10 Break-Out Sessions
- Time: 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm
[timetable id="9" column_title="0" filter_visible="1" filter_multiple="1" event_box_time="0"]
Sign up for our Newsletter
Global Essay Competition
Compete in our Global Essay Competition and qualify for participation as a Leader of Tomorrow in the world’s premier opportunity for cross-generational debates: The St. Gallen Symposium.
Meet 300 of society’s brightest young minds. Present and debate your ideas with 600 senior leaders. Be inspired by some of the world’s most impressive speakers. Gain a unique and new perspective on this year’s topic. Become a member of a unique global community. Participate in the symposium with us. Win prize money of CHF 20,000 split amongst the three winners.
Topic Question
In recent years and going forward, nations across Asia, Africa and Latin America are emerging as new centres of global power. This shift towards a multipolar world extends across several dimensions, incl. economic, political, technological, societal, cultural and demographic ones. Overall, it represents one of the fundamental trends today’s and tomorrow’s leaders need to grapple with and comprehend.
Global power is shifting. What’s your innovative idea to address a related risk or opportunity?
- BRIEFLY describe ONE specific risk or opportunity related to shifting power across world regions and nations in some specific field, including (but not limited to!) politics, business, economics, technology, sustainability or security
- Offer your innovative and concrete solution to address this development, i.e. how to deal with the risk or leverage the opportunity you’ve identified
- Be bold and think beyond the status quo, while being as specific as possible
Registration window for the Global Essay Competition to qualify for the 54th St. Gallen Symposium is open !
Click here to sign up for the 2025 Global Essay Competition and start writing your essay
If problems occur during registration, please clear your cached images and files in your browsing history or consider using the browser Google Chrome. If you still cannot apply, use the following link. For any unanswered questions please contact us via e-mail at [email protected]
Prerequisites
Qualify with an excellent essay.
We expect a professional, creative and thought-provoking essay. Be bold, unconventional, and distinctive on the competition question.
For your contribution to be valid, the following criteria must be met
Check your eligibility and prepare documents, to be eligible, you must fulfill all of the following criteria:.
- Enrolled in a graduate or postgraduate programme (master level or higher) in any field of study at a regular university
- Born in 1995 or later
Make sure you can provide the following documents:
- Copy of passport or other identification (in English for non-Roman languages)
- Confirmation of matriculation/enrolment from your university which proves your enrollment in a graduate/postgraduate level programme as of 1 February 2025 (download sample document here )
- Your contribution file with no indication of your name in the file name, the file metadata or the file itself
Meet us and ask your questions!
Meet our student representatives to learn how you can qualify for a participation in the 54 th St. Gallen Symposium. We will have physical presentations at your university again as well as regular webinars to answer your questions!
Accompanying a Leader of Tomorrow
General questions, who can compete for a participation as a leader of tomorrow at the st. gallen symposium.
Students enrolled at a regular university, who are matriculated in a master or postgraduate programme.
What is the St. Gallen Global Essay Competition?
The St. Gallen Global Essay Competition is a global student essay competition, offering students who study at graduate or postgraduate level around the world the opportunity to apply for participation at the St. Gallen Symposium.
What is the Knowledge Pool?
The Knowledge Pool is a group of Leaders of Tomorrow with a strong affiliation to topics of relevance to the St. Gallen Symposium. They show outstanding track records in the particular fields they work or study. They are hand-selected by the International Students’ Committee. It is not possible to apply for membership in the Knowledge Pool.
How much does it cost to participate?
The participation in the symposium is free for all Leaders of Tomorrow. Moreover, expenses for travel, board and lodging are covered by the ISC. However, we recommend bringing a small amount of pocket money for your convenience.
Essay Competition
Who is eligible for the 54 th st. gallen symposium.
Students enrolled at a regular university, who are matriculated in a graduate or postgraduate programme as of 1 February 2025, from any field of study, born in 1995 or later.
What is a “regular university”?
In the context of the Global Essay Competition, a regular university is defined as an institution of higher education that also conducts research and offers at least one PhD programme. Exceptions are possible and are granted on a case-by-case basis.
Can Bachelor students participate?
Unfortunately, students on bachelor level do not fulfil the eligibility criteria and therefore cannot enter the competition. There is no other way to apply for participation and we, therefore, encourage all students to join the competition once they pursue with their studies at a graduate level. You may, however, be eligible if the level of study in your current year is equivalent to international graduate level which must be confirmed in writing by your university.
Can teams participate?
Only individual submissions are allowed as we can only grant participation to one contender per contribution.
How long should the contribution be?
The maximum amount of words is 2,100 (excluding bibliography or graph descriptions and the like). There is no minimum word count. Please make sure to state the exact word count in your document. Also keep in mind that you must not state your name in the contribution.
Do I have to quote my sources?
All sources must be quoted and all essays are scanned for plagiarism. You must refer each source to the respective text passage. Please note that plagiarism is a serious offense and that we reserve the right to take further steps in case of deliberate fraud. Self-plagiarism will also result in disqualification, as the work has to be written exclusively for the Global Essay Competition of the St. Gallen Symposium. Furthermore any auxiliary aids (AI, proofreading, translation service, layout/graphics services, writing and translation programs, etc.) are to be listed in an auxiliary aids directory as shown below:
Can I have a look at previous Winner Essays?
