The World Bank’s Annual Bank Conference on Development Economics (ABCDE) was held on June 24 at the Shilla Hotel. The Essay Competition 2009 was initiated by the Wold Bank with the government of Norway as co-sponsor.The Norwegian Ambassador Didrik Tønseth, joined the celebration event.
This year’s winners
The essay competition is one of three competitions as participants could also compete in a video- and a photo category. More information can be found at: http://www.essaycompetition.org/
This year’s theme for the competition was “The Next Generation of Green Entrepreneurs”, with the following subquestions:
How does climate change affect you?
How can you tackle climate change through youth-led solutions?
Sophie Bathurst (Australia) won the first prize and 3,000 USD for her essay “Blueprint for green schools”.
Guillermo Recio Guajardo (Mexico) received second place and 2,000 USD for “The repercussions of climate change on the indigenous Raramuri people: local actions, global benefits”, while Kwasi Gyeabour (Ghana) received third place and 1,000 USD for “Greening the Ghanaian Youth”.
Background information on the competition
The following is an exerpt of the organisers’ description of the competition:
“Consultations and research work with youths have demonstrated that they can make a difference in fighting poverty through their actions and advocacy activities in youth organizations. Youths are key agents of change, but too often the nature and impact of their projects are not recognized or documented sufficiently, and youth face difficulties being heard and engaging more directly in civic life.
In order to learn how youth can make a difference in reducing poverty, the World Bank launched the International Essay Competition. The Essay Competition is an annual, worldwide competition targeting youth aged between 18 to 25 years and managed by the World Bank Office in Paris. The competition is designed and implemented in partnership with Country Offices of the World Bank and Public Information Centers (PIC) in 84 countries, as well as partners representing universities, NGOs and youth organizations all over the world.
In 2009 the World Bank and its partners invited youth aged all over the world to participate in the 6th edition of the International Essay Competition, under the theme of climate change.
The 2009 Essay Competition is sponsored by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (core funding, for the third in a row), the Korean Ministry of Strategy and Finance (awards for best essays) and the World Bank (awards for best photos and videos).”