essay scholarship.

Try submitting your Nephew’s essay using a PC (laptop).

You could also contact UBA customer care with the email address [email protected]

I used a laptop already and got same reply. Let me try contacting their customer care. Thanks for your help, appreciate.

pls send me a 50,000 i want to buy phone. pls send it to me pls thank you

Wow please can you teach me

What do you want to learn?

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Notify me via e-mail if anyone answers my comment.

JAMB WAEC Study Abroad Academic Calendar Campus Life Career Guide Scholarship Business Postgraduate

Quick Links

About Blog Contact Write for Us Privacy Policy Disclaimer Terms of Service

Studentship is an educational blog for students, academic enthusiasts, entrepreneurs and lifelong learners.

© 2024 Studentship . All Rights Reserved

Bruce Drysdale 5th-grade student advances to national finals in DAR's essay contest

Bruce Drysdale fifth grader Lia Martinonis has advanced to the national finals in the Daughters of the American Revolution 2024 Essay Contest, and each time her essay has advanced, her family has celebrated with a cake.

She is anxiously hoping for more cake. Martinonis is one of eight fifth-grade finalists in the nation, and so far, she's won three awards for her essay — one at the local level, one at the state level and the latest for the Southeastern Division.

"I am unbelievably proud. I have felt both shocked and pleased each time I learned that I had won," she said.

And there's prize money involved: $1,000 for first place, $500 for second place and $250 for third place. The winners will be recognized at the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution Continental Congress, which is being held June 26-30 in Washington, D.C.

The topic for the contest was “Stars and Stripes Forever.” Essay writers were asked to imagine they were a newspaper reporter for The Philadelphia Times on May 14, 1897, and the newspaper's editor asked them to attend and report on the first public performance of John Philip Sousa’s new march, “The Stars and Stripes Forever.” The students were to tell about Sousa’s life and the story behind the song.

Lia was with her family on April 20 in Durham to receive the state award, her mother, Andrea, said.

"This essay contest has been an incredible experience for Lia. My daughter aspires to be a writer when she grows up," Andrea Martinonis said. "This opportunity has given her the confidence to pursue that dream. Lia researched the essay subject, learned about American history, honed her writing skills, and read her speech to a large audience at the initial award ceremony. 

"As an educator, I couldn't be more pleased that DAR sponsors this contest, encouraging students to write essays and learn about our nation's past. As a parent, I am thrilled that my daughter chooses to spend her free time reading and writing and that her interests and skills are being recognized."

More: North Henderson student one of four grand prize winners in national essay contest

Lia said her teacher, April Summey, assigned the essay contest to her class.

"I remember being frustrated when drafting my essay, but now I am so glad my hard work paid off. I still cannot believe this is all happening," Lia Martinonis said.  

This part of her essay describes Sousa talking about composing his new march:

"...Sousa said that he composed the song in his head on his return to America as he grieved the death of his beloved band manager, David Blakely. Sousa said, “In a kind of dreamy way, I used to think over old days at Washington when I was leader of the Marine Band…when we played at all public functions, and I could see the Stars and Stripes flying from the flagstaff.” He also stated, “And that flag of ours became glorified… And to my imagination it seemed to be the biggest, grandest flag in the world, and I could not get back under it quick enough.”

More: Apple Valley Middle student one of four grand prize winners in national contest

Summey called Lia a phenomenal, gifted student who "always goes above and beyond."

"She thrives on a challenge and is an avid learner. Her contagious curiosity shines brightly as she lights up upon acquiring new knowledge," Summey said. "Every year, my fifth grade students work on the DAR essay. They are given a prompt and required to read multiple primary and secondary sources about the topic in order to prepare. I am very passionate about the contest, because it helps students learn history and get excited about it." 

Dean Hensley is the news editor for the Hendersonville Times-News. Email him with tips, questions and comments at [email protected]. Please help support this kind of local journalism with a subscription to the Hendersonville Times-News.

Summer 2024 Admissions Open Now. Sign up for upcoming live information sessions here (featuring former and current Admission Officers at Havard and UPenn).

Discourse, debate, and analysis

Cambridge re:think essay competition 2024.

Competition Opens: 15th January, 2024

Essay Submission Deadline: 10th May, 2024 Result Announcement: 20th June, 2024 Award Ceremony and Dinner at the University of Cambridge: 30th July, 2024

We welcome talented high school students from diverse educational settings worldwide to contribute their unique perspectives to the competition.

Entry to the competition is free.

About the Competition

The spirit of the Re:think essay competition is to encourage critical thinking and exploration of a wide range of thought-provoking and often controversial topics. The competition covers a diverse array of subjects, from historical and present issues to speculative future scenarios. Participants are invited to engage deeply with these topics, critically analysing their various facets and implications. It promotes intellectual exploration and encourages participants to challenge established norms and beliefs, presenting opportunities to envision alternative futures, consider the consequences of new technologies, and reevaluate longstanding traditions. 

Ultimately, our aim is to create a platform for students and scholars to share their perspectives on pressing issues of the past and future, with the hope of broadening our collective understanding and generating innovative solutions to contemporary challenges. This year’s competition aims to underscore the importance of discourse, debate, and critical analysis in addressing complex societal issues in nine areas, including:

Religion and Politics

Political science and law, linguistics, environment, sociology and philosophy, business and investment, public health and sustainability, biotechonology.

Artificial Intelligence 

Neuroengineering

2024 essay prompts.

This year, the essay prompts are contributed by distinguished professors from Harvard, Brown, UC Berkeley, Cambridge, Oxford, and MIT.

Essay Guidelines and Judging Criteria

Review general guidelines, format guidelines, eligibility, judging criteria.

Awards and Award Ceremony

Award winners will be invited to attend the Award Ceremony and Dinner hosted at the King’s College, University of Cambridge. The Dinner is free of charge for select award recipients.

Registration and Submission

Register a participant account today and submit your essay before the deadline.

Advisory Committee and Judging Panel

The Cambridge Re:think Essay Competition is guided by an esteemed Advisory Committee comprising distinguished academics and experts from elite universities worldwide. These committee members, drawn from prestigious institutions, such as Harvard, Cambridge, Oxford, and MIT, bring diverse expertise in various disciplines.

They play a pivotal role in shaping the competition, contributing their insights to curate the themes and framework. Their collective knowledge and scholarly guidance ensure the competition’s relevance, academic rigour, and intellectual depth, setting the stage for aspiring minds to engage with thought-provoking topics and ideas.

We are honoured to invite the following distinguished professors to contribute to this year’s competition.

The judging panel of the competition comprises leading researchers and professors from Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Cambridge, and Oxford, engaging in a strictly double blind review process.

Keynote Speeches by 10 Nobel Laureates

We are beyond excited to announce that multiple Nobel laureates have confirmed to attend and speak at this year’s ceremony on 30th July, 2024 .

They will each be delivering a keynote speech to the attendees. Some of them distinguished speakers will speak virtually, while others will attend and present in person and attend the Reception at Cambridge.

