2024 ESSAY CONTESTS

$4000, $2000, AND $1000 PRIZES

The Kemper Human Rights Education Foundation (khref.org) is offering prizes of $4000, $2000, and $1000 to high school students judged to have written the best answers to the question below.  There are two contests and two sets of prizes: one for high school students in the U.S. and one for high school students who are citizens and residents of other countries.

QUESTION

Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights stipulates: Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.  Yet António Gueterres, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, has identified hate speech as a formidable threat to human rights.   Do you agree and if so, how do you think governments should deal with that threat?  If you disagree explain the reason you disagree.

CRITERIA

Essays will be judged according to how clearly and well they answer the question posed and the extent to which they are supported by research.  They are due on or before December 10, 2024 (Human Rights Day) and should: 1. Be written in English. 2. Be 2500 words or less (not including the footnotes and bibliography) in length.  3.  Be submitted as a Microsoft Word attachment to: kemperhumanrights@gmail.com or by regular mail to: KHREF, 184 Fillow Street, Norwalk, CT 06850, USA.  4. Via footnotes and a bibliography indicate the names, titles, year of publication, and page numbers for all references on which it is based. 5. Include a cover page with:  i. the title, ii. author’s name and grade level, iii. name and address of author’s high school, iv.  name of a teacher at the high school, v. the following statement signed by the teacher: “I [teacher’s name], a teacher of [subject] at [name of the essay author’s school] am aware of [author’s name] participation in the KHREF essay contest and to the best of my knowledge the essay [s/he] submitted represents [her/his] independent work, vi. the following statement signed by the essay’s author:   My essay is based on the research cited in its footnotes and bibliography and represents my own thoughts on the subject and prior to receiving a prize I agree to participate in a Zoom interview with members of KHREF’s board regarding my essay and, vii. the following statement signed by the essay’s author and essay author’s parent or guardian: “I give the Kemper Human Rights Education Foundation permission to publish this essay.”

AWARDS

Winners will be announced, and awards presented by the end of January 2025.