GDC Global Voices Essay Challenge 2025 – YOA

Deadline: July 15, 2025

Applications are open for the GDC Global Voices Essay Challenge 2025. As digital applied sciences proceed to reshape economies and societies worldwide, guaranteeing inclusive digital transformation is essential for reaching sustainable growth. While innovation provides immense alternatives, gaps in entry, governance, and digital fairness persist, notably in low- and center-revenue nations (LMICs).

The Global Development Conference (GDC) 2025 Global Voices Essay Challenge invites college students to answer the query: “What does inclusive digital transformation mean for sustainable development in Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs)?”

Participants are inspired to replicate on how digital transformation is reshaping societies and economies in LMICs, and to discover each its alternatives and its challenges, akin to digital inequality, algorithmic bias, youth activism, and governance gaps. Essays ought to categorical authentic viewpoints, drawing from private commentary, native examples, or rising tendencies, and suggest clear concepts or suggestions to make digital transformation extra inclusive and impactful for sustainable growth.

Categories

The problem is open to college students throughout three educational ranges:

• Undergraduate Students: Essays might embrace private views, observations, and early reflections on digital transformation and its social impression.
• Master’s Students: Essays ought to current coverage concepts, crucial reflections, or grounded arguments on digital fairness, governance, or innovation.
• PhD Students: Essays might embrace deeper, specialised insights primarily based on educational or skilled publicity, whereas sustaining an accessible and opinion-pushed tone.

Prizes

Winners will probably be invited to attend GDC 2025 in Clermont-Ferrand, France, the place they are going to:

• Participate in a communications workshop hosted by the GlobalDev Blog.
• Be featured in a particular publication on digital transformation that includes chosen profitable essays.
• Publish their work and be promoted by GDN’s digital platforms and associate channels.
• Receive an official Certificate of Achievement from GDN.

Selected winners may be provided alternatives for continued engagement, together with the possibility to take part in particular GDN actions, akin to workshops, editorial collaborations, or a possible panel dialogue. 

Eligibility

Open to college students who meet one of many following standards:

• Are at the moment enrolled at an educational establishment in a low- and center-revenue nation (LMIC);
• Have graduated from an educational establishment in an LMIC inside the final six months;
• Are at the moment primarily based in Clermont-Ferrand, France, no matter nationality.

Application

• The phrase restrict for the essay is 750–1000 phrases (excluding references or citations). Participants might embrace a brief checklist of references or citations on the finish of the essay; nonetheless, this part is not going to rely towards the phrase restrict.
• Participants should adhere to the competition’s Ethical Standards (outlined under).
• Only digital submissions in PDF or Word format are acceptable. Submissions have to be made by the GDC 2025 platform.
• The deadline for submissions is Monday, July 15, 2025, at 23:59 CET.
• All essays will endure originality screening, together with plagiarism and AI-content material checks.

Click here to submit your entry

For extra data, go to GDC Global Voices Essay Challenge.