True test of your writing skills
JUNE 2014 marks the 70th Anniversary of the United Nations and as part of the UN Academic Impact global initiative, ELS Educational Services, the franchise owner of ELS Language Centres, is having a global essay contest.
Winning essayists will be invited to New York City for the 2014 UN Academic Impact Global Youth Forum.
ELS and the UN Academic Impact global initiative are working together on the Many Languages, One World-Essay Competition and Global Youth Forum to promote multilingualism and the continued study of the United Nations’ six official languages – Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.
“Our collaboration focuses on two of the priorities of the Secretary-General, one being youth and the other multiculturalism, and this is a wonderful way of bringing the two together,” said United Nations Communications and Public Information under-secretarygeneral Peter Launsky-Tieffenthal after the signing ceremony to launch the contest in New York City.
Sixty winners will be invited to New York to attend the Academic Impact Global Youth Forum.
Ten will be selected for each of the six official UN languages.
ELS Educational Services will sponsor travel, room and board for each winner to be in New York from June 25 to 29 to participate in a conference to discuss the 10 principles of the UN Academic Impact and action plans to address global issues.
Winners will attend a youth conference at Adelphi University and present the action plan outcomes of that dialogue at UN Headquarters on June 27.
Topics will feature selected principles of the UN Academic Impact. The delegates will also have the opportunity to interact with student linguists from the United States and other countries who composed the winning essays.
During the Global Youth Forum, each language group will develop an action plan in support of one of the principles of the UN Academic Impact initiatives.
As a host institution and university partner of ELS, UPM (Universiti Putra Malaysia) has offered support to encourage its students to participate in this global contest.
“We hope there will be Malaysian winners to add to the voices of the UN Academic Impact and to present their views at the UN conference. It would be a valuable achievement as well as an unforgettable experience. I urge all UPM students to participate. They will receive the support needed from their faculty and lecturers,” said UPM deputy vice-chancellor (Academic and International) Prof Datuk Dr Mad Nasir Shamsudin.
For more details, visit: http:// ManyLanguagesOneWorld.els.edu
Essay contest eligibility and qualifications
1) Students 18 years of age and older currently enrolled in a fulltime programme of study at a college or university are eligible.
2) Contestants must write their essay in one of the six official languages of the United Nations – Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian or Spanish. This language must not be their mother tongue or the language of instruction in primary or secondary education. The language must be a second or third language for the contestant.
3) The essay, not exceeding 2,000 words, should explore: “How does multilingual ability advance global citizenship and understanding?” The essay should reflect the entrant’s academic, cultural and national context.
4) Each entrant must be sponsored by a faculty member or university official. Upon completion of the sponsor form, the student will receive an e-mail with information on how to enter and upload their essay to the contest website.
5) The deadline for essay submission is Feb 21.
Full competition details, including forms for entry and submission, are available at http://ManyLanguagesOneWorld. ELS.edu