The Goldman Sachs Foundation and Asia Society award high school students who demonstrate an in-depth understanding of key issues in international affairs and the global economy.
Please read all the information below for NEW contest information and guidelines for 2008!
 Download and print the flyer here.
2008 Questions - Essay and Multimedia Categories
Contest Question – Essay Category
Essay entries must address the following topic in 1,500 words or less:
Identify a social or economic issue that is relevant to both your local community as well as to a community outside of the United States. Develop an essay that includes ALL of the following:
- The problem or challenge and how it affects both your community and the community outside of the US in similar and/or different ways.
- An analysis of the different approaches both communities have created to address this challenge.
- Your own recommendations for what lessons the two communities can learn from each other to solve this problem or challenge. Address how taking a global perspective on these issues can strengthen long-term solutions.
- A summary of your position and why you think it is important for each community to learn from the other to address these issues.
Be sure to support your assertions with evidence that you have identified through research. Cite all sources as they are used in the essay, as well as in a complete bibliography of works cited and consulted. |
Contest Question – Multimedia Category
Multimedia entries must address the following question in 6 minutes or less:
Identify a global problem or challenge and create an in-depth video or animation feature that includes ALL of the following:
- The problem or challenge and how it affects your life as an individual, as a member of your local community and/or as a global citizen.
- An examination of the problem in an international context, preferably by exploring how the problem also affects individuals and communities in another country
Be sure to support your assertions with evidence that you have identified through research. Cite all sources as they are used in the multimedia piece, as well as in a complete bibliography of works cited and consulted. You may only include video clips, images, or music that you have created or obtained permission to use, and they must be properly credited as well.
Please Note: Multimedia entries can be video or animation, but PowerPoint or audio entries are not allowed. |
Awards
Up to five winners, selected from all essay and multimedia entries, will be awarded a scholarship prize of up to $10,000 each. Winners will receive an all-expenses paid trip to New York City in November 2008 to receive their award.
2007 Winners
2006 Winners
Deadline
Thursday, June 12, 2008 by 6:00pm your local time.
Eligibility
To be eligible to win, you must:
- Be actively enrolled in a high school or equivalent in the United States, an exchange student enrolled at a high school in the United States, or a United States citizen enrolled at an American international school as of the end of the 2007-2008 school year.
- Submit a single entry (essay or multimedia) per person answering one of the above questions by 6:00pm your local time on Thursday, June 12, 2008.
- Submit original work that was created and completed solely by you, with proper credit for words and ideas that are not your own.
- Not submit work that has been previously recognized in another national competition.
- Agree that my submission becomes the property of Asia Society and I must obtain written permission for its replication or distribution other than for personal use.
- Agree to the promotional use of your name, likeness, and contest entry by Asia Society, including the publishing of my entry on Asia Society websites.
- Not be the family member of a Goldman Sachs employee, Asia Society employee, or jury member; or a student in a school in Asia Society's International Studies Schools Network.
- Note: Asia Society and The Goldman Sachs Foundation reserve the right to modify the award distribution and amounts at any time.
Guidelines and Helpful Hints
BEFORE you submit your entry, use this checklist to make sure that your entry does all of the following:
☐ Answers the question, including ALL parts outlined above.
☐ Does not exceed 1,500 words for written entries or 6 minutes for video or animation entries. We welcome entries shorter than the length limit, as long as you adequately answer the question.
☐ Does NOT include your full name or the name of your high school in your essay or multimedia entry (in order to ensure anonymity when judging and privacy if winning entries are publicized). You will enter that information in our online application form.
☐ Has a specific point of view that is explained clearly and supported by evidence. Therefore, entries should not rely only on the author’s individual experience without documented research, nor rely only on documented research without offering original ideas.
☐ Presents your ideas in a way that is engaging and educational to youth around the world. Your entry should assume readers/viewers have no prior knowledge of this topic – YOU need to inform them!
☐ Organizes ideas and supporting evidence in a logical order, using only current facts that are relevant to the argument.
☐ Includes proper credit for words and ideas that are not your own. All entries must submit a bibliography of sources you cited or consulted for your entry. For guidelines on proper citation, consult the Modern Language Association (MLA) Handbook or the Chicago Manual of Style.
