UN Security Council Resolution 1540 International Student Essay Contest 2016 ( $USD3,500 Prize & All-expense-paid trip to Cambridge, Massachusetts)

Application Deadline: AUGUST 5, 2016

The essay contest was launched by the Stimson Center, with support from the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs, the Washington Foreign Law Society, the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, the ASAN Institute for Policy Studies, and the Institute for Security Studies (Pretoria).

The essay contest is a wonderful opportunity for undergraduate/post-graduate/professional students as well as their professors and institutions to contribute to international security and potentially receive some recognition for their effort. It is also a wonderful opportunity to share new ideas/innovative thinking on the implementation of resolution 1540 and on efforts to prevent proliferation of weapons of mass destruction to non-state actors.

The essay contest takes places as the 1540 Committee is conducting a comprehensive review of implementation of resolution 1540, as called for by the UN Security Council.
Founded in 1989, the Stimson Center is a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank devoted to addressing transnational challenges in order to enhance global peace and economic prosperity.

by non-state actors, with Daesh using sarin gas in Iraq and Syria. This adds to the urgency of 1540 implementation.”

The UNSCR 1540 International Student Essay Contest is a project the Stimson Center developed with support from global partners and from the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs. The Washington Foreign Law Society is providing the cash prizes. Essays will address the following prompt:

Your government* is developing a five-year action plan for the implementation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1540. Your government may be in a position to help other states implement this resolution or may need to request help in implementing this resolution. You are advising your government on what it needs to do, why and by when in order to implement this resolution and decrease WMD risks. In no more than 2,500 words, develop a five-year action plan that includes priorities and timelines. Make sure to include ways to measure success.

*Note that entrants are able to pick a country of their choice to represent in the contest.

Student Eligibility and Professor Support

• Students must be at least 18 years of age to enter the contest. By submitting an essay, students attest to being enrolled in an undergraduate or advanced degree program (e.g., graduate/law/business/medical school) during the calendar year 2016.
• The name of the institution and the name of an institution official (e.g., a professor or dean) must be provided to verify enrollment.
• Students may apply individually or as a team. If submitting as a team, the submitter will be deemed to represent the team and will be responsible for the distribution of the prize money and the designation of the individual from the team to present at the award ceremony.
• All team members will be recognized in the publication of winning essays. All work must be the students’ own and not previously published.

Prizes:

First Place — Cash prize of $2,000; an all-expense-paid trip to Cambridge, Massachusetts, to present his/her ideas at an awards ceremony to United Nations representatives; publication of the essay in a Stimson Center report.

Second Place — Cash prize of $1,000; an all-expense-paid trip to Cambridge, Massachusetts, to present his/her ideas at an awards ceremony to United Nations representatives; publication of essay in a Stimson Center report.

Three Honorable Mentions — Cash prize of $500 and publication of essay in a Stimson Center report.

Submissions are due August 5, 2016. The contest poster is available here. Contest questions can be emailed to: [email protected].
For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the  UN Security Council Resolution 1540 International Student Essay Contest 2016.