ADB’s essay competition for Sri Lankan undergrads

The ADB last week invited English language essays up to 2000 words from Sri Lankan university students aged between 18-29 years, to publicize the vision of today’s youth for the future world in which they will live, work and govern.

The competition is open to citizens of all ADB’s developing member countries. This essay competition on Sustainable Development is organized by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and ROAD, a network of Japanese university students concerned about development in the region. It is part of an event that will precede ADB’s 40th Annual Meeting in Kyoto, Japan in May 2007.

As Japan is hosting the event, Sri Lanka students attending Japanese universities can also participate. Essay entries must be submitted on line through the dedicated website:http://www.adb.org/AnnualMeeting/2007/Essay-Competition/ no later than 31 October 2006.

The essays – written from a country or regional perspective – should address one of the following topics:

* Economic growth and environmental conservation Human resource development and institutions Industry and Infrastructure.

* The essays will be judged on originality, coherence of arguments, awareness of sustainable development and the essayist’s environment and realities.

* Fifteen winners will be selected from five regions including South Asia in which ADB is represented, and ten winners from students at Japanese universities.

All 25 winners will participate in the week-long Asian and Pacific Youth Forum on Sustainable Development in Kyoto in March 2007. In addition the winning essays will be published as a book by the ADB.