Yes, you can find winner essays as well as other publications from the Global Essay Competition here .
What file formats are accepted?
Please make sure to hand in your essay in either a doc, docx or pdf format. The document must allow to copy the text easily (no document protections).
What documents do I need to submit?
In addition to your contribution, make sure to upload
- a copy of your passport (or any other official government ID but no driver’s license) to verify your age
- a confirmation of matriculation from your university confirming your graduate or postgraduate student status as of February 2025
- a short abstract (200–300 words) which can be entered in the registration form directly
in the applicable field of the registration form.
What happens after I submitted my application?
The ISC will verify your eligibility and check all submitted documents for completeness and readability. Due to the large amount of essays we receive, our response may take some time, so thank you for your patience. If the jury selects your essay in the top 100 , you qualify as a Leader of Tomorrow for an expenses-paid participation in the 54 th St. Gallen Symposium (6-8 May 2025). The results will be announced via e-mail by mid-March 2025. The jury selects the three awardees based on the quality of the idea on paper. The award is endowed with a total prize money of CHF 20,000. In addition, there will be a chance for the very best competitors (including the awardees) to present their ideas on the big stage at the symposium. For this, the students will be asked to pitch their idea on video beforehand.
Who’s in the jury?
The Award Jury consists of leading executives, journalists and professors from all around the world. The Academic Jury is composed of young top academics from the University of St. Gallen and the ETH Zurich.
When will the results be announced?
The jury’s decision will be announced by mid-March at the latest.
Participation
How do the travel arrangements work.
The organizing committee will get in touch with you prior to the symposium to discuss your itinerary and to book your travel.
Can the organising committee help me get a visa?
All Leaders of Tomorrow are self-responsible to get a visa. However, we will inform the applicable Swiss embassy about the invitation and will provide you with the necessary documents. Should a problem arise anyway, we are happy to help. Expenses for visa application are borne by the Leaders of Tomorrow themselves.
Where am I accommodated during the symposium?
All Leaders of Tomorrow are accommodated at private student flats across the city. Please give us an early notice should you have any special requirements (e.g. female flatmates only).
What transport is provided?
We book flights or train tickets and provide shuttle service from and to the airport. Furthermore, all Leaders of Tomorrow receive a free ticket for the public transport in St. Gallen during the week of the symposium.
How much money do I need?
We recommend bringing some pocket money (CHF 100–200) for your convenience. Please note that depending on your time of arrival and departure, some meals might not be covered.
Can disabled people participate as well?
Yes, of course. Most of the symposium sites are wheelchair-accessible and we are more than happy to help where we can. Although our ability to provide personal assistance is very limited, we do our best to provide the necessary services.
Is there any touristic programme and do I have time for sightseeing?
During the symposium there will be no time for sightseeing. However, we may offer selected touristic programmes a day before or after the symposium. These days can, of course, also be used for individual sightseeing. Nearby sites include the old town of St. Gallen, the lake Constance and the nearby mountains.
Can I extend my stay in Switzerland?
Yes, upon request we can move your return flight to a date of your choice. If the new flight is more expensive, we may ask you to cover the price difference. Please note that we are unable to provide any services such as accommodation or transportation after the end of the symposium week.
Can I bring a spouse?
Unfortunately, we cannot provide any services such as travel, room, board or symposium access to any additional person.
Past Winners & Essay Reviews
Out of approx. 1,000 annual contributions submitted by graduate and post-graduate students from all around the globe, the jury selects three winner essays every year. Meet our competition’s past winners and read their contributions.
2024 – Confronting Scarcity
Oluwafunmike aderonmu, wei jun sean chan, andreas kuster, essay question:.
Scarcity generally refers to a situation where human needs exceed available resources . The 2024 Global Essay Competition invites young leaders worldwide to focus on a specific contemporary or future challenge related to scarcity and propose an innovative way to address it. They were asked to be creative in thinking about proposed solutions: do we need to strive for more and find ways to boost the availability of the resource in question? Or does it focus on ways to thrive with less and thus rethink our needs and demand? Participants were free in choosing which scarce resource they focus on: examples include – but are NOT limited to – human labour, capital, natural resources, or intangibles like time, creativity, or care. The challenge is to be bold and precise in describing a contemporary or future challenge of scarcity and the specific kind of resources they focus on, to offer a concrete and actionable idea of how we should confront it.
2023 – A New Generational Contract
Elliot gunn, gaurav kamath, megan murphy.
The best or worst legacy from previous generations: How to preserve or replace it?
A great deal of our lives is influenced by when we were born. As those currently alive, we have inherited the world which previous and older generations have built. We owe a great deal to the efforts of our forebears, but we also inherit problematic legacies.
2022 – Collaborative Advantage
Sophie lara neuber, anton meier, bryan kwang shing tan.
Collaborative Advantage: what should be written into a new intergenerational contract?
