Many Languages, One World -
​2016 Student Essay Contest and Global Youth Form
Background
The goal of Many Languages, One World is to support multilingualism and to recognize the continued impact of the United Nations’ six official languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.

​ELS Educational Services and the United Nations Academic Impact invite all of you globalminded polyglots to write an essay about multilingualism and the role of multilingualism in global citizenship.
Essay
Write an original essay (2,000 words or less) discussing global citizenship and cultural understanding and the role that multilingual ability can play in fostering these. The essay should reflect your personal, academic, cultural and national context. Essays must be written in an official language of the United Nations that is not your first language or primary language of instruction during your primary or secondary education. The official United Nations languages are Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish. You will need to demonstrate both written and verbal competency in the language of the essay.
Prize/Benefits
  • Ten winners will be selected from Entrants in each of the 6 official United Nations languages. These Winners will be invited to New York to participate in a series of events during the week of July 25-31, 2016. These events will include a Global Youth Forum on “Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” in the context of multilingualism, cultural diversity and global citizenship at United Nations Headquarters, preceded by a preparatory conference sponsored and arranged by ELS Educational Services, Inc.
  • During the preparatory conference, Winners will work with their language group to prepare plans of action which could be undertaken by student and local communities towards the realization of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. These plans will be presented at the Global Youth Forum at United Nations Headquarters. Please note that Winners will not be reading or presenting the text of their essays at this event.
  • ELS will pay for roundtrip economy class airfares in carriers of its choosing between the airport nearest to the Winners’ home city and New York, and be responsible for the Winners’ travel, room and meals for the duration of the conference (6-7 days).
  • Sightseeing and tourism opportunities will also be arranged by ELS. No extensions of stay or early arrivals will be possible.
  • ELS will provide each winning student with a basic travel and accident insurance policy, for which the premium will be paid by ELS.
  • All Winners attending the conference will be given certificates of participation by ELS, signifying they have participated in the Global Youth Forum arranged in cooperation with the United Nations Academic Impact.

Pre-requisites 
  1. Full-time college or university students, 18 years of age or older by 31 March 2016, can participate in the contest.
  2. A University Faculty Member or Authorized Representative must recommend you for participation in the contest by completing the form under the tab: Faculty Member/University Administrator Reference Form. The university representative must attest that you are a full time student in good standing and that you are submitting an essay in an official language of the United Nations that is not your first language or principal language of instruction in your primary or secondary education. S/He must also attest that the essay you are submitting is your own, unaided work.
  3. Functional knowledge of English is required for participation in the preparatory conference.
How to Apply
  1. Write your essay according to the contest rules and eligibility guidelines.
  2. Share your essay with the University Faculty Member or Authorized Representative who recommended you so that s/he can attest to the fact that you have followed the contest rules.
  3. Have that Faculty Member or University Administrator complete the Faculty Member/University Administrator Reference Form in support of your participation in the contest.
  4. After the Faculty Reference form is submitted, the Faculty Member will receive an email from Many Languages, One World requesting confirmation of the reference.
  5. Make sure that your Faculty member looks for this email and clicks on the confirmation link. They may need to check their spam or junk mail folder. If your Faculty member does not confirm their recommendation, you will not be able to submit an entry.
  6. Once the Reference Form has been received and confirmed by Many Languages, One World, you will receive an email with further information, and a link where you can complete your Student Entry Form and upload your essay to the contest website.
  7. The Student Entry Form must be completed in its entirety, and in English. If your entry form is incomplete, you will be disqualified. Be sure to include your government-issued identity card number or passport number, and submit your full name as it appears on your official documents or passport. Do not submit your photo.
  8. At the bottom of the Student Entry form you will find the link to upload your essay to the contest website.
  9. The essay must be submitted/uploaded in MS WORD format. Please title your essay as follows:LastName_FirstName-LanguageofEssay (ie, Smith_Jane-Arabic). Do not include a cover page with personal information, as the essays will be evaluated anonymously.
  10. Only essays submitted through this link will be accepted. You can only submit one essay.
  11. Essays must be received by 11:59pm Eastern Standard Time on Thursday 31 March, 2016 in order to qualify. Do not wait until the deadline date to submit. Give yourself time to ensure that your essay will be received successfully.
Please Note: If the contest directors learn that you have violated any of the rules, or that you have neglected to cite sources, or have used any translation service or software to write your essay, you will be immediately disqualified.
Application Deadline
Applications are closed.
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