UN @75 ESSAY COMPETITION FOR YOUTH: ‘The Future We Want’

Introduction

UN Day marks the anniversary of the entry into force in 1945 of the UN Charter. With the ratification of this founding document by most its signatories, including the five permanent members of the Security Council, the United Nations officially came into being.

Currently, there are 23 UN Agencies working with the Government and Development Partners to serve the people of Tanzania. Some of the Agencies have been operating before the country’s independence and the UN continues to be an integral player in Tanzania’s development.

The United Nations is marking its 75th anniversary at the time of great challenge. COVID-19 is a stark reminder of the need for cooperation across borders, sectors and generations. Our response will determine how fast the world recovers, whether we achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, and how well we handle the global trends shaping our future, from climate change to new technologies. The overall global theme for UN@75 2020 and beyond is “Shaping our future together”. For this year’s commemorations we have to come together, as a global family, to discuss how we can work together more effectively to manage these issues.

UN Tanzania is carrying out several activities to commemorate 75 years of the existence of the United Nations. One of those activities is an essay competition titled ‘The Future We want’. This competition provides a unique opportunity for young people to voice their opinions regarding shaping the future of Tanzania, and the world.

Theme

The essay competition is carried out under the theme ‘The Future We Want’ which in line with an ongoing campaign to collect young people’s voices around the world regarding key issues they would like addressed as part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Participants will get the opportunity to share their views and suggestions about the UN’s future role by answering the question: Taking into account the ongoing global pandemic, what does the future of the UN look like to you? 

TARGETED AGE GROUP

The competition is open to young people between the ages of 15 and 25 (secondary school and college students).

LANGUAGE(S)

Competitors may use either English or Swahili. Winners will be selected from both languages i.e. there will be selection of winners based on both language categories.

RULES OF THE COMPETITION

• Participants must be citizens of Tanzania.
• Participants must be between the ages of 15 and 25.
• Participants must have written the essay by themselves. Only individual entries are admitted, no teams are allowed to take part in the competition.
• Essays must answer the question by making a case, analysing the situation, and building a case based on researched arguments and facts.
• Essays may be submitted in either English or Swahili only.
• Entries must be no longer than 800 words.

SELECTION PROCESS

The best essay will be selected according to the following criteria:

• Quality of the arguments, good writing (the panel will take into consideration that English participants are not native speakers).
• The selection process will occur as follows:
  • All essays will be assessed by a first panel who will shortlist 10 candidates.
  • The shortlisted 10 essays will be reviewed and graded by a high-level selection panel.

PRIZES

The names of the 6 finalists (Best 3 English & 3 Swahili winners) will be published on the official UN Tanzania social media pages.

The final winners’ essay (best winner for each language category) will be published on the official web page of UN Tanzania.

The two winners will be invited to take part in the UN 75 Commemoration events which will take place in Dodoma.

PARTICIPATION & ENTRY

• All entries must be received by 11:59 pm (Nairobi Time) on 31st October 2020, the closing date of the competition. Only entries submitted by this deadline will enter the competition.
• Entries will be submitted as plaintext in the body of an email addressed to unic.daressalaam@unic.org, with the subject line: ‘The Future We Want Essay Competetion’.  
• Entries must be no longer than 800 words.
• Entries will not be returned; members will be requested to retain a copy.
• All entries must be the original work of the entrant and must not infringe the rights of any other party.
• Entries must not contain defamatory, obscene, offensive, or any other unsuitable material.
• Entries must be suitable to be published for audiences of all ages.