Honorary Reporter Shares Her Experience Winning the Grand Prize (Essay) of the 6th Global Youth Essay and Art Contest
2024-12-11On 10 December 2024, the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) hosted the 6th International Conference on Action with Women and Peace (AWP), an annual event designed to amplify women’s voices in the field of international peace and security. This year’s conference served as an important forum to reflect on the progress made and to carve out strategies for the advancement of the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) Agenda as we approach the 25th anniversary of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security in 2025.
As part of its side event for the conference, MOFA organised a Global Youth Essay and Art Contest on the theme of “Women, Peace, and Security (WPS)” to foster awareness among young people about the WPS agenda. The contest was open to contestants aged 19 to 34 (individual or group) worldwide, with participants in the essay category asked to write a short essay of no more than 1000 words in either Korean or English on the topic “How to Promote Women’s Role in Building Peace and Security”. In the art category, participants were asked to create hand-drawn or computer-generated graphic artwork on one of three sub-themes: 1) The role of women in peacebuilding; 2) The 25th anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 1325; or 3) UN Peacekeeping Operations. Over the submission period, from 9 October to 10 November, the contest received 688 entries, comprising 495 essays and 193 artworks.
After the evaluation period, which lasted until 2 December 2024, the winners of the 6th AWP Global Youth Essay and Art Contest were officially announced. I am delighted to share that my team, comprising myself, Honorary Reporter Stephanie E. Effevottu, and Honorary Reporter Kadishi Oliseh, was selected as the winner of the Grand Prize for the Essay Competition. The essay “Promoting Women’s Role in Peace and Security through the Localisation of the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) Agenda” was recognised for its important contribution to the theme. In the essay, I emphasised that strengthening women’s roles in peace and security is the foundation of sustainable conflict resolution and the creation of peaceful societies. I also advocated for demystifying and localising the WPS agenda, ensuring that it resonates with women at all levels, particularly those directly affected by conflict.
As the Grand Prize winner, I was invited by the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) to attend the award ceremony in Korea, where my team received the Minister’s Grand Prize during the 6th International Conference on Action with Women and Peace (AWP) held on 10 December 2024 at Lotte Hotel Seoul. This award is particularly meaningful to me, given my long-standing involvement in promoting and advancing the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda, especially from a youth-centred perspective. It confirms the importance of my work in this field and encourages me to continue advocating for change and championing the cause of women and youth. This achievement also serves as a powerful reminder that we should always be open to embracing opportunities and to believing in our potential because winning a competition of this magnitude was beyond my expectations. Connecting with inspiring individuals and sharing my perspectives on such a global platform has been an unforgettable experience. As such, I am deeply grateful for the experience.
More so, for me, winning this award was not only a professional milestone but also a personal dream come true, as visiting Korea has always been on my bucket list. I am therefore overjoyed that this opportunity allowed me to experience Korea and the Korean culture.
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