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2023 Writing Competition: Youth

In times of rapidly transforming social norms driven by rising social movements, growing up comes with various implications, whether good or bad. Given the prevalence of social media and other outside factors, how are youth influenced and what are the consequences of such influences? Additionally, across the world's regions, youth continue to face various social barriers driven by stereotypes, tradition, cultural pressures, and more. What are some of these barriers and how do they impact that group of individuals? 


Our theme for the 2023 round hopes to invite youth from all over the world to discuss the notion of what it means to grow up in times of rapidly transforming communities, and confront the social issues faced by youth around the world. We hope to prompt discussion and meaningful analysis regarding changing social norms while reminding all of what it means to be equal.

Submit your pieces here!
Key Dates

September 20, 2023

Submission Deadline

October 15, 2023

Winners Notified

October 20, 2023

Winners Announced

Entry Requirements:
Participants ages 11 - 21 before January 1, 2024 are qualified to participate in the 2023 competition round. Entries are open to all international participants and are free.

Awards:
1st, 2nd, and 3rd places will be rewarded. An additional 3 honorable mentions will be chosen. 

Note:
Once a participant’s work is submitted, no additional changes can be made. 
Winning entries may be uploaded publicly to our website. 

Prompts:  

1. What are some barriers - cultural, social, traditional - that youth from around the world continue to face in the modern day, and what are their implications?

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2. How has the media - whether it be news, television, music, video games, and literature - played a role in influencing youth in regard to social and personal understandings?

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3. Jose Rizal once said, “The youth is the hope of our future.” What is the meaning of such a quote and how does it apply to today's youth?

*All participants are required to answer one of the three prompts provided. 

All work submitted must be in English and be of original content. Plagiarism with result in disqualification. 

Writing Submissions

Requirements:

  • Participants can submit 1 piece of writing each

  • Required word length for essays and narratives: 500 - 2500 words

  • Required word length for poetry: no more than 70 lines / up to 3 poems each no longer than 30 lines

  • For works featuring or citing other works, citations (in-text and a bibliography) must be included

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Formatting:

  • Titles and participants' name should be placed at the top of submission documents

  • Times New Roman, 12-point font, double-spaced

  • 1-inch page margins

  • Submissions should be named in the format of Name_Category_Title of Piece (ex: Jane Smith_Writing_Curtains)

  • Submission should be uploaded as PDF files  

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