Why has religion remained a force in a secular world? 

Professor Commentary:

Arguably, the developed world has become more secular in the last century or so. The influence of Christianity, e.g. has diminished and people’s life worlds are less shaped by faith and allegiance to Churches. Conversely, arguments have persisted that hold that we live in a post-secular world. After all, religion – be it in terms of faith, transcendence, or meaning – may be seen as an alternative to a disenchanted world ruled by entirely profane criteria such as economic rationality, progressivism, or science. Is the revival of religion a pale reminder of a by-gone past or does it provide sources of hope for the future?

‘Religion in the Public Sphere’ by Jürgen Habermas (European Journal of Philosophy, 2006)

In this paper, philosopher Jürgen Habermas discusses the limits of church-state separation, emphasizing the significant contribution of religion to public discourse when translated into publicly accessible reasons.

‘Public Religions in the Modern World’ by José Casanova (University Of Chicago Press, 1994)

Sociologist José Casanova explores the global emergence of public religion, analyzing case studies from Catholicism and Protestantism in Spain, Poland, Brazil, and the USA, challenging traditional theories of secularization.

‘The Power of Religion in the Public Sphere’ by Judith Butler, Jürgen Habermas, Charles Taylor, and Cornel West (Edited by Eduardo Mendieta and Jonathan VanAntwerpen, Columbia University Press, 2011)

This collection features dialogues by prominent intellectuals on the role of religion in the public sphere, examining various approaches and their impacts on cultural, social, and political debates.

‘Rethinking Secularism’ by Craig Calhoun, Mark Juergensmeyer, and Jonathan VanAntwerpen (Oxford University Press, 2011)

An interdisciplinary examination of secularism, this book challenges traditional views, highlighting the complex relationship between religion and secularism in contemporary global politics.

‘God is Back: How the Global Rise of Faith is Changing the World’ by John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge (Penguin, 2010)

Micklethwait and Wooldridge argue for the coexistence of religion and modernity, suggesting that religious beliefs can contribute to a more open, tolerant, and peaceful modern world.

‘Multiculturalism’ by Tariq Modood (Polity Press, 2013)

Sociologist Tariq Modood emphasizes the importance of multiculturalism in integrating diverse identities, particularly in post-immigration contexts, and its role in shaping democratic citizenship.

‘God’s Agents: Biblical Publicity in Contemporary England’ by Matthew Engelke (University of California Press, 2013)

In this ethnographic study, Matthew Engelke explores how a group in England seeks to expand the role of religion in the public sphere, challenging perceptions of religion in post-secular England.

Gene therapy is a medical approach that treats or prevents disease by correcting the underlying genetic problem. Is gene therapy better than traditional medicines? What are the pros and cons of using gene therapy as a medicine? Is gene therapy justifiable?

Especially after Covid-19 mRNA vaccines, gene therapy is getting more and more interesting approach to cure. That’s why that could be interesting to think about. I believe that students will enjoy and learn a lot while they are investigating this topic.

The Hall at King’s College, Cambridge

The Hall was designed by William Wilkins in the 1820s and is considered one of the most magnificent halls of its era. The first High Table dinner in the Hall was held in February 1828, and ever since then, the splendid Hall has been where members of the college eat and where formal dinners have been held for centuries.

The Award Ceremony and Dinner will be held in the Hall in the evening of  30th July, 2024.

Stretching out down to the River Cam, the Back Lawn has one of the most iconic backdrop of King’s College Chapel. 

The early evening reception will be hosted on the Back Lawn with the iconic Chapel in the background (weather permitting). 

King’s College Chapel

With construction started in 1446 by Henry VI and took over a century to build, King’s College Chapel is one of the most iconic buildings in the world, and is a splendid example of late Gothic architecture. 

Attendees are also granted complimentary access to the King’s College Chapel before and during the event. 

Confirmed Nobel Laureates

Dr Thomas R. Cech

The nobel prize in chemistry 1989 , for the discovery of catalytic properties of rna.

Thomas Robert Cech is an American chemist who shared the 1989 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Sidney Altman, for their discovery of the catalytic properties of RNA. Cech discovered that RNA could itself cut strands of RNA, suggesting that life might have started as RNA. He found that RNA can not only transmit instructions, but also that it can speed up the necessary reactions.

He also studied telomeres, and his lab discovered an enzyme, TERT (telomerase reverse transcriptase), which is part of the process of restoring telomeres after they are shortened during cell division.

As president of Howard Hughes Medical Institute, he promoted science education, and he teaches an undergraduate chemistry course at the University of Colorado

Sir Richard J. Roberts

The nobel prize in medicine 1993 .

F or the discovery of split genes

During 1969–1972, Sir Richard J. Roberts did postdoctoral research at Harvard University before moving to Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, where he was hired by James Dewey Watson, a co-discoverer of the structure of DNA and a fellow Nobel laureate. In this period he also visited the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology for the first time, working alongside Fred Sanger. In 1977, he published his discovery of RNA splicing. In 1992, he moved to New England Biolabs. The following year, he shared a Nobel Prize with his former colleague at Cold Spring Harbor Phillip Allen Sharp.

His discovery of the alternative splicing of genes, in particular, has had a profound impact on the study and applications of molecular biology. The realisation that individual genes could exist as separate, disconnected segments within longer strands of DNA first arose in his 1977 study of adenovirus, one of the viruses responsible for causing the common cold. Robert’s research in this field resulted in a fundamental shift in our understanding of genetics, and has led to the discovery of split genes in higher organisms, including human beings.

Dr Aaron Ciechanover

The nobel prize in chemistry 2004 .

F or the discovery of ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation

Aaron Ciechanover is one of Israel’s first Nobel Laureates in science, earning his Nobel Prize in 2004 for his work in ubiquitination. He is honored for playing a central role in the history of Israel and in the history of the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology.

Dr Ciechanover is currently a Technion Distinguished Research Professor in the Ruth and Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine and Research Institute at the Technion. He is a member of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, the Russian Academy of Sciences and is a foreign associate of the United States National Academy of Sciences. In 2008, he was a visiting Distinguished Chair Professor at NCKU, Taiwan. As part of Shenzhen’s 13th Five-Year Plan funding research in emerging technologies and opening “Nobel laureate research labs”, in 2018 he opened the Ciechanover Institute of Precision and Regenerative Medicine at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen campus.

Dr Robert Lefkowitz

The nobel prize in chemistry 2012 .

F or the discovery of G protein-coupled receptors

Robert Joseph Lefkowitz is an American physician (internist and cardiologist) and biochemist. He is best known for his discoveries that reveal the inner workings of an important family G protein-coupled receptors, for which he was awarded the 2012 Nobel Prize for Chemistry with Brian Kobilka. He is currently an Investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute as well as a James B. Duke Professor of Medicine and Professor of Biochemistry and Chemistry at Duke University.

