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The Head Foundation “Imagine the future of Asia” Essay Competition 2016
15 July, 2016 @ 8:00 am - 31 August, 2016 @ 5:00 pm
The HEAD Foundation is proud to present its inaugural essay competition – “Imagine the Future of Asia”. This crowdsourcing ideation exercise aims to draw from ASEAN youths, original ideas for potential research topics and other projects at the Foundation. It aims to look for fresh, innovative ideas centred around the theme of Human Capital and Education for Asian Development.
For developing countries in Asia, one of the strongest and clearest strategies to move up the next rung of the social and economic ladder is focused investment in its people. Be it from ASEAN countries caught in the middle-income trap or to emerging countries, such as India and China, establishing effective processes for quality human capital development is key. However, as ASEAN is broad and diverse, there is no singular, straightforward strategy. Coupled with the presence of intricate social, economic, political, cultural and psychological nuances, there are both challenges and opportunities for governments and stakeholders alike to shape a path that will meet the needs of a sustainable future.
Crucial to this conversation are the voices of youth. In addition to the presentation of fresh perspectives and ideas, a country’s youth are the bastion of future change-makers and are stakeholders in the nation. Although they are not experts in research or policymaking, the youth are an important constituent that will be able to contribute because they are the receivers of human capital and education policymaking. While the mission of Human Capital and Education for Asian Development is the thematic background of this competition and the Foundation, we are also keenly aware that it is the youth who will eventually feel the impact of our work. Therefore, we believe that listening to the youth is necessary and should be a key influencer in our research and advocacy plans for the region.
Prizes
Participants stand a chance to win the following prizes:
- 1st Prize US $1200
- 2nd Prize US $1000
- 3rd Prize US $800
- 6 Commendation Prizes of US $400 each
Details of the Competition
Essays should be original, well-researched, informed and they should provide new perspectives as far as possible. Further, they should be written in a style that is accessible to a general audience. Guiding sub themes for the essay include human capital, education (especially education quality and relevance), leadership, sustainable development or a broad mix of the various sub themes.
Essays can address any 1 out of 4 questions listed below:
1 How do you envision changes needed in education in your country over the next 2 decades?
2 How can education be reshaped to improve human capital development for your country’s socio-economic future?
3 What is a key concern that your generation faces? How would you like your idea to be implemented?
4 How can your country balance the needs of both economic competition and sustainable development?
Essays are to be submitted in English and are limited to 1000-1500 words each. Each essay must be accompanied by a 150-word abstract or summary distilling the main idea. The competition will be open from 15 July to 31 August 2016 with winning entries announced at the end of the year.
Essays will be judged according to 1) Quality of Response, 2) Relevance of Response and the 3) Essay Content and Structure.
Source: : http://www.headfoundation.org/media/media_details/1065.