The idea of a “generational contract” embodies the principles that younger and older generations rely on each other to provide mutual support across different stages of their lives. Inclusive education systems, sustainable welfare states and meaningful environmental action are some of many challenges requiring a cross-generational collaborative effort. Yet, with the climate crisis, rapid technological change and societal aging in many countries, the generational contract and notions of intergenerational fairness have been challenged. Members of the younger generation are raising their voices as they reflect on how their futures are being compromised by current decision-makers.
What’s your specific and actionable idea that should be written into a new generational contract? Choose an area where you see evidence that intergenerational fairness is – or, going forward, will be – challenged and where the generational contract needs to be rewritten. Potential areas include, but are not limited to, business strategy and the economy, inclusive governance and education, the welfare state and health care, environmental sustainability, or the world of work. Describe your problem and offer concrete and practical proposals how inter-generational fairness can be restored or reinvented. Explain your idea’s impact for the future.
2021 – Trust Matters
Janz irvin chiang.
1st place – Peking University
Joan Nyangena
2nd place – York University
Karl Michael Braun
3rd place – Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg
A Matter of Trust: How Can Trust be Repaired When It’s Lost?
In recent years, we have seen many reports about “trust crises” in the realms of politics, health, business, technology, science, and media. Political and corporate scandals, mass protests, and deteriorating trust indicators in global perception surveys support this diagnosis. As a result, senior leaders in many of these sectors publicly aspire to “rebuild trust” in their decisions, products, or institutions. What would be your advice to them?
Choose an area in one of the above-mentioned sectors where you see evidence that citizens’, consumers’, regulators’, employees’ or other stakeholders’ trust has been lost. Describe your example of an apparent loss of trust; offer concrete and practical proposals on repairing damaged trust. Describe your idea’s impact for the future.
2020 – Freedom Revisited
Symposium postponed.
As a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, the final review and communication of the results of the contributions to the Global Essay Competition was stopped prematurely.
Freedom Revisited: Which aspects of freedom need to be defended, or recalibrated, to meet the challenges of our time?
Domestically and on the international stage, values of individual, economic, and political freedom are subject to critical inquiry or outright attack. Diverse phenomena such as populism, global power shifts, climate change, the digital revolution, and global migration call for a reflection on the value of freedom for the way we live, do business, and organize politically in the years ahead. While some call for a defence of established freedoms, others call for recalibration of our concept of freedom, or the balance we strike between freedom and other values, such as equality, sustainability, and security. Where do you stand in this debate? Choose one of the following positions as you develop your essay:
In defence of freedom: Choose an area in the realm of business, economics, politics, or civil society where current concepts of freedom are under pressure and where they need to be defended. Describe the problem and offer a concrete and practical proposition of how established concepts of freedom should – and can be – defended. Describe its impact for the future.
In defence of recalibrating freedom: Choose an area in the realms of business, economics, politics or civil society where current concepts of freedom are unsuitable for the challenges we face and where they need to be recalibrated. Describe the problem and offer a concrete and practical proposition of how established concepts of freedom should and can be recalibrated. Describe its impact for the future.
2019 – Capital for Purpose
Reuben muhindi wambui (ke).
1st place – The Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies
Natalie Hei Tung Lau (HK)
2nd place – University of Pennsylvania
Toan Do (VN)
3rd place – Yale University
Is it as good as it gets? – What approach would you suggest to change the current purpose of capital?
Political volatility, environmental issues, precarious labour markets, technological monopolies, managerial and investment short-termism are only a few challenges we face. The time has come to counter excessive short-termism and start doing business as unusual. Think about the status quo and its implications. What would be an idea to change it? Develop projects or actions you would trust in to bring new and expanded purposes to capital and aim for a long-term positive impact. In your essay you should consider how the use of capital (financial, human, social,…) can solve complex challenges and address substantial changes, be it by individuals, civil society, businesses or governments. Your idea must inspire leaders worldwide to take on responsibility and put it into practice. Be bold and develop a truly impactful concept to win our prestigious award.
2009 – 2018
2018 – beyond the end of work, nat ware (au).
1st place – University of Oxford
Janis Goldschmidt (DE)
João abreu (br).
3rd place – Harvard University
Robots are coming for your job. How do you augment yourself to stay economically relevant?
Author Yuval Noah Harari claims that the rapid progress of artificial intelligence technology will render the human species economically useless within decades. Imagine a world in which humans fight back, harnessing AI and other technologies to stay economically indispensable – and, ultimately, competitive against the computers. Describe the job you aspire to in the future, how it will potentially be influenced by AI, and how you would augment yourself technologically if necessary to prevail in your chosen career.
2017 – The dilemma of disruption
1st Place – University of Oxford
Benjamin Hofmann (DE)
2nd Place – University of St. Gallen
Sigin Ojulu (SS)
3rd Place – University of Southern California
Breaking the status quo – What’s YOUR disruptive idea?
The notion of disruption captures today’s innovation zeitgeist. Nowadays, it seems everyone claims to be a disruptor – particularly young people with an entrepreneurial mindset. Let’s think beyond disruptive innovation in management and look at disruption more generally as something that breaks the status quo – be it in business, politics, science, or society. Pick the one of these four fields you are most passionate about, identify a problem of greater magnitude and come up with a disruptive idea to solve it. Your idea must aspire to inspire top-notch leaders worldwide. Do not free ride on the buzzword “disruption” but rather be bold and develop a truly novel and radical concept to win our prestigious award.
