CONCOURS SUR L'EUROPE

What is it? “Concours sur l’Europe” is an essay competition organized by the Cultural Services of the French Embassy, in cooperation with the French-American Chamber of Commerce, the French-American Foundation and the French Institute Alliance Française, to celebrate France’s European Union presidency, taking place from July to December 2008. Download the Contest's flyer here JPEG or PDF.   Who is eligible? This contest is open to Tri-State (New York, New Jersey, Connecticut) high school students (grades 9 to 12) only.   How do students participate? Students write an essay (500 words maximum) in English or in French answering the question: “What does the European Union mean to you?” “Que représente l’Union Européenne pour vous ?”   Rules The essay can be creative, poetic, narrative, philosophic, political, etc... The essay must be an original text by the student. Any forms of plagiarism will be disqualified. Essays must be submitted online through the Application Form which can be found on teacheurope.org >Application Form- Registration >The Deadline is November 3, 2008 at Midnight (Eastern Time) >Participants must accept the contest rules in order to participate Submissions will be reviewed for originality and creativity by a panel of teachers and members of the organizing institutions. In case of technical problems with the Appllication form or with the website, please contact us at contest@teacheurope.org or by phone at 212 439 1436   :: Awards :: Are there prizes to be won? Bien sûr! An awards ceremony for all prize winners will take place during the first two weeks of December. Winners will be notified of the date and location. Prizes include: - Three grand prizes: One-week trip to France valued at 5,000 euros - Seven second prizes: One-week trip to France valued at 2,000 euros - 40 third prizes: A luxury gift bag of French products A committee including members of the Cultural Services of the French Embassy, the French-American Chamber of Commerce, the French-American Foundation and the French Institute Alliance Française will choose the best entries during the first week of November 2008. Winners and teachers will be notified immediately after they have been selected. All results will be announced on the education pages of Teacheurope.org on or before November 15, 2008. The contest winners, their families (2 persons maximum) and their school teacher will be invited to the award ceremony which will take place in New York City between December 1 and December 15, before the end of the French Presidency. :: Volunteer Correctors Needed :: Volunteer correctors needed for this high school contest on Europe. Volunteer correctors will have to read fifty 500-word student essays during the first week of November 2008. Volunteer correctors must be 21 or older and be able to read French and English perfectly. Volunteer correctors will receive a gift and will be invited to the contest's ceremony and cocktail reception in New York in December 2008. Please email your name, contact information and a short bio to contest@teacheurope.org :: Contact :: Fabrice Jaumont Contest Administrator email: contest@teacheurope.org Phone: 212 439 1436