Get Writing: What does it mean to be an engaged global citizen?

openDemocracy has launched a new UK-wide student writing competition in partnership with People & Planet, the student action network on world poverty.

The most pressing issues facing today's governments are global ones. Issues such as climate change, economic justice and human rights transcend borders, and require coordinated action across nations. History suggests that national governments and, increasingly, international organisations and corporations only respond to these issues effectively when pressured to do so by engaged global citizens.

But what does being an engaged global citizen mean? How can engaged global citizens help develop their ideas, amplify their voices and take action? How should engaged global citizens reach out to national governments, and to each other, to help address today's global issues?

Entries which discuss the questions above will be evaluated by a panel of judges, to include Isabel Hilton. The winning essay will be published on openDemocracy in Spring 2007.

Essays must be between 1,000 and 2,000 words long. The closing date for entries is 31 January 2007.


"What does it mean to be a citizen and what power does the citizen have to affect the actions of government and corporate interests on the huge challenges we face? Our democracies become less and less representative of the interests of the citizens as political parties become vehicles for delivering power to themselves rather than delivering the citizens' agenda to power. As engaged citizens we need to find new forms of action and debate to deliver our own demands and to find new ways of ensuring that they are listened to. There is no more important challenge for young people than that of discovering the power of their own voice and their own actions. I look forward to reading new ideas and fresh thinking from the generation that is preparing to take its own place in the world."

Isabel Hilton, Editor, openDemocracy

"As young citizens we are called upon to mobilise in the name of the climate, developing countries and refugees. But faced with such vast, vague issues it can be difficult to know how we should act. Should we lobby politicians, shop ethically or throw a violent spanner into the machine? It's tempting to retreat into our personal lives, and easy to flit from one cause to another without stopping to ask whether we're really making a positive difference."

"At the heart of our dilemma is the question of what it means to be an engaged global citizen. Young people study the world at school, and for many in higher and further education, yet we rarely look at our role in this world with the same critical eye. This competition offers us a chance to explore and debate our rights and responsibilities, our opportunities to improve ourselves and those around us. Effective action grows from understanding. It is my hope that the process of writing entries, and of reading the winning articles, will inspire and empower a generation."

Tom Chance, People & Planet

Rules and Guidelines

Deadline for submission of all essays is 31 January 2007

  • Essays must be between 1,000 and 2,000 words long
  • Essays should be submitted in British English
  • The competition is open to any UK resident registered as being in full time education, or any UK resident aged 25 years or under at the closing date of the competition (31 January 2007) You may be asked to supply proof you are eligible to enter.
  • The winning entry will be published on openDemocracy.net
  • The judging panel will be announced after the closing date
  • The winning entry will be announced on or before 30 April 2007
  • Entries will be judged for their relevance to the topics outlined above, as well as their accessibility to a wide audience.
  • Judges will pay particular attention to writing that is accessible, fresh and original
  • Electronic entries in .doc or .rtf should be sent to competition@peopleandplanet.org
  • Entries should include a cover letter detailing the entrant's name, age and email address
  • You may be asked to verify your eligibility for the competition
  • Copyright of all essays will remain with the author, however:
  • All submissions must be the original work of the competition entrant
  • Previously published essays are eligible, if the entrant remains the copyright-holder in the work
  • Excerpts and quotations from third party works must be properly referenced