Teenagers are future leaders in various fields such as diplomats, researchers, educators, entrepreneurs, engineers, pop stars, sociologists, chefs, etc. It is crucial for them to contemplate and explore how they can respond to the climate crisis through their future careers and contribute to sustainable development by applying ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) principles.

Therefore, this year's Global Youth Environment Essay Competition has chosen the essay topic 'ESG Leadership: tackling the climate crisis through my dream career.' By writing down specific plans and thoughts on how to fulfill social responsibilities aligned with ESG principles, participants worldwide can explore how their future careers can make a positive impact and contribute innovative solutions to the climate crisis.

We are excited to welcome tomorrow's leaders from around the world who are passionate about addressing the climate crisis.

 

You, a teenager and a future leader, can make meaningful contributions by your writing.

 

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○ Hosted and Organized by : Education Association for Software Empowerment (EASE)

○ Operated by : HOBY Korea 

○Supported by : Korea’s Ministry of Education, Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT, Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Korea’s Ministry of Environment,  Korea’s Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, Seoul Metropolitan Government, Gyeonggi-do Provincial Government, Busan Metropolitan City Government, Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, Gyeonggi-do Office of Education, Busan Metropolitan Office of Education, Incheon Metropolitan City Office of Education, Sejong City Office of Education, Jeju Special Self-Governing Provincial Office of Education, Jeollanamdo Office of Education, Seoul Metropolitan Council, Gyeonggido Assembly, Gyeonggi-do Paju Office of Education, Korea Environmental Corporation, Korea Forest Service, HOBY Youth Leadership Foundation (HOBY), Green Environmental Practice Headquarters

○ Entry fee : No entry fee 

○ Eligibilities : Middle and high school students from any country
     -  Grades between 7th and 12th in the U.S. education system or equivalent (e.g., homeschooling) on June 3, 2024

○ Deadline :  June 3, 2024 (KST)

○ Announcement of Winners : July 8, 2024 (KST)

○ Awards Ceremony : August 10, 2024 (KST) in Seoul and ZOOM

○ Essay Topic : ESG Leadership: tackling the climate crisis through my dream career

○ Languages :  English or Korean (Choose one language.)

○ Word limit :  1,300 words or less in English, or 800 words or less in Korean excluding title, references * Using footnotes is not allowed.

○ Awards :  

Award(s) by	Number of Awardee(s)
The Minister of Education of Republic of Korea	1
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Republic of Korea	1
The Minister of Environment of Republic of Korea	1
Mayor of Seoul	1
Governor of Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea	1
California State Senator (only awarded to two middle or high school students who reside in the senator’s district)	2
California State Senator (only awarded to two middle or high school students who reside in the senator’s district)	2
Alabama State Senator (only awarded to two middle or high school students who reside in the senator’s district)	2
California State Assemblymember (only awarded to two middle or high school students who reside in the Assemblymember’s district)	2
Massachusetts State Representative  (only awarded to two middle or high school students who reside in the representative’s district)	2
Iowa State Representative  (only awarded to two middle or high school students who reside in the representative’s district)	2
Illinois Secretary of State	2
Boston City Council President	2
Boston City Councilmember	2
Boston City Councilmember	2
HOBY Foundation	1
Foreign Embassies in the Republic of Korea	3
Superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education  (only awarded to one middle school student who reside in Seoul)	1
Superintendent of Gyeonggi-do Office of Education	4
Superintendent of the Busan Metropolitan City Office of Education	2
Superintendent of the Incheon Metropolitan City Office of Education	2
Superintendent of Jeju Special Self-Governing Provincial Office of Education  (only awarded to two middle or high school student who reside in Jeju Island)	2
Superintendent of the Sejong City Office of Education  (only awarded to one middle or high school student who reside in Sejong City)	1
Superintendent of Jeollanamdo Office of Education (only awarded to one middle or high school student who reside in Jeollanamdo)	1
Seoul Metropolitan Council Chairman	2
Gyeonggi-do Assembly Chairman	2
Head of Gyeonggido Paju Office of Education	4
CEO of Korea Environment Corporation	2
President of Korean Educational Association for Empowerment of Software	5
HOBY Korea	5
President of Green Youth Environmental Practice Headquarters	5

     * Certificate of Participation (electronic) is issued to each participant.

