The Global Debate and Public Policy Challenge – New Round

Deadline: 16 April 2012
Open to:   Undergraduate students of any age
Prizes: A trip to Budapest, Hungary for the Global Debate and Public Policy Forum at Central European University from 15-16 June 2012

Description

We want to let you know that there is a new way for you to still participate in this exciting Challenge, win a free trip to Budapest and one of several scholarship and stipend awards available. We hope you’ll accept the Challenge!
GDPPC is a new annual competition designed to engage undergraduates in on-going public debate and reflection on issues affecting the global community. This year’s theme explores the relationship between security and human rights. The Challenge offers undergraduates across disciplines and continents an opportunity to explore issues of global importance from different points of view. We hope to attract as wide a range of students into this competition as possible and you still have a very good chance to win. If you are an undergraduate student of any age, you are eligible for this Challenge!
While many students who registered last year have participated in the first two rounds of the competition, we have established a new category of entry for students like you who would like to participate in this third and final round but haven’t been involved yet.
If you participate in this new category by submitting a policy brief, you will become eligible to win a trip to Budapest, Hungary for the Global Debate and Public Policy Forum at Central European University from 15-16 June 2012 and for the pre-Forum activities reserved exclusively for up to 50 finalists from 12-14 June 2012.
Up to 50 finalists will be selected to go to Budapest with the cost of travel and accommodation paid by IDEA . During the pre-Forum activities, the finalists will attend workshops to hone their public-speaking and advocacy skills as well as compete in progressive rounds to determine up to top 10 finalists from both entry groups to compete for the scholarship / stipend prizes by presenting their policy briefs to a global audience gathered at the Global Debate & Public Policy Forum.  The top winners will be awarded the scholarship / stipend prizes.

Prizes

They have established additional scholarship and stipend prizes for students who still wish to participate but haven’t entered the previous rounds. From those new participants who are chosen to participate at the Forum in Budapest, there will be up to three final winners in this category.
Each winner will receive either a scholarship payable to a Graduate School of the winner’s choice for study in a field related to Public Policy or a grant payable to a non-profit institution of the winner’s choice for an internship or placement in a field related to Public Policy.
The scholarship levels for new participants are (in US Dollars): First place: $2500, Second Place: $1500, Third place: $1000.
For Participants in 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd Rounds:
For those who have participated in the first and second rounds of the Challenge and submit your policy brief for the 3^rd round task, you are one step closer to winning a trip to Budapest and a $10,000 scholarship or stipend! Up to five final winners in this category will be chosen at the Forum in Budapest. Each winner will receive either a $10,000 scholarship payable to a Graduate School of the winner’s choice for study in a field related to Public Policy or a $10,000 stipend payable to a non-profit institution of the winner’s choice to work for one year in a field related to Public Policy.
The winners get to choose the option they prefer.

Eligibility

The challenge is open to any undergraduate student of any age.

Application

If you haven’t already done so, register for the competition. Then, prepare and submit your policy brief  by 16 April. That’s it!
How Do I Write My Policy Brief?
Your task is to write a policy brief of 1250-1500 words which is designed to bring ideas and contribute to the global debate and public policy Forum “Security, Terrorism and Human Rights: Towards a Global Picture” which will take place 15-16 June in Budapest, Hungary.
A summary of the task is available on the Challenge website here: Overview of Policy Brief.
Please also refer to these three documents (with links) to help you through the process:

1. Guidelines for Writing Your Policy Brief. All of the details of the task are outlined in the guidelines. Please ready this thoroughly.
2. Writing for Specific Target Audiences – An Introduction to Policy Advocacy. This is a resource guide to support the production of your policy brief and get you thinking about advocacy. We recommend you read it before beginning to prepare your brief.
3. Worksheet for Planning your Policy Brief. This document is a space to organise your thinking and prepare an outline before writing.

Before you prepare your policy brief, it may be helpful for you to refer to the previous tasks of the Challenge including the Policy Position Paper and the Alternate Position Paper.
Listed here are links to background reading materials on the topic of Securing Liberty.
Each registered participant will receive by 18 April 2012 information describing the next rounds of selection to take place at the pre-Forum and Forum in Budapest in June 2012. This information will also be posted by the same date on the Challenge website.
Before applying please read the Rules of the Challenge.
Contact:
If you don’t find your answer on the Challenge website, please send an e-mail to Catherine Janson: cjanson@idebate.be.
Don’t forget to also follow the Facebook, Twitter and discussion boards for updates and frequently asked questions about this task.
The Official Website