The United Nations has initiated UN75 – an initiative to enhance a truly global partnership_ and to mark its 75th anniversary in 2020 and to realize our common aspirations for a fair, peaceful, and sustainable future. On the occasion of UN-75, application for youth essay submission is open now. So, UN75 looks to collect varying perspectives and creative ideas on what is required to address emerging risks and opportunities to achieve a decent future. As part of UN75, the United Nations Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia Preventive Diplomacy Academy is designing a competition to gather the ideas of youth from Central Asia and Afghanistan.

About the essay

Your essay should focus on your vision of the world in 2045 and how it is achievable. Hence, unleash your creativity! Your essay can comprise photos or drawings too. As far as UNRCCA is all about preventive diplomacy, your essay should focus on regional peace and security, the Women, Peace and Security agenda, the Youth, Peace and Security agenda, or some other working area of the United Nations Security Council.

Details

Submission deadline: 31 July 2020

Institution: UNRCCA

Contest theme: “Youth Voices from Central Asia – Un-75 and Regional Peace and Security.”

Anniversary date: September 2020

Eligibility requirements

The eligibility criteria for this essay contest are as follows:

• Any enrant between the ages of 18 and 35 who are citizens of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, or Afghanistan can apply for this competition.
• Citizens of the above-mentioned countries living overseas are also qualified, as well as citizens of other countries who are presently studying in any of these six countries.
• Finally, participants could be people who are critical of the United Nations and those who may be mostly underrepresented, such as people with disabilities, migrants, refugees, internally displaced people, and human rights activists/advocates.

Requirements for entry to Essay Contest

• Essays should be 500-700 words in length.
• You can also include your photos or drawings that portray your ideas.
• You can submit your entry in English or Russian, and winning entries will be translated into the other language for publication.
• All work must have originality, and plagiarized entries will be excluded. Any photos or drawings have to be your own.

Here are some questions to get you started:

• What is your understanding of preventive diplomacy, and how can it help you attain your vision of the future?
• How can countries work together more productively to achieve the future you want?
• How has COVID-19 impacted peace and security in your society, your country, or your region? What can contribute to bettering things positively?
• What role can youth play in international and regional peace and security? Young women? People with disabilities?
• What could you do by yourself to build the world we want? What are you accomplishing for a better world? How can the UN help you?
• What measure can we take at the moment to make a greater world for future generations?
• What sort of future do you envision for your children and grandchildren, and how can regional peace and security issues impact their future?

And for more guidance, The Academy has prepared backgrounders on how to write an essay and subjects you might want to write about:

Read it here.

Evaluation criteria

A panel of UNRCCA staff and present guests will select the winners. Finally, the panel will evaluate your contributions based on the following benchmarks:

• how well you respond to the UN75 themes;
• your emphasis on regional peace and security issues;
• your creativeness and innovation; and
• how effectively you reflect your ideas.

Recognition of winning essays

Overall, UNRCCA will publish winning essays in a book in English and Russian that will help make sure the voices of young people from Central Asia and Afghanistan are strongly heard in the global UN75 dialogue. Furthermore, it will be presented to world leaders and senior UN officials at the ceremony of the 75^th commemoration of the United Nations in New York in September 2020. Additionally, UNRCCA will also disseminate it to Government officials as well as to the general public through its website and social media.

How to submit an entry?

After your entry is ready, send it to UNRCCA-Academy@un.org. Please attach the entry form with your submission.

Submission email: UNRCCA-Academy@un.org

Entry_form.docx

UNRCCA will not accept entries without this form.

For more information, please refer to the UN75 website.