Dr Lefkowitz made a remarkable contribution in the mid-1980s when he and his colleagues cloned the gene first for the β-adrenergic receptor, and then rapidly thereafter, for a total of 8 adrenergic receptors (receptors for adrenaline and noradrenaline). This led to the seminal discovery that all GPCRs (which include the β-adrenergic receptor) have a very similar molecular structure. The structure is defined by an amino acid sequence which weaves its way back and forth across the plasma membrane seven times. Today we know that about 1,000 receptors in the human body belong to this same family. The importance of this is that all of these receptors use the same basic mechanisms so that pharmaceutical researchers now understand how to effectively target the largest receptor family in the human body. Today, as many as 30 to 50 percent of all prescription drugs are designed to “fit” like keys into the similarly structured locks of Dr Lefkowitz’ receptors—everything from anti-histamines to ulcer drugs to beta blockers that help relieve hypertension, angina and coronary disease.

Dr Lefkowitz is among the most highly cited researchers in the fields of biology, biochemistry, pharmacology, toxicology, and clinical medicine according to Thomson-ISI.

Dr Joachim Frank

The nobel prize in chemistry 2017 .

F or developing cryo-electron microscopy

Joachim Frank is a German-American biophysicist at Columbia University and a Nobel laureate. He is regarded as the founder of single-particle cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM), for which he shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2017 with Jacques Dubochet and Richard Henderson. He also made significant contributions to structure and function of the ribosome from bacteria and eukaryotes.

In 1975, Dr Frank was offered a position of senior research scientist in the Division of Laboratories and Research (now Wadsworth Center), New York State Department of Health,where he started working on single-particle approaches in electron microscopy. In 1985 he was appointed associate and then (1986) full professor at the newly formed Department of Biomedical Sciences of the University at Albany, State University of New York. In 1987 and 1994, he went on sabbaticals in Europe, one to work with Richard Henderson, Laboratory of Molecular Biology Medical Research Council in Cambridge and the other as a Humboldt Research Award winner with Kenneth C. Holmes, Max Planck Institute for Medical Research in Heidelberg. In 1998, Dr Frank was appointed investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI). Since 2003 he was also lecturer at Columbia University, and he joined Columbia University in 2008 as professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics and of biological sciences.

Dr Barry C. Barish

The nobel prize in physics 2017 .

For the decisive contributions to the detection of gravitational waves

Dr Barry Clark Barish is an American experimental physicist and Nobel Laureate. He is a Linde Professor of Physics, emeritus at California Institute of Technology and a leading expert on gravitational waves.

In 2017, Barish was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics along with Rainer Weiss and Kip Thorne “for decisive contributions to the LIGO detector and the observation of gravitational waves”. He said, “I didn’t know if I would succeed. I was afraid I would fail, but because I tried, I had a breakthrough.”

In 2018, he joined the faculty at University of California, Riverside, becoming the university’s second Nobel Prize winner on the faculty.

In the fall of 2023, he joined Stony Brook University as the inaugural President’s Distinguished Endowed Chair in Physics.

In 2023, Dr Barish was awarded the National Medal of Science by President Biden in a White House ceremony.

Dr Harvey J. Alter

The nobel prize in medicine 2020 .

For the discovery of Hepatitis C virus

Dr Harvey J. Alter is an American medical researcher, virologist, physician and Nobel Prize laureate, who is best known for his work that led to the discovery of the hepatitis C virus. Alter is the former chief of the infectious disease section and the associate director for research of the Department of Transfusion Medicine at the Warren Grant Magnuson Clinical Center in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland. In the mid-1970s, Alter and his research team demonstrated that most post-transfusion hepatitis cases were not due to hepatitis A or hepatitis B viruses. Working independently, Alter and Edward Tabor, a scientist at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, proved through transmission studies in chimpanzees that a new form of hepatitis, initially called “non-A, non-B hepatitis” caused the infections, and that the causative agent was probably a virus. This work eventually led to the discovery of the hepatitis C virus in 1988, for which he shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2020 along with Michael Houghton and Charles M. Rice.

Dr Alter has received recognition for the research leading to the discovery of the virus that causes hepatitis C. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal, the highest award conferred to civilians in United States government public health service, and the 2000 Albert Lasker Award for Clinical Medical Research.

Dr Ardem Patapoutian

The nobel prize in medicine 2021 .

For discovering how pressure is translated into nerve impulses

Dr Ardem Patapoutian is an Lebanese-American molecular biologist, neuroscientist, and Nobel Prize laureate of Armenian descent. He is known for his work in characterising the PIEZO1, PIEZO2, and TRPM8 receptors that detect pressure, menthol, and temperature. Dr Patapoutian is a neuroscience professor and Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator at Scripps Research in La Jolla, California. In 2021, he won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine jointly with David Julius.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why should I participate in the Re:think essay competition? 

The Re:think Essay competition is meant to serve as fertile ground for honing writing skills, fostering critical thinking, and refining communication abilities. Winning or participating in reputable contests can lead to recognition, awards, scholarships, or even publication opportunities, elevating your academic profile for college applications and future endeavours. Moreover, these competitions facilitate intellectual growth by encouraging exploration of diverse topics, while also providing networking opportunities and exposure to peers, educators, and professionals. Beyond accolades, they instil confidence, prepare for higher education demands, and often allow you to contribute meaningfully to societal conversations or causes, making an impact with your ideas.

Who is eligible to enter the Re:think essay competition?  

As long as you’re currently attending high school, regardless of your location or background, you’re eligible to participate. We welcome students from diverse educational settings worldwide to contribute their unique perspectives to the competition.

Is there any entry fee for the competition? 

There is no entry fee for the competition. Waiving the entry fee for our essay competition demonstrates CCIR’s dedication to equity. CCIR believes everyone should have an equal chance to participate and showcase their talents, regardless of financial circumstances. Removing this barrier ensures a diverse pool of participants and emphasises merit and creativity over economic capacity, fostering a fair and inclusive environment for all contributors.

Subscribe for Competition Updates

If you are interested to receive latest information and updates of this year’s competition, please sign up here.

MEET THE WINNERS OF THE QUEEN'S COMMONWEALTH ESSAY COMPETITION 2022

The Queen's Commonwealth Essay Competition (QCEC) is the world's oldest international schools' writing contest, established by the Society in 1883. With thousands of young people taking part each year, it is an important way to recognise achievement, elevate youth voices and develop key skills through creative writing. 

Each year, entrants write on a theme that explores the Commonwealth's values, fostering an empathetic world view in the next generation of leaders and encouraging young people to consider new perspectives to the challenges that the world faces. Themes have included the environment, community, inclusion, the role of youth leadership, and gender equality. 

In the past decade alone, this high-profile competition has engaged approximately 140,000 young people, over 5,000 schools and thousands of volunteer judges across the Commonwealth. 

This year, the competition theme was 'Our Commonwealth', reflecting on our Patron Queen Elizabeth II's seven decades of service to the Commonwealth as an inspiring example of the steadfast commitment and important contribution we can all make to our societies.

