GOI Peace International Essay Contest 2024 for Young People (Up to US$660, gifts and certificates for winners)

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Applications are now open for the 2024 GOI Peace International Essay Contest for Young. This annual essay contest is organized in an effort to harness the energy, creativity and initiative of the world’s youth in promoting a culture of peace and sustainable development. It also aims to inspire society to learn from the young minds and to think about how each of us can make a difference in the world.

This program is an activity within the framework of UNESCO’s Education for Sustainable Development: Towards achieving the SDGs (ESD for 2030).

Organized by the Goi Peace Foundation under the auspices of The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan Japanese National Commission for UNESCO, Japan Private High School Federation Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education, Japan Broadcasting Corporation, Nikkei Inc. supported by SEIKO GROUP CORPORATION, PLUS CORPORATION.

Theme: “My Experience of Overcoming Conflict”

Conflicts occur for a variety of reasons, including differences in opinions and values. Have you ever had an experience of overcoming a conflict that you were involved in? What did you learn from that experience? How do you want to make use of what you learned, for your own life and for society?

GOI Peace International Essay Contest Awards

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

1st Prize: Certificate, prize of 100,000 Yen (approx. US$660 as of Feb. 2024) and gift … 1 entrant
2nd Prize: Certificate, prize of 50,000 Yen (approx. US$330 as of Feb. 2024) and gift … 3 entrants
3rd Prize: Certificate and gift … 5 entrants
Honorable Mention: Certificate and gift … 25 entrants
1st to 3rd prize winners will be invited to the Winners Gathering to be held online.
Additional awards (Best School Award, School Incentive Award) will be given if applicable.
All prize winners will be announced on October 31, 2024 (Japan time) on this website. Certificates and gifts will be mailed to the winners in January 2025.
They are unable to answer individual inquiries concerning contest results.

Eligibility Criteria for GOI Peace International Essay Contest

All nationalities can participate from anywhere in the world.
Essays may be submitted by anyone up to 25 years old (as of June 15, 2024) in one of the following age categories: a) Children (ages up to 14) b) Youth (ages 15 – 25).
Essays must be 700 words or less in English or French, or 1600 characters or less in Japanese. Essays must be typed, with your name, email address and essay title included at the top of the first page.
Teachers and youth directors may submit a collection of essays from their class or group by creating an ‘account for school/organization entrant’.
Only one entry per person is accepted. They are unable to confirm receipt of essays.
Essays must be original and unpublished.
Entries that include plagiarized content or content created by generative AI (such as ChatGPT) will be rejected.
Essays must be written by one person. Co-authored essays are not accepted.
By submitting your essay, you give permission to the organizer to publish it in any medium. Ownership of the essay remains with the entrant.