Winners of Many Languages, One World to Meet at United Nations General Assembly in July 2016

June 9, 2016

From a pool of over 3,600 entrants, ELS Educational Services, Inc., has selected 60 students from 36 countries and 54 universities as winners of the 2016 Many Languages, One World^® international essay contest.

Many Languages, One World is organized by ELS Educational Services, Inc., and the United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI). The winners have been invited to attend the Many Languages, One World Global Youth Forum at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York. Students will be provided with an all-expense paid trip to New York City and the opportunity to speak at the General Assembly of the United Nations. Winners will present action plans related to the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Students who participated in the contest are pursuing undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degrees. Winners include students of prestigious international universities such as University of Pennsylvania (USA), Xi’an International Studies University (China) and Bologna University (Italy). Their fields of study include language and linguistics, medicine, architecture, computer science and technology, business and sustainable research management.

The Many Languages, One World contest challenged students around the globe to write an essay examining global citizenship, cultural understanding, and the role that the multilingual ability can have in fostering both. Entrants submitted essays in one of the six official United Nations languages, which could be neither the student’s first language nor his/her primary language of instruction.

2016 marks the third year of the Many Languages, One World Essay Contest and Global Youth Forum. This contest has been covered by many international media outlets and is prominent on social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter.

Follow the conversation on social media using #MLOW2016. Visit ManyLanguagesOneWorld.ELS.edu for more information.