2016 – Growth – the good, the bad, and the ugly
Schima labitsch (at).
1st place – Fordham University
Alexandra Ettlin (CH)
2nd place – University of St.Gallen
Colin Miller (US)
3rd place – New York University
What are alternatives to economic growth?
2015 – Proudly Small
Laya maheshwari (in).
1st place – London School of Economic
Leon Schreiber (ZA)
2nd place – Freie Universität Berlin
Katharina Schramm (DE)
3rd place – University of St.Gallen
Essay Questions:
- What is the next small BIG thing?
Think about unconventional ideas, undiscovered trends or peripheral signals that may turn into ground-breaking changes for societies. Present one idea which is not on the radar of current leaders yet but will change the game in business, politics or civil society – the best ones will be put to the test by the global audience of the St. Gallen Symposium.
- Collaborative Small State Initiative
Although small states lead the global rankings in international benchmark studies on competitiveness, innovation and wealth, they are often politically marginalised. Explore a common agenda for small and prosperous countries and identify one joint project that would increase the relevance of small states on the global stage. Go beyond politics and diplomacy by also including economic and civil players.
- Elites: small but superior groups rule the world – at what price?
Human history shows that the world has been ruled by tiny but superior groups of people. It is the elites who have been controlling societies and the allocation of resources. Given the rise of inequality, a devastating level of famine that still exists, ubiquitous corrupt systems of government, limited access to education for the underprivileged, to name just a few of the world’s greatest problems, elites are challenged to redefine their roles and agenda settings. Share your thoughts on how elites are supposed to emerge and transform in the 21st century.
2014 – The Clash of Generations
Ashwinikumar singh (in).
1st place – University of Mumbai
Martin Seneviratne (AU)
2nd place – University of Sydney
Set Ying Ting (MY)
3rd place – National University of Singapore
- Balancing Generational Claims
The presumption of an altruistic relation between generations and its positive effect on the economic well-being of societies is illusionary. Welfare states have widened fiscal gaps to an irreparable extent for the next generations. When aspiring to a sustainable welfare system, how should intergenerational claims balance without having to rely on selflessness?
- A Double-Edged Legacy
Let’s be frank: The generational contract has failed everywhere – but for different reasons. Exuberant public debts, zooming healthcare costs, unequal distribution of wealth, loss of ethical and moral anchors, loss of trust in existing institutions: each state is facing a unique set of problems. Briefly describe the situation in your country and propose a generational contract defining mutual responsibilities on an economic and social level.
- A Prospect for the Young
Highly educated and ambitious, yet unemployed. A whole generation of young is entering the labour market with little prospect of success. The implications go way beyond individual tragedies as economies with lasting high levels of youth unemployment risk social instability. Present new solutions on how we can overcome this crisis.
- Business between Generations
Slogans like “rent is the new own” or Botsmann and Rogers’s “what’s mine is yours” (HarperBusiness, 2010) mark the trend of shared economy. Although not a new economic phenomenon per se, particularly the Millennials are embracing this attitude towards doing business where they value access over ownership. The trend is gaining global mainstream acceptance which is resulting in a lasting impact on economic performance. Discuss the future of shared economy, its overall implications and the dynamics between supply and demand.
2013 – Rewarding Courage
Kilian semmelmann (de).
1st place – Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
Dragov Radoslav (BG)
2nd place – Rotterdam School of Management
Bree Romuld (AU)
3rd place – University of St.Gallen (HSG)
The competitors must choose from one of four competition questions, which refer to the four topic clusters “Putting incentives right”, “Coping with institutions”, “Against the current – courageous people” and “Management of excellence”
- Putting incentives right
How come that both in the corporate world and in politics, responsible courage (e.g. whistleblowing, courage to disagree with current paradigms, etc.) is hardly ever rewarded? Where the big decisions for the future are taken, anxiety, conformity and despondence prevail. How can this be changed?
- Coping with institutions
Institutions of all kinds shape our behaviour – be it economic, political or social behaviour. How should institutions be designed in order to foster a sustainable economic and social development?
- Against the current – courageous people
Observers lament that younger generations, as individualistic as they are, tend to settle for a highly streamlined social and economic world that does not ask for big decisions or unconventional thinking. Please share your opinion on this observation and explain why you agree or disagree. Please use examples that support your arguments.
- Management of excellence
New insights can only flourish within a culture of dialogue in different opinions. No assumptions should be taken for granted nor should there be any unquestioned truth. However, most people (decision makers, managers, students, etc.) often fail to deal constructively with conflicting opinions. How can companies encourage their employees to build a healthy attitude towards unconventional thinking and acting?
2012 – Facing Risk
Rodrigues caren (in).
1st place – St. Joseph’s Institute of Management
Jennifer Miksch (DE)
2nd place – Geneva Graduate Institute
Jelena Petrovic (SR)
3rd place – King’s College London
Detecting Risks
- The methodological tools that allow early detection of what will shape future trends are pivotal. While risks are emerging faster, these tools still need fostered advancement. What is the role of scenario planning and forecasting methods and who is or should be responsible for these aspects in the organisation? How should the detection of risks be addressed in an increasingly complex and interconnected global landscape?