We were thrilled to receive a record-breaking 26,322 entries to the QCEC from every Commonwealth region, with the winners and runners-up from New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom and India. Find out more about this year's winners below and watch their reactions on discovering this significant achievement!

Sawooly Li 

Senior Winner 

Age 17, New Zealand 

Sawooly Li is a 12th grade student from Rangitoto College in New Zealand. Reading and writing have always been second nature for her—a way of expressing visions, thoughts, and emotions. She loves drawing inspiration and learning from other great writers and their works. Both reading and writing are things which Sawooly aspires to continue far, far, into the future.

Sawooly also has a love for maths and physics, and is heavily involved in such areas in her school, running clubs and participating in competitions. Fostering a strong sense of community, she also leads several in-school organisations, such as UN Youth and UNICEF. In the winters, Sawooly enjoys snowboarding in New Zealand’s beautiful mountains with friends and family.

Read Sawooly's winning entry, 'Willow Trees and Waterholes' .

Madeleine Wood

Junior Winner 

Age 14, Australia 

Madeleine is 14 years old and lives in Melbourne, Australia. She is in grade 8 at Camberwell Girls Grammar School.

She loves travelling, particularly through Europe, and enjoys visiting the museums, historical landmarks and cities in each country. It is from these experiences that she gained a love for ancient, medieval, and renaissance history.

She is also an avid reader, plays the violin and spends much of her time playing basketball or swimming.

Read her winning poem, 'Catalina' .

Amaal Fawzi

Senior Runner-up

Age 17, United Kingdom

Amaal Fawzi is a 17-year-old girl who was born in Egypt, raised in Lebanon, and now lives in East London. She has an Iraqi father and a British mother, and because of the education system in Lebanon, she has started university a year early! She studies English Literature with Creative Writing and has been writing poetry for many years, though she wouldn’t say she’s been writing poetry well for all of them.

Most of the poetry and prose she likes to write is concerned with culture and identity. Her years in Lebanon formed the majority of her character and cultural experiences, so learning to interact with that in the UK has been a very interesting season. It makes for a lot of writing material, and she’d say that the way she writes is always personal and drawn somehow from her own life.

Read Amaal's poem, 'Nursing Homes' . 

Maulika Pandey

Junior  Runner-up

Age 13, India

Maulika Pandey, is an 8th grade student from Aurum the Global School.

She has always enjoyed writing since she was a child as she feels writing gives her the power to express her feelings in a creative way. Maulika also enjoys sketching and playing the guitar. Basketball is her favourite sport.

She aspires to be a successful entrepreneur but will definitely continue writing in the future.

She is a dedicated advocate for anti-bullying and body positivity.

Read her entry titled, 'The Molai Forest' .

Civics Education Essay Contest

NCSC's 2022 Civics Education Essay Contest

NCSC's Civics Education Essay Contest gives 3rd-12th grade students the opportunity to understand and explain the importance and the role of the United States government. Winners receive a total of $3,000 in scholarship money.

The contest question is based on the American Bar Association's annual Law Day theme, which in 2022 is "Toward a More Perfect Union: The Constitution in Times of Change."

2022's Essay Contest question:

Which amendment to the u.s. constitution has made the biggest difference in people’s lives explain how and why..

Submit your entry using the form below. This is the preferred method of entry. However, hand-written essays may be submitted by mail to NCSC, c/o Deirdre Roesch, 300 Newport Avenue, Williamsburg, Va., 23185. If submitting my mail, please include the following on separate piece of paper: full name, school name, city, state, phone number, email (if applicable), teacher name and teacher email (if applicable).

• See contest rules and regulations .
• Download flyer to share with students.

A total of $3,000 in scholarship money will be awarded to the winners.

9th-12th grade:

• One (1) First Place: $1,000
• One (1) Second Place: $500
• One (1) Third Place: $250

6th-8th grade:

• One (1) First Place: $400
• One (1) Second Place: $200
• One (1) Third Place: $100

3rd-5th grade:

• One (1) First Place: $300
• One (1) Second Place: $150

Email Contest Manager  Deirdre Roesch with questions about the essay contest.

Contest history

Elementary school: Justice Sandra Day O'Connor believed that people should take part in their communities and government. What does it mean to be involved in your community? Can you think of ways you can help make your school or neighborhood a better place?

Middle/High School: Justice Sandra Day O'Connor stressed the importance of civic engagement. Discuss the role she believed citizens should play in shaping their communities and government. Why did she think that civic participation is so important to democracy?

Read the Media Release Read the winning essays

Elementary/Middle school: The First Amendment protects freedom of speech. What happens when people are free to say anything they want in person or online? For example, yelling "fire" in a crowded room or posting hateful words on social media. What kind of free speech situations require a judge or police officer to get involved to keep the peace? High school: In 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a high school cheerleader could not be punished in school for using curse words on social media when commenting about not making the cheer team while she was off school grounds. Do you think students should be held to the same standard when exercising their First Amendment right to freedom of speech whether they’re on or off school property? Decide if there are circumstances where students should be punished by a court of law for what they say or write to maintain civility.

Read the Press Release Read the winning essays Watch the winner's video

Question: Which Amendment to the U.S. Constitution has made the biggest difference in people’s lives? Explain how and why.

Read the press release. Read the winning entries Watch the winner's video

Question: What does the rule of law mean to you?

Read the winning entries.

Elementary/Middle school: Why is it so important that all citizens have the right to vote? High school: Is voting a right, privilege or responsibility? Why?

Read the press release. Read the winning entries.

• Ethics & Leadership
• Fact-Checking
• Media Literacy
• The Craig Newmark Center
• Reporting & Editing
• Ethics & Trust
• Tech & Tools
• Business & Work
• Educators & Students
• Training Catalog
• Custom Teaching
• For ACES Members
• All Categories
• Broadcast & Visual Journalism
• Fact-Checking & Media Literacy
• In-newsroom
• Memphis, Tenn.
• Minneapolis, Minn.
• St. Petersburg, Fla.
• Washington, D.C.
• Poynter ACES Introductory Certificate in Editing
• Poynter ACES Intermediate Certificate in Editing
• Ethics & Trust Articles
• Get Ethics Advice
• Fact-Checking Articles
• International Fact-Checking Day
• Teen Fact-Checking Network
• International
• Media Literacy Training
• MediaWise Resources
• Ambassadors
• MediaWise in the News

Support responsible news and fact-based information today!

Here are the winners of the 2024 Pulitzer Prizes

A list of the winners of journalism’s top honor, including links to the winning stories..

The winners of the 2024 Pulitzer Prizes were announced from Columbia University Monday afternoon.

The Pulitzers are regarded as the highest honor a U.S.-based journalist or organization can receive.

This year’s awards come as universities across the country, including Columbia, grapple with protests over the war in Gaza. Much of Columbia’s Morningside campus has been closed to everyone except essential personnel and students living in on-campus residence halls. The Pulitzer board instead met at the corporate offices of The Associated Press.

