Youth Essay Competition 2018 – Time to get writing!

Calling all 18-25 year olds, the European Commission wants to hear your voice!  

The Youth Essay competition, organised by the European Commission Directorate General for Single Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, is launching for the third time and is looking for answers to the following question:

“What steps should entrepreneurs and government take to become more innovative?”

By taking part in the Youth Essay Competition you have a chance to share your thoughts and opinions with key policymakers and entrepreneurs on a European platform. Sound interesting? In order to win the prize of an all-expenses paid trip to the 2018 SME Assembly in Graz, submit an essay of no more than 2 500 words in English before 16 September 2018.

Don’t know what to write? Not sure where to start? Have a look at previous winning entries:

• 2016: Andri Pandoura, “What can the EU do to encourage more young people to become entrepreneurs?”
• 2017: Oksana Vedmidska, “What skills do tomorrow’s entrepreneurs need?”

You can also have a look at the entries from the finalists:

• 2016: Katie Williams, Francesco Foglia and Frici Barabas
• 2017: Pavle Kostić and Evlampia Karavangeli

To get started, read through the rules below, get writing and SUBMIT!

If you have any questions please contact smeweek@loweurope.eu.

Rules

• The competition is open to all 18 to 25 year olds from European Member States or COSME partners countries (see the list)
• Essays should not exceed 2 500 words in length
• All essays must be in English
• Only one entry per applicant
• The deadline for submissions is 16 September 2018
• The three finalists will be announced in October ahead of SME Week and will compete at a grand finale in Graz as part of the SME Assembly, where they will present their essays
• The final winner will be chosen via a public vote

Prize

• An all-expenses paid trip to the SME Assembly in Graz, Austria for the three finalists, to present their essays to 500+ Assembly delegates
• Presentation training before delivering essay live on stage at the SME Assembly 2018
• Promotion of essays across SME Week social media channels

See Youth Essay Competition 2018 Terms and Conditions.

Find out more information on the competition’s page.