Risk Aversion
- In wealthy societies, most people tend to suppress risk taking. Given this increasing trend of risk aversion in saturated societies, what are the long term consequences for economy and society? What are the long term consequences of a high level of risk aversion?
Emerging Risks
- There are tremendous risks facing the global community and many people have not yet become aware of their potential consequences (e.g. public debt burden). What are the societal, economic and/or political risks your generation of decision makers will be facing in the future? How could you convert these risks into opportunities?
Managing Risk
- There is often a disconnect between taking risks and bearing the burden of the consequences of doing so (e.g. risk taking in investment banking). Who should bear the consequences of negligent risk taking and why? How can healthy risk taking be fostered in wealthy societies?
2011 – Just Power
Marcelo ber (ar).
1st place – New York University
Dhru Kanan Amal (IN)
2nd place – London School of Economics
Maria de los Angeles Lasa (AR)
3rd place – Università di Camerino
- Justice and Power
- Rethinking Leadership
- Public Goods and Values
We asked you to contribute visions and ideas to the theme “Just Power” – Power in the sense of its use in various areas of politics and economics. We expected a professional work which could be an essay, a scenario, a project report or proposal, a multi- media presentation or an entrepreneurial concept. It should be constructive, provocative or instructive, inspiring thoughts and actions as well as introucing new approaches and unconventional ideas. Within the framework of the theme you may choose between three subtopics for your contribution.
2010 – Entrepreneurs – Agents of Change
Ainur begim (kz).
1st place – University of Oslo
James Clear (USA)
Christoph birkholz (de).
- What makes an entrepreneur an “agent of change”?
- Changing of the guard: Who are the new entrepreneurs?
- Corporate entrepreneurship within large companies: a concept for the future or a mere pie in the sky?
- Entrepreneurship between environmental risks and opportunities: What does it take to succeed?
2009 – Revival of Political and Economic Boundaries
Shofwan al-banna choiruzzad (id), jason george (us), aris trantidis (gr), 1999 – 2008, 2008 – global capitalism – local values, guillaume darier (ch), jacobus cilliers (za), feerasta aniqa (nz), christoph matthias paret (de), 2007 – the power of natural resources, benjamin block (us), gustav borgefalk (se), kevin chua (ph), 2006 – inspiring europe, maximilian freier (de), chen yesh (sg), elidor mëhilli (al), william english (us), 2005 – liberty, trust and responsibility, christian h. harding (de), luana badiu (ro), norbert jungmichel (de), fabien curto millet (es /fr), 2004 – the challenges to growth and prosperity, ravi rauniyar (np), peter g. kirchschläger (at / ch), xin dong (cn), 2003 – seeking responses in times of uncertainty, stefanie klein (de), rosita shivacheva (bg), 2002 – pushing limits – questioning goals, constantine (dino) asproloupos (ca / gr), manita jitngarmkusol (th), 2001 – new balance of power, marion mühlberger (at), uwe seibel (de), moses ekra (ci / ca), gerald tan (my), 2000 – time, martin von brocke (de), pei-fu hsieh (tw), tzvetelina tzvetkova (bg), 1999 – new markets, new technologies, new skills, peter doralt (fr), valérie feldmann (de), rajen makhijani (in).
“Partaking in the competition was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Not only was I able to come to St. Gallen and meet incredible young entrepreneurs and leaders who I’m still in contact with, but it provided me the opportunity to develop and share ideas with key decision-makers. The main idea I submitted was for a new way to finance retraining and healthcare at no cost to individuals or governments. Given the COVID- 19 pandemic, this idea is needed now more than ever, so I’m currently implementing the idea through a new organization I’ve established called FORTE ( Financing Of Return To Employment ).” NAT WARE , Founder & CEO of FORTE, Leader of Tomorrow at the 47th and 48th St. Gallen Symposium
Essay COMPETITION
2024 global essay prize, the short list for the 2024 global essay prize was released on wednesday, 31 july..
The John Locke Institute encourages young people to cultivate the characteristics that turn good students into great writers: independent thought, depth of knowledge, clear reasoning, critical analysis and persuasive style. Our Essay Competition invites students to explore a wide range of challenging and interesting questions beyond the confines of the school curriculum.
Entering an essay in our competition can build knowledge, and refine skills of argumentation. It also gives students the chance to have their work assessed by experts. All of our essay prizes are judged by a panel of senior academics drawn from leading universities including Oxford and Princeton, under the leadership of the Chairman of Examiners, former Cambridge philosopher, Dr Jamie Whyte.
The judges will choose their favourite essay from each of seven subject categories - Philosophy, Politics, Economics, History, Psychology, Theology and Law - and then select the winner of the Grand Prize for the best entry in any subject. There is also a separate prize awarded for the best essay in the junior category, for under 15s.
Q1. Do we have any good reasons to trust our moral intuition?
Q2. Do girls have a (moral) right to compete in sporting contests that exclude boys?
Q3. Should I be held responsible for what I believe?
Q1. Is there such a thing as too much democracy?
Q2. Is peace in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip possible?
