Open Call: ChallengeUS Future Leaders Competition

The competition seeks to find, spotlight, and reward promising future leaders through scholarship prizes and award recognition. For this winter cycle, the competition has zeroed in on the idea of leadership and what it means or what it takes to be a truly effective political leader.

Participation in the ChallengeUS Future Leaders Competition offers the opportunity to join the ChallengeUS Future Leaders Network (global community of young changemakers), secure cash prizes that can be put towards educational and professional pursuits, and gain public recognition for exceptional work.

Categories

• Participants are welcomed and encouraged to submit entries to multiple divisions (creative writing, analytical writing, and speech) in order to maximize chances at winning. However, winning contestants will only be awarded 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place in one division:
  • Creative Writing
    • Entries might include personal narratives, reflections, stories, poems, written speeches, memoirs, and other personal essays that address the prompt while showcasing the writer’s critical thinking, personal expression, and storytelling abilities. The emphasis is on originality, personal voice, and engaging the reader with thoughtful insight as well as emotional depth.
  • Analytical Writing
    • Entries might include argumentative essays, research papers, literature reviews, case studies, and other forms of academic writing that uses sources and citations to drive key insights. Submissions are expected to present well-researched, evidence-based essays that address the prompt. The emphasis is on logical reasoning, structured analysis, and the ability to support answers to the prompt with facts, examples, or data.
  • Speech
    • Entries might include any form of verbal speech or presentation submitted in a video form. Speakers are welcomed to use creative and/or analytical techniques in their speech submission. Visual aids are permitted but the emphasis will be on effective verbal communication while providing unique perspectives, ideas, and insights addressing the prompt.

Funding Information

• First, Second, and Third-Place winners will be recognized, along with Honorable Mention.
• First place winners for each submission category will be awarded $250 (USD) and be spotlighted in a biographical article by ChallengeUS.
• First, Second, and Third-Place winners will receive a Certificate of Achievement and their submissions will be published by ChallengeUS.

Eligibility Criteria

• Any student, residing in any country, currently enrolled in an accredited high school or college/university, is eligible to participate.
• Students taking academic gap years or semesters are also eligible.
• Submissions (speech or writing) must be in English.
• Participants from previous competition cycles are eligible to enter the current competition cycle, except those that won first place in any previous ChallengeUS competitions.
• Any use of AI or plagiarism is strictly prohibited and will result in automatic disqualification.

Application Requirements

• Creative Writing Guidelines
  • Word Limit: 1250 words
  • Writing submissions should be in PDF format with a readable font size (11 or 12 pt.) and a professional font style (Times New Roman, Arial)
  • Entries might include personal narratives, reflections, stories, poems, written speeches, memoirs, and other personal essays that address the prompt while showcasing the writer’s critical thinking, personal expression, and storytelling abilities
• Analytical Writing Guidelines
  • Word Limit: 1250 words
  • Writing submissions should be in PDF format with a readable font size (11 or 12 pt.) and a professional font style (Times New Roman, Arial)
  • If research is incorporated, any citation style (MLA, APA, Chicago, etc.) will be accepted and citations will not count towards the word limit
  • Entries might include argumentative essays, research papers, literature reviews, case studies, and other forms of academic writing that uses sources and citations to drive key insights
• Speech Guidelines
  • Speech Limit: 10 minutes
  • Speech submissions should be in MP4 format
  • Participants should speak directly to the camera; high audio and video quality is expected
  • Entries might include any form of verbal speech or presentation submitted in a video form. Visual aids are permitted but speech quality will be the foremost evaluation criteria.

For more information, visit ChallengeUS.