☐ Does not violate any copyright laws. Only use video clips, images, and audio that you have created or that you have received written permission to use. You must receive written permission from each identifiable person you feature in your video.
☐ Does not include spelling, grammatical, or factual errors, or errors in logic (malaria is a tropical disease and highly unlikely to infest a northern California town no matter its sanitation practices!).
☐ Makes “like to like” comparisons (for example, compares one town to another town rather than a town to a country or whole continent).
☐ Does not make generalizations or biased, stereotypical, or racist statements, recognizing that all cultures and communities have unique perspectives that are valid.
☐ Includes a strong conclusion that not only restates your position but also gives a sense of the further implications or importance of this topic. You want to leave the reader/viewer with a strong reason to care about this topic.
Submitting Your Entry
- Registration on our online system is coming soon! By signing up with your email address, you will have access to our online application system and will join our Youth Prize email list for regular updates on contest information as well as deadline reminders. (Please note that personal contact information collected as part of your registration will be used for purposes of The Goldman Sachs Foundation Prizes only. No information will be shared without the prior consent of the applicant.)
- Essay entries may be uploaded to our online application system in the following formats: .doc, .txt, .rtf, or .pdf.
- Multimedia entries can be video or animation, but PowerPoint or audio entries are not allowed. If your multimedia entry is selected as a finalist, you must mail in a high-resolution version on DVD along with all necessary signed permissions. To submit a video or animation entry:
- Go to http://videos.google.com. Sign-in or register for an account.
- Upload video according to instructions. We recommend that you check “Unlist” before submitting so your video will not display on the public Google Video site (and receive comments that the prize jury will be able to see!).
- Please be sure to read, comply with, and accept Google's terms and conditions.
- If you have any technical problems, please consult Google’s help feature.
- When your video has successfully uploaded online, and you are able to play the video, cut and past the URL of that video page into your online application.
- Please keep a copy of your original work at its full file size (before compressing). If your multimedia entry is selected as a finalist, Asia Society will contact you to obtain a high-resolution version of your video on disk, along with all necessary release forms.
Judging
Our judges will rate your entry on how well your submission answers the following questions:
- Is the problem important and compelling?
- Does the submission tell the story in a unique and engaging way?
- Does it analyze the issue within a global context by looking in depth at another community abroad?
- Does it consider different perspectives from both communities?
- Are the recommendations specific and relevant?
- Is it well written and/or presented?
- Are ideas communicated clearly?
- Are the ideas backed by supporting evidence from a variety of sources?
- Does it support the idea with original research (for example, firsthand interviews with people from the local community or the community abroad who are qualified to speak on this issue)?
- Are others' words and ideas properly credited?
The jury members for the 2007 Youth Prize include:
- Ralph Begleiter, Former CNN World Affairs Correspondent, Rosenberg Professor of Communication, Distinguished Journalist in Residence, University of Delaware
- Ambassador Stephen W. Bosworth, Dean, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy
- Gaston Caperton, Governor of West Virginia (1989-1997), President, The College Board
- Congressman Michael N. Castle, U.S. Representative, Delaware
- Milton Chen, Executive Director, The George Lucas Educational Foundation
- Henry Cornell, Managing Director, Goldman, Sachs and Co., Asia Society Trustee
- Charlotte Frank, Senior Vice President, McGraw-Hill Education
- Antonia Hernández, President and CEO, California Community Foundation
- James B. Hunt, Jr., Governor of North Carolina (1977-1985, 1993-2001), Co-Chair, National Coalition on Asia and International Studies in the Schools, Asia Society Trustee
- Helene L. Kaplan, Senior Counsel, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
- Charles E. M. Kolb, President, Committee on Economic Development
- Kurt Landgraf, President, Educational Testing Service
- Lisa Ling, Host, Explorer on National Geographic Channel
- SuChin Pak, Correspondent, MTV News
- Ambassador Thomas R. Pickering, Senior Vice President, International Relations, The Boeing Company
- Richard Riley, Former US Secretary of Education
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