Q3. When is compliance complicity?
Q1. What is the optimal global population?
Q2. Accurate news reporting is a public good. Does it follow that news agencies should be funded from taxation?
Q3. Do successful business people benefit others when making their money, when spending it, both, or neither?
Q1. Why was sustained economic growth so rare before the later 18th century and why did this change?
Q2. Has music ever significantly changed the course of history?
Q3. Why do civilisations collapse? Is our civilisation in danger?
Q1. When, if ever, should a company be permitted to refuse to do business with a person because of that person’s public statements?
Q2. In the last five years British police have arrested several thousand people for things they posted on social media. Is the UK becoming a police state?
Q3. Your parents say that 11pm is your bedtime. But they don’t punish you if you don’t go to bed by 11pm. Is 11pm really your bedtime?
Q1. According to a study by researchers at four British universities, for each 15-point increase in IQ, the likelihood of getting married increases by around 35% for a man but decreases by around 58% for a woman. Why?
In the original version of this question we misstated a statistic. This was caused by reproducing an error that appeared in several media summaries of the study. We are grateful to one of our contestants, Xinyi Zhang, who helped us to see (with humility and courtesy) why we should take more care to check our sources. We corrected the text on 4 April. Happily, the correction does not in any way alter the thrust of the question.
Q2. There is an unprecedented epidemic of depression and anxiety among young people. Can we fix this? How?
Q3. What is the difference between a psychiatric illness and a character flaw?
Q1. “I am not religious, but I am spiritual.” What could the speaker mean by “spiritual”?
Q2. Is it reasonable to thank God for protection from some natural harm if He is responsible for causing the harm?
Q3. Does God reward those who believe in him? If so, why?
JUNIOR prize
Q1. Does winning a free and fair election automatically confer a mandate for governing?
Q2. Has the anti-racism movement reduced racism?
Q3. Is there life after death?
Q4. How did it happen that governments came to own and run most high schools, while leaving food production to private enterprise?
Q5. When will advancing technology make most of us unemployable? What should we do about this?
Q6. Should we trust fourteen-year-olds to make decisions about their own bodies?
ENTRY REQUIREMENTS & FURTHER DETAILS
Please read the following carefully.
Entry to the John Locke Institute Essay Competition 2024 is open to students from any country.
Registration
Only candidates who registered before the registration deadline of Friday, 31 May 2024 may enter this year's competition.
All entries must be submitted by 11.59 pm BST on the submission deadline: Sunday, 30 June 2024 . Candidates must be eighteen years old, or younger, on that date. (Candidates for the Junior Prize must be fourteen years old, or younger, on that date.)
Entry is free.
Each essay must address only one of the questions in your chosen subject category, and must not exceed 2000 words (not counting diagrams, tables of data, endnotes, bibliography or authorship declaration).
The filename of your pdf must be in this format: FirstName-LastName-Category-QuestionNumber.pdf; so, for instance, Alexander Popham would submit his answer to question 2 in the Psychology category with the following file name:
Alexander-Popham-Psychology-2.pdf
Essays with filenames which are not in this format will be rejected.
The candidate's name should NOT appear within the document itself.
Candidates should NOT add footnotes. They may, however, add endnotes and/or a Bibliography that is clearly titled as such.
Each candidate will be required to provide the email address of an academic referee who is familiar with the candidate's written academic work. This should be a school teacher, if possible, or another responsible adult who is not a relation of the candidate. The John Locke Institute will email referees to verify that the essays submitted are indeed the original work of the candidates.
Submissions may be made as soon as registration opens in April. We recommend that you submit your essay well in advance of the deadline to avoid any last-minute complications. To submit your essay, click here .
Acceptance of your essay depends on your granting us permission to use your data for the purposes of receiving and processing your entry as well as communicating with you about the Awards Ceremony Dinner, the academic conference, and other events and programmes of the John Locke Institute and its associated entities.
Late entries
If for any reason you miss the 30 June deadline you will have an opportunity to make a late entry, under two conditions:
a) A late entry fee of 20.00 USD must be paid by credit card within twenty-four hours of the original deadline; and
b) Your essay must be submitted before 11.59 pm BST on Wednesday, 10 July 2024.
To pay for late entry, a registrant need only log into his or her account, select the relevant option and provide the requested payment information.
Our grading system is proprietary. Essayists may be asked to discuss their entry with a member of the John Locke Institute’s faculty. We use various means to identify plagiarism, contract cheating, the use of AI and other forms of fraud . Our determinations in all such matters are final.
Essays will be judged on knowledge and understanding of the relevant material, the competent use of evidence, quality of argumentation, originality, structure, writing style and persuasive force. The very best essays are likely to be those which would be capable of changing somebody's mind. Essays which ignore or fail to address the strongest objections and counter-arguments are unlikely to be successful .
Candidates are advised to answer the question as precisely and directly as possible.
The writers of the best essays will receive a commendation and be shortlisted for a prize. Writers of shortlisted essays will be notified by 11.59 pm BST on Wednesday, 31 July. They will also be invited to London for an invitation-only academic conference and awards dinner in September, where the prize-winners will be announced. Unlike the competition itself, the academic conference and awards dinner are not free. Please be aware that n obody is required to attend either the academic conference or the prize ceremony. You can win a prize without travelling to London.
All short-listed candidates, including prize-winners, will be able to download eCertificates that acknowledge their achievement. If you win First, Second or Third Prize, and you travel to London for the ceremony, you will receive a signed certificate.
There is a prize for the best essay in each category. The prize for each winner of a subject category, and the winner of the Junior category, is a scholarship worth US$2000 towards the cost of attending any John Locke Institute programme, and the essays will be published on the Institute's website. Prize-giving ceremonies will take place in London, at which winners and runners-up will be able to meet some of the judges and other faculty members of the John Locke Institute. Family, friends, and teachers are also welcome.
The candidate who submits the best essay overall will be awarded an honorary John Locke Institute Junior Fellowship, which comes with a US$10,000 scholarship to attend one or more of our summer schools and/or visiting scholars programmes.
The judges' decisions are final, and no correspondence will be entered into.
R egistration opens: 1 April, 2024.
Registration deadline: 31 May, 2024. (Registration is required by this date for subsequent submission.)
Submission deadline: 30 June, 2024.
Late entry deadline: 10 July, 2024. (Late entries are subject to a 20.00 USD charge, payable by 1 July.)
Notification of short-listed essayists: 31 July, 2024.
Academic conference: 20 - 22 September, 2024.
Awards dinner: 21 September, 2024.
Any queries regarding the essay competition should be sent to [email protected] . Please be aware that, due to the large volume of correspondence we receive, we cannot guarantee to answer every query. In particular, regrettably, we are unable to respond to questions whose answers can be found on our website.
If you would like to receive helpful tips from our examiners about what makes for a winning essay or reminders of upcoming key dates for the 2024 essay competition, please provide your email here to be added to our contact list. .
Thanks for subscribing!
The John Locke Institute's Global Essay Prize is acknowledged as the world's most prestigious essay competition.
We welcome tens of thousands of submissions from ambitious students in more than 150 countries, and our examiners - including distinguished philosophers, political scientists, economists, historians, psychologists, theologians, and legal scholars - read and carefully assess every entry.
I encourage you to register for this competition, not only for the hope of winning a prize or commendation, and not only for the chance to join the very best contestants at our academic conference and gala ceremony in London, but equally for the opportunity to engage in the serious scholarly enterprise of researching, reflecting on, writing about, and editing an answer to one of the important and provocative questions in this year's Global Essay Prize.
We believe that the skills you will acquire in the process will make you a better thinker and a more effective advocate for the ideas that matter most to you.
I hope to see you in September!
Best wishes,
Jamie Whyte, Ph.D. (C ANTAB )
Chairman of Examiners
Q. I missed the registration deadline. May I still register or submit an essay?
A. No. Only candidates who registered before 31 May will be able to submit an essay.
Q. Are footnote s, endnotes, a bibliography or references counted towards the word limit?
A. No. Only the body of the essay is counted.
Q. Are in-text citations counted towards the word limit?
A. If you are using an in-text based referencing format, such as APA, your in-text citations are included in the word limit.
Q. Is it necessary to include foo tnotes or endnotes in an essay?
A. You may not include footnotes, but you may include in-text citations or endnotes. You should give your sources of any factual claims you make, and you should ackn owledge any other authors on whom you rely.
Q. I am interested in a question that seems ambiguous. How should I interpret it?
A. You may interpret a question as you deem appropriate, clarifying your interpretation if necessary. Having done so, you must answer the question as directly as possible.
Q. How strict are the age eligibility criteria?
A. Only students whose nineteenth birthday falls after 30 June 2024 will be eligible for a prize or a commendation. In the case of the Junior category, only students whose fifteenth birthday falls after 30 June 2024 will be eligible for a prize or a commendation.
Q. May I submit more than one essay?
A. Yes, you may submit as many essays as you please in any or all categories.
Q. If I am eligible to compete in the Junior category, may I also (or instead) compete in another category?
A. Yes, you may.
Q. May I team up with someone else to write an essay?
A. No. Each submitted essay must be entirely the work of a single individual.
Q. May I use AI, such as ChatGPT or the like, in writing my essay?
A. All essays will be checked for the use of AI. If we find that any content is generated by AI, your essay will be disqualified. We will also ask you, upon submission of your essay, whether you used AI for any purpose related to the writing of your essay, and if so, you will be required to provide details. In that case, if, in our judgement, you have not provided full and accurate details of your use of AI, your essay will be disqualified.
Since any use of AI (that does not result in disqualification) can only negatively affect our assessment of your work relative to that of work that is done without using AI, your safest course of action is simply not to use it at all. If, however, you choose to use it for any purpose, we reserve the right to make relevant judgements on a case-by-case basis and we will not enter into any correspondence.
Q. May I have someone else edit, or otherwise help me with, my essay?
A. You may of course discuss your essay with others, and it is perfectly acceptable for them to offer general advice and point out errors or weaknesses in your writing or content, leaving you to address them.
However, no part of your essay may be written by anyone else. This means that you must edit your own work and that while a proofreader may point out errors, you as the essayist must be the one to correct them.
