Submission Deadline: 30 June 2013
The WTO Youth Ambassador Programme aims to raise awareness of international economic governance issues among young people, encourage their engagementin public policy discussions, and bring new perspectives to the debates.
Its starting point is a contest. To participate, contestants must provide their response to a trade-related question. Submissions can be made in the form either of a video or an essay.
The Contest Participants are required to make a short video (no more than three minutes) or write a brief essay (up to 1,000 words) that addresses the following question:
- The role of the multilateral trading system in global governance
In their submissions participants should highligh t the importance of the issue, describe the main challenges and propose policy recommendations.
Eligibility
- Participants must be at least 18 years of age, and no older than 25 years of age, on the date of submission of their essay or video. Proof of age will be required from all finalists.
- All submissions (video and essay) shall be accompanied by a one-page (300 words maximum) text in which the participants outline the activities that they intend to undertake as WTO Youth Ambassadors to promote the principles and values of the multilateral trading system within their communities, should they win the contest.This is an opportunity for participants to demonstrate how the role of the WTO Youth Ambassador can be used to make a positive impact.
Current or former staff members of the World Trade Organization and their immediate family members are not eligible for consideration in the contest.
Deadline for submissions
The deadline for all submissions is midnight (Geneva time) on 30 June 2013. All essay submissions should be sent either as a Word document or as a PDF to
indicating Youth Ambassador Contest in the subject line.
To submit a video, the contestant must be a registered user of YouTube or another online video sharing site. To sign up for an account on YouTube, please visit
The submission must be in English, French or Spanish, or must be subtitled in one of those languages. For simple instructions on how to create closed captioned subtitles for YouTube videos,
please see http://www.youtube.com/t/captions_about
Upload your video message to www.youtube.com or another online
video sharing site using your personal account, with the tag: WTOvideo2013.
There is no fee for entering this contest.
The WTO will ask finalists and winners to provide a copy of their original video file prior to distributing prizes. Accordingly, participants should keep a copy of their videos in the original format.
By submitting their work to the contest, participants grant the WTO the right to copy, edit, modify,publish, distribute and/or display the content of the work and elements embodied within it.
Contestants are solely responsible for submitting qualifying entries. The WTO is not responsible for lost, late, misdirected and/or damaged submissions or for technical errors, malfunctions, and/or delays that may prevent participants from uploading submissions for the contest.
The WTO, its personnel and agents are not responsible for third party claims from participants relating to loss, damage, prejudice, liability or expense suffered in connection with video or written submissions, any other acts or omissions or any information provided by participants.
Selection panel
A selection panel made up of four WTO staff and the Chairman of the General Council or his/her representative will be responsible for choosing the finalists for each category. Winners will be selected on the basis of creativity, originality, message content, overall presentation and policy recommendations.
Prize
The winner of the best video and essay submission will be invited to the WTO in Geneva, Switzerland to present their ideas at the 2013 WTO Public Forum. The WTO will fund and organize the trip. If the winner lives in the Geneva region, a comparable prize will be awarded. There are no cash alternatives to this prize.
The finalists for each category will be selected in mid-July 2013. Finalists will be notified by e-mail and their names will be published on the website of the WTO Public Forum. Finalists in each category will be contacted by email at the address provided at the time of submission.
No other participants will be contacted.
Contestants can participate either individually or as a team. Prizes for team entries will be awarded to the person who submits the work. The WTO assumes no responsibility for prize distribution among team members.
If, following reasonable attempts, a winning entrant cannot be contacted, the WTO reserves the right to offer the prize to the next best entry. The WTO reserves the right to not select a winner or winners if entries received are judged to be of
insufficient quality.
Any attempt by a participant to influence the result or subvert the competition will lead to immediate disqualification. The WTO reserves the right to modify or cancel the contest or any of the arrangements, schedules, plans or other items directly or indirectly related to the contest at any time and for any reason if deemed necessary.
Publication
The winning essay will be published in the WTO Public Forum Publication and the winning video will be posted on the WTO’s YouTube channel and featured on the WTO’s social media platforms.
For More Information: Download the WTO Youth Ambassador Programme Brochure