Poynter President Neil Brown is co-chair of the Pulitzer Prize Board. Brown declined to discuss last week’s board deliberations, but offered:

“The journalism honored today connects with us on a personal level. Through service to our communities, large and small, and with exceptional storytelling at a time of conflict and confusion, journalists provide insight and reveal uncomfortable truths. The Pulitzer Prizes are essential to celebrating the value of that.”

During the announcement, the Pulitzer Prize Board renewed its call for Russia to free Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who has been wrongfully detained for more than a year. It also awarded two special citations this year — to the late writer and critic Greg Tate, and to journalists covering Gaza.

Read more about the winners and finalists below.

Breaking News Reporting

Awarded to the staff of Lookout Santa Cruz for its detailed and nimble community-focused coverage, over a holiday weekend, of catastrophic flooding and mudslides that displaced thousands of California residents and destroyed more than 1,000 homes and businesses

• Staff of the Honolulu Civil Beat for its distinctive, sweeping and urgent coverage of the Maui wildfires that killed more than 100 people and left a historic town in ruins, reporting that held officials to account and chronicled the aftermath and efforts to rebuild
• Staff of the Los Angeles Times for urgent and thoughtful coverage of a Lunar New Year overnight shooting that left 11 senior citizens dead, demonstrating clear knowledge of and commitment to the local Asian communities

Investigative Reporting

Awarded to Hannah Dreier of The New York Times for a deeply reported series of stories revealing the stunning reach of migrant child labor across the United States and the corporate and governmental failures that perpetuate it

• Staff of Bloomberg for a deep and rigorous investigation of how the U.S. government aided the global spread of gun violence, prompting the Biden administration to halt most gun exports for 90 days while it reviewed the federal government’s marketing relationship with gun manufacturers
• Casey Ross and Rob Herman of Stat for exposing how United Health Group, the nation’s largest health insurer, used an unregulated algorithm to override clinicians’ judgments and deny care, highlighting the dangers of artificial intelligence use in medicine

Explanatory Reporting

Awarded to Sarah Stillman of The New Yorker for a searing indictment of our legal system’s reliance on the felony murder charge and its disparate consequences, often devastating for communities of color

• Staff of Bloomberg for rigorous, far-reaching reporting that holds corporate water profiteers to account and exposes how they willfully exacerbate the effects of climate change at the expense of less powerful communities
• Staffs of The Texas Tribune, ProPublica and Frontline for advancing understanding of law enforcement’s catastrophic response to the mass shooting at a Uvalde, Texas elementary school and also for documenting the political and policy shortcomings that have led to similar deadly police failures across the country

Local Reporting

Awarded to Sarah Conway of City Bureau and Trina Reynolds-Tyler of the Invisible Institute for their investigative series on missing Black girls and women in Chicago that revealed how systemic racism and police department neglect contributed to the crisis

• Jerry Mitchell, Ilyssa Daly, Brian Howey and Nate Rosenfield of Mississippi Today and The New York Times for their detailed examination of corruption and abuse, including the torturing of suspects, by Mississippi sheriffs and their officers over two decades
• Staff of The Villages Daily Sun for its comprehensive investigation and moment-by-moment account of Florida officials’ inaction before, during and after Hurricane Ian, the deadliest storm to strike the state since 1935

Coming this summer: A Poynter report on the state of the news.

National Reporting

Awarded to the staff of Reuters for an eye-opening series of accountability stories focused on Elon Musk’s automobile and aerospace businesses, stories that displayed remarkable breadth and depth and provoked official probes of his companies’ practices in Europe and the United States

Awarded to the staff of The Washington Post for its sobering examination of the AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, which forced readers to reckon with the horrors wrought by the weapon often used for mass shootings in America

• Bianca Vázquez Toness and Sharon Lurye of The Associated Press for a deeply reported series on the corrosive effect of the pandemic on public education, highlighting the staggering number of students missing from classrooms across America
• Dave Philips of The New York Times for groundbreaking reporting that uncovered a pattern of traumatic brain injuries among U.S. troops from blast exposures caused by the weapons they were firing

International Reporting

Awarded to the staff of The New York Times for its wide-ranging and revelatory coverage of Hamas’ lethal attack in southern Israel on Oct. 7, Israel’s intelligence failures and the Israeli military’s sweeping, deadly response in Gaza

• Julie Turkewitz and Federico Rios of The New York Times for their immersive and ambitious coverage of migration purgatory in the Darién Gap between Colombia and Panama
• Staff of The Washington Post for a sweeping on-the-ground investigation in India that exposed the methodical undermining of the world’s largest democracy by Narendra Modi and his Hindu nationalist allies, who have deployed social media to foment hate and pressure American tech giants to bend to government power

Feature Writing

Awarded to Katie Engelhart, contributing writer to The New York Times , for her fair-minded portrait of a family’s legal and emotional struggles during a matriarch’s progressive dementia that sensitively probes the mystery of a person’s essential self

• Keri Blakinger of The Marshall Project, co-published with The New York Times Magazine , for her insightful, humane portrait, reported with great difficulty, of men on Death Row in Texas who play clandestine games of “Dungeons and Dragons,” countering their extreme isolation with elaborate fantasy
• Jennifer Senior of The Atlantic for her beautifully rendered account of her disabled aunt, who was institutionalized as a small child, and the lasting effects on her family, told in the context of present-day care and intervention that makes different outcomes possible

Awarded to Vladimir Kara-Murza, contributor to The Washington Post , for passionate columns written at great personal risk from his prison cell, warning of the consequences of dissent in Vladimir Putin’s Russia and insisting on a democratic future for his country

• Brian Lyman of the Alabama Reflector for incisive columns that challenge of range of state policies flouting democratic norms and targeting vulnerable populations, written with the commanding authority of a veteran political observer
• Jay Caspian Kang of The New Yorker for provocative columns that urge us to examine popular narratives on such critical topics as affirmative action, racial politics and the portrayal of gun violence

Awarded to Justin Chang of the Los Angeles Times for richly evocative and genre-spanning film criticism that reflects on the contemporary moviegoing experience

• Zadie Smith, contributor to The New York Review of Books , for a review of the film “Tár” that addressed with wit and ease such consequential themes as mortality and the clash of generations
• Vinson Cunningham of The New Yorker for theater reviews that reflect a formidable knowledge of the stage and the mechanics of performance along with canny observations on the human condition

Editorial Writing

Awarded to David E. Hoffman of The Washington Post for a compelling and well-researched series on new technologies and the tactics that authoritarian regimes use to repress dissent in the digital age and how they can be fought

• Isadora Rangel of the Miami Herald for a scathing series that roots the city’s multiple political scandals in a troubled local democracy and champions electoral reforms
• Brandon McGinley and Rebecca Spiess of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for ambitious, investigative editorials that examine a collapse in services for the homeless in Pittsburgh, and the city’s failure to account for millions of dollars meant to offer relief

