Student Essay Competition 2026 – Invitation to submit!
The Swedish Foundation for Human Rights, University College Stockholm, Lund University and Uppsala University 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/or 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. We welcome essay submissions that engage with the theme of freedom, this year’s theme for the Swedish Forum for Human Rights. The essay could treat how freedom is shaped, protected or restricted in relation to democratic rights, discrimination or crisis and conflict. Further, it is important that the essay connects to the interlinkages between human rights, peace, security and/or 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, ethics, theology, history, or journalism etc.
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 winner of the essay competition will be awarded a diploma, a train ticket (domestic), and an entrance ticket to visit the 2026 Swedish Forum for Human Rights (Mänskliga Rättighetsdagarna). The Forum will take place at Karlstad CCC in Karlstad, 25th-26th of November 2026.
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 2025 or spring semester of 2026 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, or corresponding format as indicated by your university. The essay should be written in English and be sent in as a PDF-file.
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 2026. Title your email “Essay Submission 2026”. For further information, please contact info@humanrights.se
