Application Deadline: 19 October 2014.
International Network for Education in Emergency is organizing an essay contest to promote knowledge and increase awareness of education in emergencies, as well as to provide an opportunity for people around the world to share their thoughts and ideas about what education means to them in times of crisis. INEE is collaborating with War Child Holland and UNICEF on this project.
Children, youth and adults are invited to submit their stories about what education means to them in emergencies and why education in emergencies is important. The essay contest will run from 10 September 2014 – 19 October 2014. Winners will be announced in early December.
Essay Topics and Age Groups
Submit an essay responding to one of the two following questions:
1. What has education meant to me in an emergency?
Has your education ever been affected by an emergency (a flood, earthquake, other disaster) or a conflict? Write a short story about your experience of education in an emergency.
Why is education in emergencies important?
When an emergency happens, often children find they cannot go to school. An earthquake or flood might destroy their school, or a conflict might make it unsafe to go to school. Do you think it is important that children’s education should continue? If so, why? What might happen if education were not provided?
Age group Essay length
6-12 years 150 words
13-17 years 500 words
18+ years 1,000 words
Submission Guidelines
Essays should be e-mailed to essaycontest@ineesite.org*, and should include the following information:
- Author’s name
- Author’s age
- Author’s school or organization affiliation
Guidelines for the essays include:
- Essays may be submitted in the following 5 languages: English, Arabic, Spanish, French and Portuguese
- Essays must be submitted by the given deadline
- Essays must not exceed the word limit
- All references in technical essays must be appropriately cited
Judging and Prizes
All essays will be reviewed anonymously by a panel of judges and scored based on (1) relevance to the theme or topic, (2) creativity and innovative thinking and (3) organization and cohesiveness.
The winning essays in each age group will be published on the INEE website in December 2014, and the winning authors (as well as their schools for the younger age groups) will be awarded an education-related prize.