Illustrated Reporting and Commentary

Awarded to Medar de la Cruz, contributor to The New Yorker , for his visually driven story, set inside Rikers Island jail, using bold black and white images, that humanize the prisoners and staff through their love of books

• Clay Bennett of the Chattanooga Times Free Press for a portfolio of deceptively gentle, mostly wordless cartoons full of juxtapositions that ably communicate complex, sophisticated messages
• Angie Wang, contributor to The New Yorker , for a vivid illustrated journey with her toddler that explains how human language learning can never be supplanted by AI
• Claire Healy, Nicole Dungca and Ren Galeno, contributor, of The Washington Post , for a masterful and sensitive use of the comic form to reveal the story of a great injustice to a group of Filipinos exhibited at the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis, where some of them died

Breaking News Photography

Awarded to the photography staff of Reuters for raw and urgent photographs documenting the Oct. 7 deadly attack in Israel by Hamas and the first weeks of Israel’s devastating assault on Gaza

• Adem Altan of Agence Free Presse for a heartbreaking image of a man clutching the hand of his deceased daughter a day after a 7.8-magnitude earthquake killed more than 50,000 people in Turkey and Syria
• Nicole S. Hester of The Tennessean for a distressing image of a young girl looking out of a school bus in anguish as she is evacuated from the scene of a deadly shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville

Feature Photography

Awarded to the photography staff of The Associated Press for poignant photographs, chronicling unprecedented masses of migrants and their arduous journey north from Colombia to the border of the United States

• Nanna Heitmann, contributor to The New York Times , for illuminating photographs portraying a generation living under President Vladimir Putin’s resurgent nationalism while Russia is at war in Ukraine
• Hannah Reyes Morales, contributor to The New York Times , for a creative series of photographs documenting a “youthquake” occurring in Africa where, by 2050, the continent will account for one-quarter of the world’s population and one-third of its young people

Audio Reporting

Awarded to the staffs of the Invisible Institute and USG Audio for a powerful series that revisits a Chicago hate crime from the 1990s, a fluid amalgam of memoir, community history and journalism

• Dan Slepian and Preeti Varathan, contributor, of NBC News , for their relentless 20-year investigation that resulted in a wrongfully convicted man finally receiving clemency
• Lauren Chooljian, Alison Macadam, Jason Moon, Daniel Barrick and Katie Colaneri of New Hampshire Public Radio for their gripping and extensively reported investigation of corruption and sexual abuse within the lucrative recovery industry that sought accountability despite legal pressure

Public Service

Awarded to ProPublica, for the work of Joshua Kaplan, Justin Elliott, Bretty Murphy, Alex Mierjeski and Kirsten Berg , groundbreaking and ambitious reporting that pierced the thick wall of secrecy surrounding the Supreme Court to reveal how a small group of politically influential billionaires wooed justices with lavish gifts and travel, pushing the court to adopt its first code of conduct

• KFF Health News and Cox Media Group for uncovering millions of cases in which the Social Security Administration overpaid beneficiaries, then demanded immediate repayment, imposing debts on elderly and disabled people who had already spent the funds
• The Washington Post , for its sobering examination of the AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, which forced readers to reckon with the horrors wrought by the weapon often used for mass shootings in America

Special Citations

Greg Tate: The Pulitzer Board awards a special citation for the late writer and critic Greg Tate, whose language — cribbed from literature, academia, popular culture and hip hop — was as influential as the content of his ideas. His aesthetic innovations and intellectual originality, particularly in his pioneering hip hop criticism, continue to influence subsequent generations, particularly writers and critics of color.

Journalists covering Gaza: In recent years, the Pulitzer Board has issued citations honoring journalists covering wars in Ukraine and Afghanistan. This year, the board recognizes the courageous work of journalists and media workers covering the war in Gaza. Under horrific conditions, an extraordinary number of journalists have died in the effort to tell the stories of Palestinians and others in Gaza. This war has also claimed the lives of poets and writers among the casualties. As the Pulitzer Prizes honor categories of journalism, arts, and letters, we mark the loss of invaluable records of the human experience.

The board also announced Letters, Drama and Music awards Monday, including for Fiction, Drama, History, Biography, Memoir or Autobiography, Poetry, General Nonfiction and Music.

More from Poynter on the 2024 Pulitzer Prizes:

• Lookout Santa Cruz, digital site with a backstory, wins Pulitzer for breaking news
• Small newsrooms won big in the 2024 Pulitzers
• The Invisible Institute won two Pulitzers this year. What is it?
• A sign of the times as Pulitzer Prizes are announced
• Pulitzers recognize coverage of Israel-Hamas war, honor journalists working in Gaza
• Among the Pulitzer Prize winners, where are the metros?
• Reuters wins Pulitzer for Israel-Gaza photography
• A rare illustrated look into Rikers wins a Pulitzer
• Associated Press wins Pulitzer for documenting arduous migration journeys 
• From the archives: Behind the Pulitzers: A look into the inner workings of journalism’s Super Bowl
• From the archives: How do you pronounce Pulitzer?

AI is disrupting the local news industry. Will it unlock growth or be an existential threat?

A new report from Medill seeks to identify the potential perils and benefits of generative AI on local news business models and journalism itself

Opinion | Sports columnist suspended over Caitlin Clark exchange

Indianapolis Star sports columnist Gregg Doyel will also not cover any of Clark’s WNBA games in person this season

Opinion | Some quick Pulitzer Prize arithmetic reflects atrophy among regional newspapers

In a quarter century, the number of regional newspaper honorees went from 20 to 4. The winds don't look favorable.

What we know about the ‘outside agitators’ being blamed for campus protests

Police, city and university officials nationwide have blamed them for campus protests but have provided little evidence for their claims

Hannah Dreier wins Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting for investigative stories into migrant child labor

Dreier’s stories ushered in waves of impact, which included congressional hearings, a White House crackdown, and reforms in multiple states

You must be logged in to post a comment.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

Start your day informed and inspired.

Get the Poynter newsletter that's right for you.

North Marion student who placed 2nd in state’s Disability Essay Contest this week’s Davis and Elkins Excellence in Education

BRIDGEPORT, W.Va (WDTV) -Recently winners of the 2024 Disability History Essay were announced; and North Marion High School’s own Jordan Cox placed 2nd in District 2. The contest gave high school seniors the task of doing some research and then displaying their knowledge of the disability rights movement. The movement dates back to the 1800′s; and has fought for the civil rights of people with disabilities. Striving to ensure no one with disabilities can be discriminated in any aspect of public life. Due to the movement major victories like the 1990 American with Disabilities act was passed; as well as the subsequent ADA Amendments act of 2008. Cox is one of 11 winners throughout the state and although he didn’t win the grand prize, he still took home very important lessons.

" Definitely opened my eyes to how bad it could’ve been beforehand, and how much it definitely has improved over the years with all of these new laws passing. Because a lot of the laws now do encompass most people, but maybe just being more straight forward about how they will be accommodated if they come to a position. All the different ways that a company can and now by law has to accommodate somebody. Like auditory devices or visually impaired, making stuff bigger for people; wheel chair ramps stuff like that. Just accessibility things to make life easier.”

