Deadline: July 25, 2025
Applications are open for the ChallengeUS Future Leaders Competition – Summer 2025. The ChallengeUS Future Leaders Competition aims to critically engage and amplify youth voices from all over the world in civic ideas and challenges. The competition seeks to find, spotlight, and reward promising future leaders through scholarship prizes and award recognition. For this summer cycle, the competition is asking students to envision their future and what they hope their country accomplishes by the year 2050.
Participation in the ChallengeUS Future Leaders Competition offers the opportunity to join the ChallengeUS Future Leaders Network (global community of young changemakers), secure cash prizes that can be put towards educational and professional pursuits and gain public recognition for exceptional work.
Competition Prompt: Summer 2025
As we journey along the 21st century, the challenges facing countries all over the world are only becoming more complex. However, with every challenge comes the opportunity to imagine something better. What’s one thing you hope your country accomplishes by the year 2050? What steps need to be taken to realize your vision?
Categories
- Creative Writing: Entries might include personal narratives, reflections, stories, poems, written speeches, memoirs, and other personal essays that address the prompt while showcasing the writer’s critical thinking, personal expression, and storytelling abilities. The emphasis is on originality, personal voice, and engaging the reader with thoughtful insight as well as emotional depth.
- Analytical Writing: Entries might include argumentative essays, research papers, literature reviews, case studies, and other forms of academic writing that uses sources and citations to drive key insights. Submissions are expected to present well-researched, evidence-based essays that address the prompt. The emphasis is on logical reasoning, structured analysis, and the ability to support answers to the prompt with facts, examples, or data.
- Speech: Entries might include any form of verbal speech or presentation submitted in a video form. Speakers are welcomed to use creative and/or analytical techniques in their speech submission. Visual aids are permitted but the emphasis will be on effective verbal communication while providing unique perspectives, ideas, and insights addressing the prompt.
Prizes
- One overall First Place winner will be recognized along with three “Best in Class” honorable mentions (one from each submission category). This means 4 students, in total, will be recognized.
- The overall First Place winner will be awarded $500 (USD).
- The overall First Place winner and the 3 “Best in Class” honorable mentions will be spotlighted in a biographical article by ChallengeUS.
- The overall First Place Winner and the 3 “Best in Class” honorable mentions will receive a Certificate of Achievement and their submissions will be published by ChallengeUS.
- All participants will gain access to the global ChallengeUS Future Leaders Network.
Eligibility
- Any student, residing in any country, currently enrolled in an accredited high school or undergraduate college/university, is eligible to participate.
- Students taking academic gap years or semesters are also eligible.
- Submissions (speech or writing) must be in English.
- Participants from previous competition cycles are eligible to enter the current competition cycle, except those that won first place in any previous ChallengeUS competitions.
- Any use of AI or plagiarism is strictly prohibited and will result in automatic disqualification.
Guidelines
Creative Writing Guidelines
- Word Limit: 1250 words
- Writing submissions should be in PDF format with a readable font size (11 or 12 pt.) and a professional font style (Times New Roman, Arial)
- Entries might include personal narratives, reflections, stories, poems, written speeches, memoirs, and other personal essays that address the prompt while showcasing the writer’s critical thinking, personal expression, and storytelling abilities
Analytical Writing Guidelines
- Word Limit: 1250 words
- Writing submissions should be in PDF format with a readable font size (11 or 12 pt.) and a professional font style (Times New Roman, Arial)
- If research is incorporated, any citation style (MLA, APA, Chicago, etc.) will be accepted and citations will not count towards the word limit
- Entries might include argumentative essays, research papers, literature reviews, case studies, and other forms of academic writing that use sources and citations to drive key insights
Speech Guidelines
- Speech Limit: 10 minutes
- Speech submissions should be in MP4 format
- High audio and video quality is expected
- Entries might include any form of verbal speech or presentation submitted in a video form. Visual aids are permitted but speech quality will be the foremost evaluation criteria
Application
- Click here to submit your Creative Writing
- Click here to submit your Analytical Writing
- Click here to submit your Speech
For more information, visit ChallengeUS Future Leaders Competition.
