Youth prize winners with Uma Thurman in New York

Prompted by quotes from Mahatma Gandhi and Thomas Friedman, students created audio or video documentaries or wrote essays on topics as various as the genocide in Darfur, nuclear weapons in Iran and North Korea, international uses of technology, poverty alleviation, HIV/AIDS, and intellectual property rights. The students’ submissions focused on issues of importance to people around the world, offering thoughtful and varying solutions to some of the worlds most vexing problems. 

 

Elyse from Excelsior, MN
Grand Prize Winner ($7,500)

Elyse's winning entry was a video documentary on the issue of access to fresh water and its conservation worldwide. In her acceptance speech at the Asia Society Annual Gala Dinner in New York on December 6, Elyse said, "I feel lucky to live near the largest fresh water lake in the world, Lake Superior. Unfortunately, most of the world's people do not have easy access to fresh water. Water conservation is one of the most significant international issues today. I recommend that world leaders cooperate to create international governing agreements to oversee fresh water conservation."

 

Cory from Gaithersburg, MD
Prize Winner ($5,000)

Cory's winning essay focuses on the potential of low-cost laptops to improve access to education and employment for students worldwide. Cory wrote, "While many world leaders strive to achieve quick results, there are no shortcuts; they need to first support the next generation of children by investing in... advancements in technology."

 

 

Grace from Pepper Pike, OH
Prize Winner ($5,000)

Grace's winning essay outlines policy recommendations for the US Senate Appropriations Committee for the United States to take an active role in the fight against malaria. As Grace wrote, "When a nation has the oppotunity and ability to solve one of the world's great problems, it has the duty to do so."