In November 2020 the United Nations Association Coventry Branch ran the world’s first Young People’s Peace Essay Competition the winners of which were announced during Coventry Peace Festival.

Young people aged up to 25 submitted their essays of up to 500 words on the subject: The Role of Young People in Building Peace.

A copy of the book containing the winning entries is available for free download here.

Winners

There were 3 winners from each of two categories

Age under 17

1st Prize + special commendation – Malaika Hussain
2nd Prize – Arina Abu Bakir
3rd Prize – Amna Hameem Jawfer

All from Eden Girl’s School in Coventry

Age 17-25

1st Prize – Ema Nikolova from Republic of North Macedonia
2nd Prize – Elsa Tiny Rajan from India
3rd Prize – Benjamin Ssuuna from Uganda

They each received a winner’s certificate and a financial reward.

The judges were Professor Mike Hardy CMG OBE FRSA, Dr. Jessica Ayesha Northey and Dr Sariya Cheruvallil-Contractor, all from the Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations at Coventry University as well as Dr Ayesha Shahid from Coventry Law School.

The event was made possible by a grant from Coventry Peace Festival.

Here is a video of the Award Ceremony: