Timeline 2011
August 1, 2011: Launch of the Essay Contest
October 15, 2011: Deadline for submissions
Week of December 5, 2011: Finalists announced
January 5 – 6, 2012: Final Jury in Washington, DC
January 6, 2012: Award Ceremony during the Symposium on Morocco and the Morocco-Western Sahara (SMWS) in Washington, DC
Jury
The Essay Contest is designed and implemented by the American Task Force on the Western Sahara in partnership with outstanding academic institutions who form the Selection Committee
The role of the Selection Committee is to determine the topic and format of the contest and to ensure a fair and transparent process of selecting winners.
Selection Criteria
Essays will be assessed for their structure, coherence, creativity, level of documentation, and relevance to the topic. We realize that English might be a foreign language to some participants, and so language mistakes will not penalized, as long as the content is comprehensible. Selection process: the Jury will complete their selections of 8 finalists by the week of December 5. Submissions will be blind-reviewed
Essay finalists will be invited to present their essays to a panel of experts during the Final Jury. The winner(s) will present their work to the participants of SMWS 2012 in Washington, DC.
Topic
The issue of the Western Sahara requires more careful examination, and ATFWS is dedicated to promoting more awareness towards the issue. The ATFWS Essay Contest gives you the chance to express your views on the issue of the Moroccan/Western Sahara, whether the Moroccan Autonomy Plan is a viable solution, and what the ramifications of the conflict’s resolution would be. Make sure your essay has a clear and concise thesis statement.
Here are some guiding questions to address:
1) Would the resolution of the Western Sahara conflict make a difference in the North Africa and Middle East region?
2) Discuss the Moroccan Autonomy Plan. How will it help solve the dispute?
3) In what ways would the conflict matter for the United States, the African Union, the European Union, or NATO?
In writing this essay, we encourage you to draw on historical fact, documentation, and personal experience and emphasize your own solutions for a fair and lasting resolution of the conflict.
Who can participate?
The ATFWS Essay Contest is open to all students, as well as non-students from all countries of the world
Length: Essays may not be longer than 3500 words. Essays are accepted in .pdf and .doc formats only.
Abstract Summary: An Abstract Summary of not more than 300 words is required; the jury will use the summary to make a pre-selection.
How do you submit?
The submission process for the Essay Contest is internet-based.
Please fill in a submission form to admin@atfws.org with your essay attached
Cash Prizes: First Place $500 – Second Place $300 – Third Place $200
Rules
- Submissions will be accepted until October 15, 2011.
- The Essay Contest is open for nationals of all countries of the world, students and non-students alike.
- Essays may not be longer than 4000 words.
- Essays can only be in English and submitted online. Essays are submitted to the Essay Contest website of the ATFWS website. Each participant must fill in a submission form with the essay
- Throughout the essay, quotes and references must be clearly marked and properly cited.
- All essays must be original. No previously published material will be accepted. Any plagiarism will result in automatic disqualification.
- Essays are accepted in .doc and .pdf format only.
- ATFWS reserves the right to publish and/or make available to the public all winning submissions.
- The decision of the Jury is final and not subject to any appeal.
- Active and paid staff (between the time of the essay submission and the Final Jury in December 2011) of the 2011 Essay Contest are not eligible to participate.
- It is preferred that all work be submitted individually, but a pair collaboration will be accepted.
- One participant may submit only one work per category.
- All submissions must be made online through the Essay Contest page on the ATFWS website.
Submissions can be made in English only.
Please direct any questions you may have about the ATFWS Essay Contest to admin@atfws.org
Contact Information:
For inquiries: admin@atfws.org
For submissions: admin@atfws.org
Website: http://www.atfws.org/
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