Q. Do I have to attend the awards ceremony to win a prize?
A. Nobody is required to attend the prize ceremony. You can win a prize without travelling to London. But if we invite you to London it is because your essay was good enough - in the opinion of the First Round judges - to be at least a contender for First, Second or Third Prize. Normally the Second Round judges will agree that the short-listed essays are worth at least a commendation.
Q. Is there an entry fee?
A. No. There is no charge to enter our global essay competition unless you submit your essay after the normal deadline, in which case there is a fee of 20.00 USD .
Q. Can I receive a certificate for my participation in your essay competition if I wasn't shortlisted?
A. No. Certificates are awarded only for shortlisted essays. Short-listed contestants who attend the award ceremony in London will receive a paper certificate. If you cannot travel to London, you will be able to download your eCertificate.
Q. Can I receive feedba ck on my essay?
A. We would love to be able to give individual feedback on essays but, unfortunately, we receive too many entries to be able to comment on particular essays.
Q. The deadline for publishing the names of short-listed essayists has passed but I did not receive an email to tell me whether I was short-listed.
A. Log into your account and check "Shortlist Status" for (each of) your essay(s).
Q. Why isn't the awards ceremony in Oxford this year?
A. Last year, many shortlisted finalists who applied to join our invitation-only academic conference missed the opportunity because of capacity constraints at Oxford's largest venues. This year, the conference will be held in central London and the gala awards dinner will take place in an iconic London ballroom.
TECHNICAL FAQ s
Q. The system will not accept my essay. I have checked the filename and it has the correct format. What should I do?
A. You have almost certainly added a space before or after one of your names in your profile. Edit it accordingly and try to submit again.
Q. The profile page shows my birth date to be wrong by a day, even after I edit it. What should I do?
A. Ignore it. The date that you typed has been correctly input to our database.
Q. How can I be sure that my registration for the essay competition was successful? Will I receive a confirmation email?
A. You will not receive a confirmation email. Rather, you can at any time log in to the account that you created and see that your registration details are present and correct.
TROUBLESHOOTING YOUR SUBMISSION
If you are unable to submit your essay to the John Locke Institute’s global essay competition, your problem is almost certainly one of the following.
If so, please proceed as indicated.
1) PROBLEM: I receive the ‘registrations are now closed’ message when I enter my email and verification code. SOLUTION. You did not register for the essay competition and create your account. If you think you did, you probably only provided us with your email to receive updates from us about the competition or otherwise. You may not enter the competition this year.
2) PROBLEM I do not receive a login code after I enter my email to enter my account. SOLUTION. Enter your email address again, checking that you do so correctly. If this fails, restart your browser using an incognito window; clear your cache, and try again. Wait for a few minutes for the code. If this still fails, restart your machine and try one more time. If this still fails, send an email to [email protected] with “No verification code – [your name]” in the subject line.
SUBMITTING AN ESSAY
3) PROBLEM: The filename of my essay is in the correct format but it is rejected. SOLUTION: Use “Edit Profile” to check that you did not add a space before or after either of your names. If you did, delete it. Whether you did or did not, try again to submit your essay. If submission fails again, email [email protected] with “Filename format – [your name]” in the subject line.
4) PROBLEM: When trying to view my submitted essay, a .txt file is downloaded – not the .pdf file that I submitted. SOLUTION: Delete the essay. Logout of your account; log back in, and resubmit. If resubmission fails, email [email protected] with “File extension problem – [your name]” in the subject line.
5) PROBLEM: When I try to submit, the submission form just reloads without giving me an error message. SOLUTION. Log out of your account. Open a new browser; clear the cache; log back in, and resubmit. If resubmission fails, email [email protected] with “Submission form problem – [your name]” in the subject line.
6) PROBLEM: I receive an “Unexpected Error” when trying to submit. SOLUTION. Logout of your account; log back in, and resubmit. If this resubmission fails, email [email protected] with “Unexpected error – [your name]” in thesubject line. Your email must tell us e xactly where in the submission process you received this error.
7) PROBLEM: I have a problem with submitting and it is not addressed above on this list. SOLUTION: Restart your machine. Clear your browser’s cache. Try to submit again. If this fails, email [email protected] with “Unlisted problem – [your name]” in the subject line. Your email must tell us exactly the nature of your problem with relevant screen caps.
READ THIS BEFORE YOU EMAIL US.
Do not email us before you have tried the specified solutions to your problem.
Do not email us more than once about a single problem. We will respond to your email within 72 hours. Only if you have not heard from us in that time may you contact us again to ask for an update.
If you email us regarding a problem, you must include relevant screen-shots and information on both your operating system and your browser. You must also declare that you have tried the solutions presented above and had a good connection to the internet when you did so.
If you have tried the relevant solution to your problem outlined above, have emailed us, and are still unable to submit before the 30 June deadline on account of any fault of the John Locke Institute or our systems, please do not worry: we will have a way to accept your essay in that case. However, if there is no fault on our side, we will not accept your essay if it is not submitted on time – whatever your reason: we will not make exceptions for IT issues for which we are not responsible.
We reserve the right to disqualify the entries of essayists who do not follow all provided instructions, including those concerning technical matters.
IMAGES
VIDEO