Competition Guidelines

Entry to the competition is open to students from any country. Participants must be between the ages of 14 to 20 as of 2024. Entry is free. Participants may submit entries to one or more of the different topics, but are only permitted one submission per topic. 

Essays submitted must be your original work. The use of any form of generative artificial intelligence, including but not limited to ChatGPT, is strictly prohibited. Entries found to have AI generated content will be disqualified. Your essay must also be fully original, containing work written only by yourself. You may seek advice from mentors, but edits must be made personally. Entries found to have been written by third parties on behalf of a participant will be disqualified. We will not enter into any correspondence regarding any such appeals. 

All queries regarding the essay competition should be directed to [email protected] 

Prizes 

Up to $10000 (SGD) in prizes will be awarded. In addition, the top 5% of entries across all topics will receive a certificate of distinction in recognition of their excellence. The top 10% of entries across all topics will receive a certificate of merit in recognition of their efforts.

The judging panel reserves the right to not select a winner from the entries submitted for any of the Awards categories of this competition. The judging panel’s decision is final, and no correspondence will be entered into regarding decisions or processes. We are unable to guarantee individual feedback on essays. 

Award Ceremony 

Shortlisted winners will be invited to a prize presentation ceremony held in Singapore, in which prize winners will have the opportunity to meet some of the judges and Closing Ceremony speakers. All candidates will receive Certificates of Participation via email by 31 August 2024.