• The topic of the 2013 contest is:

  Many people expect the United Nations to play a major role in world peace and in protecting the safety and welfare of people worldwide. Express your views on whether the United Nations is sufficiently responding to these expectations. If 'no', discuss the causes and constraints for this failure; if 'yes', discuss some recent success cases.

  Your essay may be in either English (3,000?6,000 words) or Japanese (8,000?16,000 characters). All essays should be typed on A4-size paper. English essays should include an abstract of up to 450 words. Japanese essays should include an abstract of up to 1,200 characters.

  Your essay must be original and unpublished, and must include reference notes and a bibliography if other authors' works are cited.

  Please submit four copies of your entry with a cover sheet listing your name, affiliation, age, gender, nationality, mailing address, and (if available) telephone/fax number and e-mail address. The submission deadline is 31 March 2013.

  Submitted essays will not be returned. Any essay that does not follow the criteria specified above will be disqualified.

  A grand prize (¥500,000), a second prize (¥200,000) and several honorable mentions (¥50,000 each) will be awarded. The winners will be notified by June 2013; those who are able to attend will receive their prizes at a ceremony to be held at the United Nations University in Tokyo.

  The Eisaku Sato Essay Contest was inaugurated in 1980, and has been held annually since 1990. It is supported by the Eisaku Sato Memorial Foundation for Cooperation with the United Nations University, which was established by the late Eisaku Sato, former Prime Minister of Japan, with the monetary award that he received with his 1974 Nobel Peace Prize.

  Please submit your entry by post to:

  The Eisaku Sato Memorial Foundation for Cooperation with the United Nations University
  c/o United Nations University Library
  5-53-70 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku
  Tokyo 150-8925, Japan

  For further information, please contact the Foundation [email protected].

http://unu.edu/news/announcements/eisaku-sato-memorial-essay-contest.html