The perfect antidote to the “templed out” backpacker syndrome.

By Bill Bradley
(Darwin, NT, Australia)

One of my favorite memories of a backpacking trip around S.E. Asia last year was the excellence of the local brews. Names like Chang, Beer Lao and Singha come to mind.

For me the best of them all was Angkor Beer in Cambodia.

Picture this, a hard morning wandering around the magnificent ruins of Preah Khan, photographing and sketching among these 800 year old ruins of the once great Khmer Empire. The tropical heat and humidity starts to take its toll and for this Aussie retiree, the “happy hour” has arrived.

Not the measly 50 cents reduction in price that the Aussie pubs give for one hour only, but large 750ml bottles of full strength 6.5% abv lager type beer for about a quarter of what is normal at home.

Ignoring the cries of “We have cold coca cola, sir,” I settle for one lady who rushes forward with “I have cold beer, ice cold, sir” and happily sit in the shade, put my feet up and take that first magic taste of Angkor beer from Cambodia.

Around about the time of my second “long neck” (Aussie slang for large bottle, as opposed to “stubbie” for the small one) I am getting relaxed enough to reach for my sketchbook and begin to scratch about a bit in pen and ink.

This activity always brings interest and interaction with the locals.

Source: http://www.united-nations-of-beer.com/angkor-beer-cambodia.html

WANTED:  The Next Generation of ‘Green’ Entrepreneurs

Climate change has been identified as one of the biggest global threats of our time. Scientists agree that global warming and extreme climate phenomena can be increasingly attributed to human activity – in particular, heavy emission of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, resulting from industrial processes.

Solutions to those pressing problems could lie in the rapidly growing ‘green economy’:  environmentally sustainable enterprises, technological innovations (new sources of clean, renewable energy), energy efficiency measures, economic incentives for low-carbon choices, etc. How can youth contribute?

The Essay Competition 2009 invites youth to share ideas on:

How does climate change affect you?
How can you tackle climate change through youth-led solutions?

Please answer both questions:

1. How does climate change affect you, your country, town or local community? How do you think it will affect you in the future? Think about the consequences for employment, health, security and other areas of your life.

2. What can you do, working together with your peers, to address the problem of climate change in your country, town or local community? Think specifically about the role of youth-led initiatives in the ‘green economy’.

Who can participate?

The International Essay Competition is open to all young people, students and non-students alike, between the ages of 18 and 25, from all countries of the world.

If you are at least 18 and not older than 25 on June 15, 2009, you are eligible to participate.

Length and format

General
All work must be submitted by individuals, group work is not allowed.

One participant may only submit one work per category. However, one participant may (but doesn’t have to, of course) submit work in all three categories, that is: one essay, one video and one photo.

All submissions must be made online via the Essay Competition website. Videos are submitted via YouTube.

Submissions can be made in English, French or Spanish.

Essay
Your essay may not be longer than 4000 words (about 10 pages of standard text).

Essays are accepted in the following formats: .doc or .pdf.

You are also required to provide a summary of no more than 250 words. The summary will be used by the jury to make a pre-selection.

Video
Your video may not be longer than 2 minutes.

To submit a video, you must create a YouTube account and upload your work on the YouTube website. Additionally, you are required to submit a form via the Essay Competition website, which will allow us to identify your work. Details of the submission process

Photo
Photos are accepted in the .jpg format.

A photo must be accompanied by a short description or commentary explaining what the photo presents and how it is relevant to the topic of the Competition. The description must be of no more than 150 words.

The maximum size for the photos is 2.5 MB.

How to submit?

The submission process for the Essay Competition is entirely Internet-based.

You are asked to fill in a submission form and attach your essay or photo.

To submit a video, you must first create a YouTube account and upload your work on the YouTube website. Additionally, you are required to submit a form via the Essay Competition website, which will allow us to identify your work. Details of the video submisison process

Work submitted by email or post will not be accepted.

Rules

• Submissions will be accepted until February 22, 2009.
• Each participant may submit entries in more than one category, but only one submission per category is allowed. This means that you may submit one essay, one video and one photo (although, of course, you can choose to submit, for example, only an essay), but you may not submit, for example, two essays.
• Participants must be between 18 and 25 years of age on June 15, 2009.
• Essays must not be longer than 4,000 words. Videos must not be longer than 2 minutes. There is no minimum length.
• Submissions can only be made online, in English, French, or Spanish. Essays and photos are submitted via the Essay Competition website and videos are submitted via YouTube. Each participant must fill in a submission form on the Essay Competition website.
• Each essay must be accompanied by a summary (max. 250 words). The summary will be used by the jury to make a pre-selection. Each photo must be accompanied by a description of no more than 150 words.
• All submissions will be blind reviewed. References to specific individuals, firms, or schools, which might reveal the author’s identity, are discouraged. It is not allowed to indicate your name anywhere on your work.
• Quotes and references must be clearly marked throughout the essay and properly cited.
• All submissions must be original. No previously published material will be accepted. Any form of plagiarism will result in automatic disqualification. Please note that
  all essays will be screened with specialized software to verify plagiarism.
• Essays are accepted in the .doc or .pdf format, while photos can only be submitted as .jpg files of maximum 2.5 MB.
• The World Bank reserves the right to publish and/or to make available to the public the winning submissions. The World Bank reserves the right to modify the format and content of the submissions for publication purposes.
• The decision of the Jury is final and is not subject to an appeal.
• Participants of the previous editions of the Essay Competition are also encouraged to apply.

  Active (between the time of essay submission and the Final Jury in June 2009), paid staff (term or open-ended) of partner organizations (see list) of Essay Competition 2009 are not eligible to participate.

Awards

1. Essay
Eight finalists will participate in the Final Jury in Seoul, South Korea, in June 2009, and attend the Annual Bank Conference on Development Economics
Money awards:
1st prize: 3,000 USD
2nd prize: 2,000 USD
3rd prize: 1,000 USD

2. Video
Author of the winning video will be invited for a screening at the occasion of the Annual Bank Conference on Development Economics held in Seoul, South Korea, in June 2009.
Money awards:
1st prize: 2,000 USD
2nd prize: 1,000 USD
3rd prize: 500 USD

3. Photo
Money awards:
1st prize: 500 USD
2nd prize: 300 USD
3rd prize: 200 USD

Winners of the photo competition do not travel to the  Conference in South Korea, but will have their photos featured in the Essay Competition Summary Report, on the website of the Essay Competition and partner organizations’.

The jury reserves the right to modify the allocation depending on the number of winning essays.

Contact deatail email to info@essaycompetition.org or akuznicka@worldbank.org