The process certainly wasn’t easy for Jordan, but the experience is one he’ll forever be grateful for.

“It was definitely researching the laws, because going into it not knowing a single thing about it and finding all them to site them and everything for the paper was definitely the hardest part. I mean I’m really grateful to be accepted for this award and I like that I get to raise awareness, because it’ll be on the news and everything like that; and people will hear the story. So, it’ll just help open some eyes about the history of the laws as well.”

This is only the beginning for Cox; as he plans on using his prize money towards becoming a mountaineer at WVU next school year. Although the contest has come to an end, he’ll still do his part to ensure everyone is treated fairly regardless of physical or mental ability.

“Again, spreading awareness and helping out people where I can, like if I see somebody struggling with something, helping them out. Just being a kind person basically. I’m looking forward to attending WVU. Hopefully I’ll be doing Exercise Physiology, hopefully going to Medical School after that, but that’s a little bit down the road so who knows what will happen by then.”

Copyright 2024 WDTV. All rights reserved.

Tax investigators seen carrying boxes out of Clarksburg tobacco store

U.S. Marshals ask for public’s help to find fugitive

Marion County Board of Education saves nearly $3 million after staff cuts

Crews respond to accident on Easton Hill in Morgantown, road shut down

82nd Annual WV Strawberry Festival kicks off Saturday

Latest news.

FAIRMONT BOI - clipped version

Music on Main closing due to City of Bridgeport Tax Ordinance

Court security officer turned wrestler steps into the ring Saturday

Backwoods Brawler PKG

Music on Main closing due to city tax ordinance

National Essay Competition on Intellectual Property 2023

August 16, 2023

The External Office of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Algeria is jointly organizing a national essay competition on intellectual property with the National Industrial Property Institute (INAPI), National Copyright and Related Rights Office (ONDA) and the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research.

The topic of the essay will be “ World Intellectual Property Day - April 26, 2023 , Women and IP: Accelerating Innovation and Creativity”.

All students at higher education institutions (undergraduates and above) are strongly encouraged to take part in this national competition. It will grant them the opportunity to deepen their knowledge of intellectual property, particularly the role and contributions of women to the innovation and creative ecosystem.

The winners will be awarded various prizes donated by WIPO, INAPI and ONDA.

Register for the competition from August 19 to September 30, 2023.

• Academics & Research
• Administration
• Student Government
• Student Life
• Bloomington
• Business & Economy
• Crime & Courts
• Investigations
• National News
• Men's Basketball
• Women's Basketball
• Men's Soccer
• Women's Soccer
• Swimming & Diving
• Community Events
• IU Auditorium
• Jacobs School of Music
• Local Music
• Perspectives
• Black Voices
• Classifieds
• IDS Religious
• Press Releases

PRESS RELEASE: Bloomington/Monroe County Human Rights Commission Announces 2024 Youth Art/Essay Contest Winners

The following is a press release   written by Justin Crossley for City of Bloomington.  

Bloomington, Ind.  – The Bloomington/Monroe County Human Rights Commission today announced the six winners of the 2024 Human Rights Art/Essay Contest. Local students in grades K-6 were asked to write an essay or create a piece of art to answer the question, “What is the most important human right to you, and why?”

The contest was judged by Commissioners Amy Jackson and Stephen Coover (art) and Emma Williams and Autumn Crisovan (essays).

In the art category, first place was awarded to Henry Fehrman, a second grader at Templeton Elementary. Second place went to Harper Burroughs, a sixth grader at Marlin Elementary, while third place was given to William Alhasainat, a first grader at Rogers Elementary. Commissioners Jackson and Coover praised the students’ artistic visions, use of vibrant colors, and expressions of equality and diversity.

In the essay category, first place went to Piper Burroughs, a sixth grader at Marlin Elementary. Second place was awarded to Telly Lotven, a sixth grader at University Elementary who submitted a poem. Third place was given to Phoenix Gordon, a sixth grader at Templeton Elementary. Commissioners Williams and Crisovan congratulated the winners on their creativity and use of research skills.

The students, along with their friends and family members, will be invited to an award ceremony on Monday, May 13 with Mayor Kerry Thomson and the Commission. As their prize, they will receive certificates and WonderLab passes. The ceremony will take place in the City Council Chambers at 401 N. Morton St. from 4:30-5:30 p.m.

The Commission offered  congratulations  to the winners and thanks to everyone who participated in the contest for sharing their creativity, passion, and commitment to human rights in Bloomington and around the world. 

The mission of the  Bloomington/Monroe County Human Rights Commission  is to enforce the Bloomington/Monroe County Human Rights Ordinance in a fair and timely manner, to educate community members about their rights and responsibilities under various civil rights laws and to advocate for changes in policies and law.

Featured Local Savings

PRESS RELEASE: Bloomington/Monroe County Human Rights Commission Announces 2024 Human Rights Award Winners

PRESS RELEASE: Monroe County Democratic Party To Host Election Night Watch Party

PRESS RELEASE: Bloomington Nonprofits Invited to Apply for 2024 Digital Equity Grants

The makings of a star: Bryson Tucker’s journey to Indiana basketball

Update: iu school faculty call for whitten and shrivastav’s resignations, among other requests, live updates: scenes from day 10 of gaza encampment, campus protests, iu gaza encampment hosts “alternative graduation” at dunn meadow, indiana baseball completes improbable comeback, takes series at purdue, get the ids in your inbox.

The Daily Rundown is published Monday through Friday and gives you a quick look at the day's top stories.

Friday's weekly recap will let you catch up on the most important and most popular stories of the week.

Find out what the IDS is saying about IU basketball. The Monday edition, distributed during the IU basketball season, includes links to articles, columns, podcasts and more.

See the top stories every weekday

National Endowment for the Arts

• Grants for Arts Projects
• Challenge America
• Research Awards
• Partnership Agreement Grants
• Creative Writing
• Translation Projects
• Volunteer to be an NEA Panelist
• Manage Your Award
• Recent Grants
• Arts & Human Development Task Force
• Arts Education Partnership
• Blue Star Museums
• Citizens' Institute on Rural Design
• Creative Forces: NEA Military Healing Arts Network
• GSA's Art in Architecture
• Independent Film & Media Arts Field-Building Initiative
• Interagency Working Group on Arts, Health, & Civic Infrastructure
• International
• Mayors' Institute on City Design
• Musical Theater Songwriting Challenge
• National Folklife Network
• NEA Big Read
• NEA Research Labs
• Poetry Out Loud
• Save America's Treasures
• Shakespeare in American Communities
• Sound Health Network
• United We Stand
• American Artscape Magazine
• NEA Art Works Podcast
• National Endowment for the Arts Blog
• States and Regions
• Accessibility
• Arts & Artifacts Indemnity Program
• Arts and Health
• Arts Education
• Creative Placemaking
• Equity Action Plan
• Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)
• Literary Arts
• Native Arts and Culture
• NEA Jazz Masters Fellowships
• National Heritage Fellowships
• National Medal of Arts
• Press Releases
• Upcoming Events
• NEA Chair's Page
• Leadership and Staff
• What Is the NEA
• Publications
• National Endowment for the Arts on COVID-19
• Open Government
• Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
• Office of the Inspector General
• Civil Rights Office
• Appropriations History
• Make a Donation

