Winners of Multilingual Essay Contest to Meet at United Nations General Assembly Hall on 24 July
From a pool of over 1,200 entrants, 70 students from 42 countries representing 60 universities have been selected as winners of the Many Languages, One World international essay contest organized by ELS Educational Services, Inc. and the United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI). The contest challenged college and university students from around the globe to write an essay examining the post-2015 global development agenda of the United Nations, in one of the six official United Nations languages which was not the entrant’s mother tongue or the principal language of instruction in their primary or secondary education.
In many cases, students submitted essays in their third or fourth language. More than 3,500 people from 130 countries took part in the initial phase of the contest. The official languages of the United Nations are Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.
The winners have been invited to New York, at no cost, to attend the Many Languages, One World Global Youth Forum at the United Nations and at Adelphi University in Garden City, New York, from 20 to 26 July. They will have an opportunity on 24 July to speak in the General Assembly Hall at United Nations Headquarters on themes relevant to the post-2015 global development agenda, which will include: inclusive and equitable quality education and the promotion of lifelong learning opportunities for all; healthy lives and well-being at all ages; inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all; peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, access to justice for all and building effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels; availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all; and food security, improved nutrition and sustainable agriculture.
The presentations will take place from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and accredited media are invited to cover the event which will also be streamed live in all six languages via UN Webcast.
Students who participated in the contest include those pursuing undergraduate and graduate degrees, as well as doctoral candidates. Their fields of study include, among others, art, human rights, medicine, engineering, law, business management, communications, international relations and linguistics.
2015 marks the second year of the contest and Global Youth Forum. On 27 June 2014, the first day of the commemoration of the seventieth year of the United Nations Charter, winning students presented in the General Assembly Hall at United Nations Headquarters. The contest has been covered by many international media outlets and coverage was prominent on social media platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter.
For more information, please visit ManyLanguagesOneWorld.ELS.edu.
For information on the Many Languages, One World Contest, please contact Dan Pazo, ELS Educational Services Inc., at e-mail: dpazos@els.edu, or Catherine White, United Nations Department of Public Information, at e-mail: white8@un.org.
For media accreditation at the United Nations, please contact the United Nations Media Accreditation and Liaison Unit.