 

○ Judging Process and Criteria :  
1st Round: If any of the following applies, essays are not disqualified for reviewing. 
Ineligible Participants:
- Elementary school students, high school graduates, college students, students taking a gap year, and adults are not eligible to apply.
- Essay submission made after the competition deadline (June 3, 11:59 p.m. KST) are not accepted. 

Plagiarism: 
 - Using information, materials, or data from others without referencing or indicating AI usage
 - Plagiarism detected by the turnitin program with a similarity rate of over 15%
 - Use of AI for purposes other than simple grammar an spelling checks or information searches

Length:
- Essays with less than 50% of the specified word count or exceeding 10% of the specified word count (excluding title and references) 

Essay submission file:
- File Format: Only Microsoft Word (.docx) files are accepted. PDFs, Pages documents, HWP files, etc. will not be reviewed.
- Submission File: Use the official essay submission form provided below to submit your essay. Entries using self-made forms will not be considered. Modifying the official essay submission form will be also excluded from reviewing.
- Font Compatibility: Use a standard font to avoid any readability issues. Essays with font issues will be not considered for reviewing.
- File Uploading: Ensure your uploaded file can be downloaded successfully through the online application. Essays that cannot be downloaded will be excluded from reviewing.
- Correct File: Please double-check that you upload the intended essay file. Uploading the wrong file will result in disqualification.
- Submission Method: Essays must be submitted through the competition's online application only. Submissions via email or other methods will not be reviewed.

2nd Round: Essays that passed the 1st round will be evaluated based on the following criteria.
- Writing Quality: Essays with excessive errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation, or sentence structure (Essays with exceeding 30% of the content wiil be disqualified.)
- Topic Relevance: How closely the content aligns with this yea’s essay topic
- Essays that primarily paraphrase existing materials without demonstrating the applicant's own thoughts and analysis

3rd Round: Essays that passed the 2nd round will be evaluated based on the following criteria, without distinction between Korean and English essays, and the top 150 essays will be selected in descending order of highest scores.

Creativity/Originality	Logical organization	Expression (vocabulary, tone, style, etc.)	Total
30	45	25	100

Final Round: The final 150 essays will be evaluated by judges according to the following criteria. The scores of each judge will be added, averaged, and then awarded in descending order of highest scores.

Creativity	Knowledge and understanding on ESG and climate crisis	Quality of Reasoning	Total
15	30	55	100

Some awards may have geographic restrictions and can only be given to students residing within the specific districts of the awarding organizations. Essays submitted by applicants residing in these districts will be given priority during the final selection process.

 

○ Judges :  8 judges, including current professor at an Ivy League university, professors in Korea, international school teachers, and NGO officials

 

※ Submitted essays are checked for plagiarism using a tool called Turnitin, which identifies content similarity. 
※ AI usage check also applies to essays written with the assistance of AI tools like ChatGPT.

 

○ How to Apply : Submit your essay using the form by June 3, 2024 (KST). 

    

   [Download Essay Submission Form - MS Word version] 

 

○ Notes :      

• Once submitted, essays cannot be modified. Please review carefully before submitting. (If you need to make changes, please resubmit a new application.)
• Applicants are solely responsible for any issues arising from incorrect or inconsistent personal information (name, date of birth, school name) provided in the online application form or essay submission form.
• Applications will not be accepted via email or any other methods than the official online application.
• Submitted essays will not be returned.
• Essays must be written solely by the individual applicant. (Team participation is not allowed.)
• To avoid the rush of applications near the deadline, please submit your application 2-3 days before the closing date.

 

○ Inquiry : admin@emposw.org  | hobyk@hobykorea.com