Essay Competition
Compete in our Global Essay Competition, get the chance to win the St. Gallen Wings of Excellence Award and qualify for participation as a Leader of Tomorrow in the world's premier opportunity for intergenerational debates: The St. Gallen Symposium.
Meet 300 of the world's brightest young minds
Present and debate your ideas with 600 senior leaders
Be inspired by some of the world's most impressive speakers
Gain a unique and new perspective on this year's topic
Become a member of a unique global community
Celebrate our 50th anniversary with us
Win prize money of CHF 20,000 split amongst winners
Essay Question
Freedom Revisited: Which aspects of freedom need to be defended, or recalibrated, to meet the challenges of our time?
Domestically and on the international stage, values of individual, economic, and political freedom are subject to critical inquiry or outright attack. Diverse phenomena such as populism, global power shifts, climate change, the digital revolution, and global migration call for a reflection on the value of freedom for the way we live, do business and organize politically in the years ahead. While some call for a defense of established freedoms, others call for a recalibration of our concept of freedom, or the balance we strike between freedom and other values, such as equality, sustainability, and security. Where do you stand in this debate? Choose one of the following positions as you develop your essay:
In defense of freedom: Choose an area in the realm of business, economics, politics, or civil society where current concepts of freedom are under pressure and where they need to be defended. Describe the problem and offer a concrete and practical proposition of how established concepts of freedom should - and can be - defended. Describe its impact for the future.
In defense of recalibrating freedom: Choose an area in the realms of business, economics, politics or civil society where current concepts of freedom are unsuitable for the challenges we face and where they need to be recalibrated. Describe the problem and offer a concrete and practical proposition of how established concepts of freedom should and can be recalibrated. Describe its impact for the future.
Qualify with an excellent essay
We expect a professional, creative and thought-provoking essay. Be bold, unconventional, and distinctive on the competition question.
The following criteria must be met:
Form | Essay (max. 2,100 words, excl. bibliography & footnotes) |
Language | English |
Deadline | 1 February 2020, 11:59 p.m. last time zone (UTC-12) |
Anonymity | Your name must not be mentioned anywhere in the contribution file. |
Individuality | Individual work expected, no group work allowed. The essay must be written exclusively for this contest. The idea must be the author's own. |
Citation |
All sources must be cited and referred to the respective part in the essay. All contributions will be tested for plagiarism. Check your eligibility and prepare documentsTo be eligible, you must fulfill all of the following criteria:
Make sure you can provide the following documents:
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This opportunity has expired. It was originally published here:
https://www.symposium.org/essay-competition