Announcement of winners and honorable mentions of 5th annual Essay Contest

GYAN and MSU’s Center for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies (CERES) are happy to announce that the Global Voices 2023 Essay Contest has received nearly 100 essays from youth across 12 countries: Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Kosovo, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Romania, Russia, and Ukraine. 

Contestants submitted their inspirational stories of "RESILIENCE: the ability to withstand pressure or adversity and overcome difficulties" with a focus on one of the following sub-themes: War & Conflict, Forging New Pathways, Agents of Change, Resilient Learning, or a topic of their choosing.

A panel of nine judges (from GYAN, CERES, the Asia Hub, the Alliance for African Partnership, the Canadian Studies Center, the Broad College of Business, and the College of Arts & Letters) determined the top three essays, and their authors were awarded the following prizes:

• 1st Place: 500 USD
• 2nd Place: 200 USD
• 3rd Place: 100 USD

Additionally, nine essays were selected as honorable mentions to be featured on GYAN's website alongside the winners. The total of 12 essays listed below are a mere sample of all of the powerful stories and perspectives on resilience that we had the opportunity to witness through this essay contest.

Congratulations to the winners and honorable mention recipients! We also wish to extend sincere thanks to each and every person who participated in this contest or helped share the opportunity within their networks, and a special thanks to our judges as well.

Meet the Authors!

GYAN will coordinate an opportunity to get to know the authors listed below virtually this fall. More information will be forthcoming, so please stay tuned for updates on this page, our social media channels, and our e-newsletter.

Contest Winners

Honorable Mentions

In addition to our three winners, the following contestants (ordered by alphabetical order) have received an honorable mention: