Kemper Foundation Essay Contest Scholarship

ESSAY CONTEST $1000 and $500 Prizes

 This year the Kemper Human Rights Education Foundation (khref.org) is offering a first prize of $1000 and second prize of $500 to high school students who are citizens and residents of countries other than the United States judged to have written the best answers to the following question:

Antonio Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations, said, “hate is moving into the mainstream – in liberal democracies and authoritarian states alike.”* Others, such as Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, the former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, claim that intolerance manifested in religious extremism, xenophobia, racism, Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, misogyny, homophobia, and hatred of immigrants, is on the rise.
** Do you agree that one or more of these forms of intolerance is or are on the rise in the world, in your country in particular, or both? If so what do you think are the causes and implications of the rise and how do you think it should be addressed? If you disagree, explain the reason you disagree.
* Remarks to the Human Rights Council in Geneva, February 25, 2019
 ** Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, “Human Rights Are Not A Luxury,” Washington Post, June 15, 2018

Deadline: The deadline for submissions is December 10, 2019 (Human Rights Day).

 Criteria: Essays should be between 1000 and 2500 words and include a cover page with the: title of the essay, author’s name, name and address of the high school, name of a teacher or administrator at the high school, author’s grade level, date submitted, and the following statement signed by the author and author’s parent or guardian:

 “I give the Kemper Human Rights Education Foundation permission to publish this essay.” Essays will be judged according to how clearly and well they answer the question posed and the extent to which they are supported by research.

 Submissions: Essays may be submitted as a Microsoft Word attachment to: kemperhumanrights@gmail.com or by regular mail to: KHREF, 184 Fillow Street, Norwalk, CT 06850. Awards: Winners will be announced and awards presented on January 14, 2020.

For more information go to khref.org