Student Essay Competition 2025 – Call for paper!
The Swedish Foundation for Human Rights and University College Stockholm invite student submissions to this year’s essay competition. We welcome students from various academic disciplines to submit their Bachelor’s and/or Master’s thesis that address and critically examine the interlinkages between human rights, peace, security, and sustainable development.
The essay could be written on a general level or could be delimited to for example address a specific right, conflict, or geographic area. Most importantly is that the essay connects to the relevant theme, i.e. the interlinkages between human rights, peace, security and sustainable development.
We invite students from different academic disciplines to participate, such as human rights studies, law, political science, peace and conflict studies, gender studies, international relations, development studies, anthropology, history, or journalism etc. The essay should be a Bachelor’s or Master’s thesis.
After the deadline for submission, a jury composed of experts in human rights, peace and security will read and assess the essays, and thereafter select a winner. The writer of the essay competition will be awarded a diploma, a train ticket (domestic), and an entrance ticket to visit the Swedish Forum for Human Rights (Mänskliga Rättighetsdagarna). The Forum will take place at Kistamässan in Stockholm, 9th-10th of December 2025.
Instructions
Eligibility: The author of the essay must be (or have been, when writing the essay) enrolled in a bachelor’s or master’s program in a Swedish university. Please note that a certificate of enrolment for the autumn semester of 2024 or spring semester of 2025 must be attached to the essay submission (i.e. a copy of your degree or a Ladok excerpt).
Format: Times New Roman, font size 12, spacing 1,5, margins 2,5 cm. The essay should be written in English.
Disclaimer: We serve the right to adapt, change or cancel the first prize award should exceptional circumstances arise. In such an event, we will as far as possible and, in discussion with the winner, strive to replace the prize with a suitable alternative. Submission: Please email your essay/submission to info@humanrights.se. Submit your essay no later than the 15th of September 2025. Title your email “Essay Submission 2025”. For further information, please contact info@humanrights.se.
The testimonies of last year’s joint winners of the essay competition:
Is Tuvalu’s self-determination in deep water? A critical discourse analysis of the implications of the Australia-Tuvalu Falepili Union Treaty for the self-determination of the peoples of Tuvalu, Mathilde Grand, Lunds Universitet
I am very happy and grateful that the Swedish Foundation for Human Rights and EHS have awarded my contribution a shared first place. It is an honor to have had my essay reviewed by experts in human rights, and I will carry their feedback with me in my academic and professional life.
The theme of the competition is a reminder of the complex conditions underlying the world’s challenges, and it has been extremely educational to explore the interconnection between human rights, peace, security, and sustainable development.
Thanks to this competition, I am now highly motivated to continue researching and examining various phenomena related to human rights, sustainable development, peace, and security.
The Dual-Driven Treaty Examining how the TPNW could contribute to a security culture centered around human security, Beatrice Costelius, University College Stockholm
By entering the essay competition organized by the Swedish Foundation for Human Rights and University College Stockholm I got the meaningful opportunity to share my insights on human rights and security. Winning this honor not only celebrates my hard work but also amplifies the conversation on issues that impact us all. I am grateful to get this platform to share my perspectives and encourage all students to apply for next year.
