ELS Educational Services, Inc. and The United Nations Announce Third Edition of Many Languages, One World Contest
ELS Educational Services, Inc. is pleased to announce the third year of our sponsorship, in conjunction with the United Nations, of the Many Languages, One World Student Essay Contest and Global Youth Forum for 2016. The contest will qualify contestants for a trip to New York to participate in the United Nations Global Youth Forum. The goal of the Many Languages, One World Student Essay Contest and Global Youth Forum is to support multilingualism and to recognize the continued impact of the United Nations’ six official languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish. As such, students are being asked to write their essays in their second or third language. For full contest details, rules and entry guidelines, please visit ManyLanguagesOneWorld.ELS.edu.
For this year’s contest, 10 winners will be selected from entries in each language for a total of 60 winners. ELS Educational Services, Inc. will award each winner with an all-expense paid trip to New York in July of 2016. Students will attend a five day Global Youth Forum on the campus of Hofstra University to prepare to present their views at United Nations Headquarters. At the Global Youth Forum, the students will create plans of action addressing selected topics. These international delegates will also have the opportunity to interact with invited international scholars and tour New York City. The deadline for essay submissions is 11:59 p.m. EST Thursday 31 March, 2016.
2016 will mark the third edition of Many Languages, One World. In 2015, more than 3,500 people from 130 countries took part in the initial phase of the contest. 70 students from 42 countries, representing 60 universities were selected as winners from an essay pool of over 1,200. Winners attended prestigious international universities such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA), Yonsei University (South Korea), and Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (France). Their fields of study include art, human rights, medicine, engineering, law, business management, communications, international relations, and linguistics.
In 2014, over 4,000 people participated in some aspect of the competition. Close to 1,500 essays were submitted, with contestants from 128 different countries. The 60 winners represented 26 different countries and 6 continents. Winners attended a diverse group of universities around the world, including such esteemed institutions as The University of Basel (Switzerland), Princeton University (USA), and Cornell University (USA). Their areas of study included engineering, political science, language, philosophy, economics, and computer science.
Eligibility and Qualifications:
- Students 18 years of age and older who are currently enrolled in a full-time degree program at university are eligible to compete to win a place as a delegate to the Global Youth Forum. Students must be recommended by a University Faculty Member or Authorized University Representative in order to participate.
- The essay, not to exceed 2000 words, should explore how multilingual ability advances global citizenship and cultural understanding. The essay should reflect the entrant’s academic, cultural and national context.
- Entries should be in an official language of the United Nations that is not the first language of the Entrant or the principal language of instruction in his or her primary or secondary education. The official languages of the United Nations are Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish. For complete contest rules and information on how to enter, please visit www.ManyLanguagesOneWorld.ELS.edu.
The deadline for essay submissions is Thursday 31 March, 2016. 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.
For more information please contact John Nicholson at JNicholson@ELS.edu.
An online press kit can be downloaded at ManyLanguagesOneWorld.ELS.edu/press
Full contest details, including rules, entry guidelines and the Faculty Reference Form can be found at ManyLanguagesOneWorld.ELS.edu.