2020 Youthlead Turning Point Contest for Young Changemakers

Application Deadline: March 6th 2020

Participate in the “YouthLead 2020 Turning Point Contest for Young Changemakers” and showcase your work globally! As a young changemaker, this YouthLead contest provides you with a unique platform to share your personal experience and creative voice. And, you could win a cash prize!

YouthLead invite written submissions, in the form of a personal essay or poem, that tell a powerful story about one important turning point you have experienced as a young changemaker. A turning point can be a moment in your life when you felt inspired, motivated, empowered, or enabled by a person, a place, or an event to begin working for change in your community. Community can be defined as a group of people you share common attitudes, interests, and goals with at the local, district, national, or global level, or in another way that makes sense to each author.

Requirements

The competition is open to all members of the public who are:

• Citizens of low-and middle-income countries (LMICs) as listed here;
• Aged 18-35 and
• Members of YouthLead with a member profile that is at least 80% complete. Becoming a member of YouthLead is easy and free. All Entrants must be successfully registered on YouthLead. As registration may take several days to process, all YouthLead.org registration requests must be submitted at least 4 business days prior to the end of the Entry Period to ensure timely approval for entering the contest. 

Create your profile in English here or in Spanish here. (Please note: While we allow submission of personal essays and poems in French, we do not have a separate French registration or submission page). 

Note: USAID staff  and employees of YouthPower Learning Sponsors, and YouthPower Learning’s prime- and subcontractors are not eligible to enter or win a prize. Current YouthLead Ambassadors or YouthLead Ambassador Advisors are also not eligible to enter or win a prize.

Submission Requirements

1. All written submissions must be the original work of the Entrant (that is, written by the Entrant him/herself), and relate to an activity that the Entrant is directly involved as a changemaker. 

2. All entries must be submitted here. (Submissions in French or Spanish will also use this link. You can use “Select Language” in the upper right hand corner on your screen to translate the submission page to French or Spanish). 

3. By entering the Turning Point Contest, Entrants agree and acknowledge that Making Cents International, the implementer of YouthPower Learning, is permitted to receive and review the Entrant’s registration data. All personal information will be used by YouthPower Learning in accordance with the Privacy Policy on YouthLead.org and the Turning Point Contest rules.

4. Written pieces must have been developed between February 13, 2019 and the Contest deadline of March 6, 2020. Entries that have been published on other platforms or prior publications will not be considered.  

How to Enter

Step 1:  Register on YouthLead (go to Step 2 if you are already a member!)

All applicants must be registered on YouthLead.org before you can submit your contest application. YouthLead.org registration requests must be submitted at least 4 business days prior to the end of the Entry Period to ensure timely approval for entering the contest. Create your profile in English here or in Spanish here. All other users may use either link to create a profile.

Step 2: Log into YouthLead

Participating is easy! Go to the “Events” page, and click on “YouthLead Turning Point Contest for Young Changemakers” to begin your contest submission. (Submit here in English, Spanish or French). Entrants may submit a maximum of one entry (either one poem or one personal essay). 

Step 3:  Enter Your Text

Either type the text in the respective submission field or copy and paste the text. You can use bolding, italics and underlining to format your text. Please note: the maximum length is 5,000 characters, inclusive of spaces.

Step 4: Select the Your Submission Category (Type) 

Select the appropriate content type – either Poem or Personal Essay.

Step 5: Select the Lanugage in which You Submit your Entry

Select either English, French or Spanish. No other languages will be accepted.

Step 6:  Accept the Terms and Conditions and Hit Submit.

Contest Prizes

Each language category will be judged separately. First and second place prizes will be awarded to the top two winners in each language category (English, Spanish and French). Third through sixth place in each language category will receive honorable mentions. All awardees will be featured on the YouthLead.org platform. 

A. Poems:

English Submissions 
1. 1st Place Winner – a one-time monetary prize of $200 and poem featured on YouthLead.org. 
2. 2nd Place Winner – a one-time monetary prize $100, and poem featured on YouthLead.org. 
3. 3rd – 6th Place Honorable Mentions – poem featured on YouthLead.org.

Spanish Language Submissions 
1. 1st Place Winner – a one-time monetary prize of $200 and poem featured on YouthLead.org. 
2. 2nd Place Winner – a one-time monetary prize $100, and featured on YouthLead.org. 
3. 3rd – 6th Place Honorable Mentions – poem featured on YouthLead.org.

French Language Submissions 
1. 1st Place Winner – a one-time monetary prize of $200 and poem featured on YouthLead.org. 
2. 2nd Place Winner – a one-time monetary prize $100, and poem featured on YouthLead.org. 
3. 3rd – 6th Place Honorable Mentions – poem featured on YouthLead.org.

B. Personal Essay:

English Submissions 
1. 1st Place Winner – a one-time monetary prize of $200 and personal essay featured on YouthLead.org. 
2. 2nd Place Winner – a one-time monetary prize $100, and personal essay featured on YouthLead.org. 
3. 3rd – 6th Place Honorable Mentions – personal essay featured on YouthLead.org.

Spanish Language Submissions 
1. 1st Place Winner – a one-time monetary prize of $200 and personal essay featured on YouthLead.org. 
2. 2nd Place Winner – a one-time monetary prize $100, and personal essay featured on YouthLead.org. 
3. 3rd – 6th Place Honorable Mentions – personal essay featured on YouthLead.org.

French Language Submissions 
1. 1st Place Winner – a one-time monetary prize of $200 and personal essay featured on YouthLead.org. 
2. 2nd Place Winner – a one-time monetary prize $100, and personal essay featured on YouthLead.org. 
3. 3rd – 6th Place Honorable Mentions – personal essay featured on YouthLead.org.

C. If a winner does not respond within seven (7) days of notification, the Sponsor may, at its discretion, select one of the Honorable Mentions a Prize Winner.
D. Written submissions of Runners-Up will be displayed on the YouthLead.org Platform.
E. The Sponsor reserves the right to award fewer, none, or additional prizes.

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the 2020 Youthlead Turning Point Contest