2023 SPACE FUTURES FORUM ESSAY COMPETITION
The Space Futures Forum Student Essay Contest (the “Essay Contest”) has been established to promote space science and technology among students across the African, the Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP) region. The primary goal of the competition is to amplify the conversation on the need for all countries to participate in the emerging space economy. SFF will host a series of informational online webinars on the competition during the submission period.
Participants are invited to author an essay in English between 1500-2000 words (excluding footnotes and references) examining the relevance of space science and technology in the ACP regions. The following subjects may be examined:
1. Long-term sustainability of outer space activities;
2. Space for the SDGs;
3. The promotion of space science and technology amongst young practitioners.
4. Legal aspects of space resources activities;
5. Partnerships to build foundational capacity in space science and technology in developing countries
6. Fostering peaceful uses of outer space for the ACP.
WHO CAN ENTER?
Entry Requirements & Further Details
Criteria
Any student of any discipline enrolled in an undergraduate, graduate or doctoral programme in any college, university, or training school in universities in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific,
at the time of submission of the entry, shall be considered eligible.
Essay Regulations
1. The essay shall be authored in the English language by a single author.
2. Each participant is permitted to make only one submission.
3. The essay shall be limited to a maximum of 1500- 2000 words (excluding footnotes and references).
4. The essay should include a scenario set in the future, specifically written as a newspaper story and headline in the year 2030 with and relevant to the content of your essay. This can be written in a creative format and should be no more than 300 words.
5. The following formatting shall be used - Font: Times New Roman / Size: 12 font (main text) and Size 10 (footnotes); Line Spacing: 1.5 (main text) and 1 (footnotes); Margins: 1 inch on all sides; Page Numbers: to be added on each page on the bottom right corner.
6. Authors are mandated to use the OSCOLA Referencing style.
7. Only essays that are the original work of the author will be considered for the Prize. No part of the essay should have been published earlier nor should it be under consideration for publication or in a contest elsewhere.
8. Candidates’ submissions must conform to the following rules using the link: https:/bit.ly/SpaceFuturesEssay22.
9. All submissions must contain a brief abstract and a succinct but detailed conclusion.
10. Other than the submissions itself, no additional information such as age, watermarks, designs etc. should be placed on the essay submissions.
11. Submissions/Entries are to be sent in a PDF Format.
12. Submissions/Entries are to be saved in the names of candidates with surnames appearing first then first name and subject line. This should be separated with an underscore. For example: BrownJohn_SpaceFutures Essay competition.
13. Any essay(s) submitted on or before the authorized dates will be discountenanced.
14. All essays must be original, factual, and up to date and shall be checked for plagiarism.
Disqualifications
1. An author shall be disqualified should he or she not be a qualified student on the date of close of registration.
2. Any evidence of plagiarism shall result in immediate disqualification.
3. Delayed or incomplete entries shall not be accepted.
4. For any other reason, in the reasonable judgment of the Space Futures Forum.
Miscellaneous
1. The administration of the contest for the purpose of determining the eligibility of an author or essay, formation of the selection committee and Jury, and confirmation of the winning entries, shall be within the sole and absolute discretion of the Space Futures Forum.
2. The Space Futures Forum shall seek express consent from the authors to publish their manuscripts on its platforms.
3. No revisions or alterations to the entry shall be allowed or accepted.
4. All copyrights to the essays submitted shall be retained by the authors.
Essay Evaluation Process
1. The Jury shall consist of renowned professors and practitioners of space law; space science and technology; space policy and finance. the selection committee members and jury shall be identified through outreach to the public.
2. All submissions received will be evaluated by a screening committee (to be set up by the Space Futures Forum.
3. The best 20 essays shall be sent to field experts who shall form the Jury for the selection of the top five winners.
4. The evaluation process shall include (but not be limited to) criteria such as a clear statement of the problem to be addressed, high quality of writing including the ability to write clear academic prose, logical flow of argument, use of national and international legal sources, and persuasiveness in proposing law reform and future research areas.
5. Credibility of headline story.
6. In the unlikely event that the Jury finds that the top 20 essays do not qualify due to lack of standards, they may decide to not announce a winner. The decision of the Jury in this regard will be final and binding upon the organizers and the authors.
7. There shall be no process for appeal or reconsideration. All results are final and binding.
Registration
1. Each prospective author must complete and submit the registration form which shall be available on the space futures forum website and allied social media platforms of the spacefuturesforum;
2. The registration form must be signed by the prospective author and a .pdf of the signed form must be submitted to spacefuturesessay@thefuturesforum.org along with a scanned copy of the author’s current student identity card to establish his / her institutional affiliation and credentials.
3. The final date for submission of the registration form (along with student identity card) shall be the <DATE>.
KEY DATES
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The competition will launch on <DATE>.
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The deadline for Submission is 11:59 EST (New York time) on <DATE>.
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Top Five Winners will be announced in <DATE>.
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Top 5 Winners will be invited to present at Space Futures Forum during World Space Week 2023.
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Placement announcements will be made at the Space Futures Forum on <DATE>.
PRIZES
The top five essays received will be rewarded in the following manner:
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1 st Position: $200 + Publication opportunities
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2 nd Position: $150 +Publication opportunities
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3 rd Position: $100 + Publication opportunities 4 th and 5 th : Honorable Mention + Publication opportunities.
Prizes
Q. Are footnotes or bibliography or reference list counted towards the word limit?
A. No. Only the body of the essay is counted.
WHO's WHO
Chair of the Space Futures Essay Ayomide Jide-Omole: Ayo.JideOmole@thefuturesforum.org
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