Final Contest for 2024 Poetry Out Loud Competition on May 2, 2024

Photos of nine finalists by James Kegley

WHAT: Out of a field of 55 state and jurisdictional champions, nine high school students are advancing to the 2024 Poetry Out Loud National Finals on May 2. These students will recite classic and contemporary poems, competing for the title of 2024 Poetry Out Loud National Champion and a $20,000 award. A program of the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation along with the state and jurisdictional arts agencies, Poetry Out Loud has reached more than 4.4 million students since it began in 2005. This year’s state and jurisdictional champions advanced from more than 160,000 students nationwide.

WHEN/WHERE: Thursday, May 2, 7:00–9:15 p.m. ET at Lisner Auditorium, The George Washington University, 730 21st Street NW, Washington, DC. In addition, there will be a live, one-time-only webcast at arts.gov/Poetry-Out-Loud .

WHO: Hosted by Huascar Medina , poet, editor, and National Council on the Arts member. Judges are H-Dirksen L. Bauman , Amber McBride , Lupe Mendez , Mei Ann Teo , and Laura Tohe . The evening will also include a performance by acclaimed Haitian-American multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter Leyla McCalla .

2024 Poetry Out Loud National Finalists:

• District of Columbia Champion Nyla Dinkins , a 10th-grade student at Benjamin Banneker Academic High School 
• Florida Champion Niveah Glover , a 12th-grade student at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts 
• Georgia Champion Tiana Renee Jones , a 10th-grade student at Whitefield Academy 
• Louisiana Champion Grisham Locke , a 12th-grade student at Ruston High School representing the Ruston Cultural District 
• Minnesota Champion Ariana Kimball , a 12th-grade student at Washburn High School 
• South Carolina Champion Jessie Leitzel , a 12th-grade student at Charleston County School of the Arts 
• South Dakota Champion Grace Powell , a 12th-grade student at Dakota Valley High School 
• Texas Champion Oluwabori Fadairo , an 11th-grade student at The Hockaday School 
• West Virginia Champion Willow Peyton , a 12th-grade student at St. Marys High School

INTERVIEWS: Pre-event interviews with the nine national finalists are available on request. Contact Carolyn Coons at [email protected] to arrange an interview.

PHOTOS/VIDEOS:

• Photos from the May 1 Poetry Out Loud National Semifinals (credit James Kegley) 
• Video interviews with the nine finalists 
• Video of poetry recitations

CONTACT: Media must send a request for coverage to [email protected] by 5 p.m. ET tonight. Video crews covering the Thursday night national finals must arrive by 6:45 p.m. to reserve a space. No flash photography.

Related Content

Press release: 2024 poetry out loud national semifinals and finals.

Carolyn Coons (NEA), [email protected] , 202-701-3977 

Elizabeth O’Connell-Thompson (Poetry Foundation), [email protected] , 312-799-8065

Recent News

National Endowment for the Arts Premieres Tribute Film Series about National Heritage Fellows

Niveah Glover from Florida Named 2024 Poetry Out Loud National Champion

Stay Connected to the National Endowment for the Arts

Alexandria Students Win $2,500 National Merit Scholarships In 2024

A LEXANDRIA, VA — Four students from the Alexandria area are among the nationwide winners of the $2,500 National Merit Scholarship announced Wednesday.

There are 2,500 winners of the National Merit Scholarship Corporation's $2,500 scholarships from its own funds and organizations sponsoring awards through the corporation. A committee of college admissions officers and school counselors chose the winners based on their application information.

Winners are named in each state in proportion to the state's share of U.S. graduating seniors. According to the corporation, these winners "are the finalists in each state judged to have the strongest combination of accomplishments, skills, and potential for success in rigorous college studies." Students may use the one-time scholarships at any regionally accredited U.S. college or university.

Virginia had 65 scholarship winners, four of whom live in Alexandria (city and Fairfax County):

• Silas B. Adkins-Hooke of Alexandria City High School, plans to study music composition
• Abigail Shih Gerstein of Alexandria City High School, plans to study public policy
• Lucy C. Marshall of West Potomac High School, plans to study law
• Brennan A. Wise of St. Stephen's and St. Agnes School, plans to study engineering

Students were entered into the National Merit Scholarship competition as juniors taking the PSAT in 2022. In October 2022, around 16,000 semifinalists were named based on each state's proportion of graduating seniors. Semifinalists were the top scoring entrants in their states and represent less than 1 percent of seniors in the U.S.

To be considered for finalist status, semifinalists had to submit a detailed scholarship application with an essay and details on extracurricular activities, awards, and leadership positions as well as demonstrate an outstanding academic record and have an endorsement from a high school official. Around 15,000 finalists met requirements for finalists status and were eligible to be chosen for corporate-sponsored, National Merit Scholarship-sponsored and college-sponsored awards.

The latest winners joined around 770 corporate-sponsored scholarship recipients named in April. These scholarships were sponsored by corporations, company foundations and other business organizations and typically go to National Merit Scholarship finalists who are employees' children or students pursuing college studies or careers that the sponsor wants to support.

On June 5 and July 15, more scholarship recipients will be announced. Around 3,600 students will receive these college-sponsored Merit Scholarship winners.

In all, over 6,870 high school students will be awarded approximately $26 million in National Merit Scholarships this year.

Patch editor Michael O'Connell contributed to this report.

The article Alexandria Students Win $2,500 National Merit Scholarships In 2024 appeared first on Old Town Alexandria Patch .

These Delaware grade schools were honored by Federal judges in Law Day essay contest

To celebrate Law Day, local federal judges honored grade-school children who won an essay contest on the importance of the right to a jury trial.

Children from throughout Delaware were invited to submit essays, which were judged by a panel of judges from Delaware District and Bankruptcy courts.

The four winning classes were honored in Judge Maryellen Noreika’s court in Wilmington Monday where they read their essays in the presence of Noreika, Judge Sherry Fallon, Judge Christopher Burke and Bankruptcy Judge Kate Stickles.

"All essay submissions were outstanding and reflected the thoughtfulness and effort the students and teachers dedicated to this contest," Delaware District Court officials wrote in a press release.

Winners were selected from the following schools:

• Vanessa Gallaher’s fourth grade class from the Bayard School
• Jamie Henry’s fifth grade class from Mispillion Elementary School
• Vanessa Johnson’s sixth grade class from Dover Middle School of Excellence
• Joy Schwab’s seventh grade class from the Newark Charter School