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Empowering Youth Voices | 2022 World Citizen Essay Contest
March 20, 2022 @ 12:00 am - 5:00 pm
From natural disasters and climate change to conflict and lack of resources, men, women, and children worldwide have been forced to flee from their homes and countries in search of safety, resources, and economic opportunity. According to the United Nations (UN), the number of refugees around the world has doubled over the past 10 years, and at the end of 2020, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimated a total of 82.4 million displaced persons globally. In 2021, we continued to see an increase in the number of displaced persons across the globe with countries including Lebanon, Syria, Haiti, Afghanistan, Venezuela, and more experiencing climate-, natural-, and human-made disasters.
2022 World Citizen Essay Contest Prompt:
In an essay of 1000 thousand words or less, choose a specific context to describe the origins or causes of a crisis that resulted in a mass displacement of peoples. Discuss the initial and long-term impacts of the crisis and what you would recommend as a course of action to address them. Feel free to use contemporary or historical examples to explain when/how specific strategies have or have not worked. Additionally, displaced persons face many challenges throughout the resettlement process (i.e., language and cultural barriers, access to resources and economic opportunities, discrimination, etc.). Describe how you would welcome displaced persons into your own community and how you would support individuals and/or families in adjusting and prospering in a new environment.
2022 Essay Contest Logistics:
This competition is open to all Washington State students in the 3rd-12th grades.
Essays must be 1000 words or less.
Official 2022 Judging Rubric.
Official 2022 World Citizen Essay Contest Resource Guide; Additional guidelines inside!
Official 2022 World Citizen Essay Contest Cover Form. Note: This form needs to be completed, signed, & submitted with the essay or else the essay will not be accepted into the contest. This form can be signed by parents/guardians or educators if the student is participating from your school or class. PDF version available here.
Official 2022 World Citizen Essay Contest Flyer.
Essays are due by midnight on Sunday, March 20th, 2022.
Please submit your essays to essaycontest@world-affairs.org.
Once your essay is submitted, we will we follow up with you on next steps and a timeline for judging and winner selection.
There will be 9 winners total (3 Elementary School; 3 Middle School; and 3 High School).
For questions or concerns, please contact essaycontest@world-affairs.org.
Want to know about the World Citizen Essay Contest? Learn about the history of the contest and our past essay contests & winning submissions.
Click to see our 2021 World Citizen Essay Contest winners.
Stay tuned for information on this year’s prizes and SAVE THE DATE for the 2022 World Citizen Essay Contest Awards Ceremony taking place Wednesday, May 25th, 2022. We look forward to hearing from our youth