“Premature ideas do not exist,
one must bide one’s time until the right moment comes along.”
Jean Monnet

Contest rationale

Because the ideas are the ones that constantly shape the world around us and because the European project is one in the process of crystallization, to which each of us takes part, we are delighted to invite you to a constructive dialogue of ideas to share your thoughts, opinions or wishes about the realities that characterize the European Union or the prospects it has in the near and distant future.

We hope that our initiative will be a right moment to strengthen our mutual understanding and the human values that underpin the European construction and that can guide our steps and actions towards a better future.

Therefore, we would be glad if you will join us and participate in the Essay Contest, dedicated to all those who believe in the power of word.

The competition is part of the set of events included in the ENACTED project - European Union and its neighbourhood. Network for enhancing EU's actorness in the eastern borderlands (2017-2625), co-funded by the European Union.

Terms of participation

General

• Students enrolled in undergraduate and master university cycles may participate in the competition;
• The competition takes place in two stages: national and international. The national phase implies the registration of the papers, their evaluation and selection and their oral presentation in a public competition, to which both the participants and their colleagues or friends, as well as the entire interested public, are invited. The first three papers awarded at the national stage will be considered for the international phase, along with the first awarded essays from each participating country (Romania, Republic of Moldova, Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, Hungary). Therefore, in the case of winning the national phase, participants must be willing to translate their essays into English. In the international stage, in person presentation of the works is no longer necessary, the essays being evaluated by an international commission composed of representatives of the network’s partners.
• Deadline: April 10th, 2020
• Written and accepted papers will be presented in person at Neighbours’ Day, held on May 6th, 2020 (we will keep you informed)
• Presentations will take about 5-10 minutes and will include the main ideas presented in the essays. Presentations should not be accompanied by graphic support, Powerpoint slides etc .;

Conditions:

• Essays can have one single author and must be written in Romanian or English;
• The papers should contain up to 2000 words and should take the form of an argumentative essay.
• Editing requirements: see template.
• The papers will be sent in PDF format This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
   Before sending, the document shall be saved with the name "essay_name_firstname" (ex. essay_crudu_rodica)

Content:

• Papers must be original and written in a style appropriate to academic writing;
• Content must be clear and logical;
• In order to support the ideas proposed by the essay, different points of view will be considered, including both arguments and counter-arguments, in order to outline a pertinent point of view.

To make the best argumentative essays, we recommend going through the Harvard University Academic Writing Guide available at https://writingcenter.fas.harvard.edu/pages/strategies-essay-writing.

We are looking forward to your essays related to:

• current important topics related to the European Union;
• what kind of Europe young people want, and what are the opportunities and constraints offered by today's European space;
• what kind of challenges arise in the context of the new economic and social realities in the EU;
• how the young people are regarded or included in the current European integration model;
• other interest subjects related to European Studies.

Awards

Each of the selected participants will be given a Certificate of Participation. The winners of the local phase will receive Diplomas and will be able to participate in the international phase with the essays translated into English. The first five papers awarded at the international stage will receive Special Prizes (1st Prize: 350 EUR, 2nd Prize: 250 EUR, 3rd Prize: 200 EUR, Mention 1 and 2: 100 EUR)

Deadlines

- April 10th -  submission of the paper;
- May 6th -  presentation in person of the paper in Neighbours’ day;
- The winners of the local phase will be subsequently notified of the following deadlines necessary for translating the essays for the international phase and for their evaluation.

Evaluation criteria

• Conditions of form (observance of the editing terms, general appearance of the paper) 1 p.
• Paper’s clarity and logic coherence of 3p.
• The quality of argumentation. 3p
• Originality 3p.
• Fluency and attractiveness of presentation (for national phase only). 2p

We are looking forward to your participation at our events!