We are excited to announce the launch of our first Victoria Forum Student Essay Challenge, in partnership with the Victoria Forum. This international competition is open to all undergraduate and graduate students and invites and challenges individuals/teams to write original, unpublished essays sharing actual experiences and stories of courage, grit, and transformation, to inspire efforts to bridge existing divides.
Essays should focus on one of the following sub-themes:
- Bridging Economic Divides
- Bridging Social Divides
- Bridging Environmental Divides
Thus far, this international competition has submissions from 15 countries ranging across 6 continents.Ā
PRELIMINARY JUDGING INVITATION
At this time, we would like to formally invite network members interested in becoming Preliminary Judges who would help determine the Top 10 essays. These Top 10 essays would then go to the Victoria Forum final judging panel to award the winning essay. We welcome you to please share this opportunity with your network of academic professionals. We especially welcome PhD students, research assistants, graduate assistants, and professors who would be willing to assist us in judging the submitted essays and accompanying creative pieces.
In addition to technical aspects, such as mechanics, organization, and narrative, essays will be judged for inspirationāthe extent to which they have potential to tilt the conversation and inspire action towards a more inclusive and sustainable future. Preliminary Judges would read the essays and score them and the creative piece on a 100 point scale in four simple categories.
Preliminary Judges will be publicly acknowledged on the GBSN website and other external communications. In order to facilitate this, for those interested please email Julianna LaBelle at jlabelle@gbsn.org your preferred full name, official title and a brief bio with your confirmation of participating as a preliminary judge.