Each year we run a competition for Year 12 students. This is an exciting opportunity for students to think creatively and gain valuable research skills as they learn more about global sustainable development.

Since it was first established, we have expanded the types of entries that can be submitted to include videos, podcasts and poetry, as well as more traditional essay responses. This is in line with our aim to engage with students from a variety of different backgrounds and interests, giving them the chance to present different perspectives on issues of global sustainable development.

This year, entrants addressed the following questions:

• What is the main challenge to sustainable development in your local area? What solutions do you propose to address it?
• Many influential figures deny that climate change is real. How would you respond to climate change deniers?
• To what extent is sustainable development about creation?

We received a high number of submissions this year and we were very impressed with the quality of the entries. It was clear that a lot of time had been spent planning, researching, and presenting these pieces of work.

Once we received the entries, it was the task of our judging panel to review the superb entries, selecting the shortlist and the overall winners. The panel included:

Dr Marta Guerriero

Dr Gioia Panzarella

Charlotte Flechet
^{student ambassador}

Jack Lawther
^{student ambassador}

GLOBUS

Usually, shortlisted entrants are invited to a Campus Day at Warwick where we announce the winners of the competition. However, in light of the COVID-19 situation, we arranged for the event to take place virtually so as to protect the safety and wellbeing of all those involved.

The virtual event on Friday 26 June 2020 involved a short introduction to GSD at Warwick, and we then announced the runners-up and winners of the competition. The session was led by Dr Marta Guerriero and Dr Gioia Panzarella. Marta and Gioia were joined by two of our second-year student ambassadors, Charlotte Flechet and Jack Lawther, who also formed part of the judging panel.

The following prizes were awarded:

Essay submissions

Highly commended essays

• Hannah Musk
• Holly Smith
• Aimear Wolstenholme
• Guy Zilberman

Runners-up

Sophia Bishop

Sophia responded to the ‘local challenges to sustainability’ question, taking us on a deep-dive into the impacts of tourism on her local community by exploring the three pillars of global sustainable development: the economic, the social, and the environmental.

Lucia Goodwin

Lucia responded to the ‘sustainability and creation’ question with a very sophisticated exploration of overconsumption and the altered mindset needed for creativity to be considered sustainably.

Winner

Clara Grosz

Clara responded to the ‘climate change deniers’ question by putting forward a refreshing, new perspective, looking at the Anthropocene and the seeds of doubt sown amongst influential figures and the public.

Creative submission winners

Best podcast

Shian-Li Kelly-Williams

Shian-Li responded to the ‘climate change deniers question’ with a powerful short story focusing on the innocent victims of the effects of climate change and the ignorance of climate change deniers.

Best creative writing

Isabella Walters

Isabella responded to the ‘climate change deniers’ question with a podcast which turned the question on its head by asking us not to think about the obvious climate change deniers, but instead to think about the everyday climate change deniers – ourselves.

The runners-up received £25 each and the winners received £50 each. In addition, the runners-up and winners of the ‘Essay’ category and the winners of the 'Creative' category now have the opportunity to publish their work in GLOBUS, the School for Cross-faculty Studies’ student-run sustainability journal. We look forward to seeing their work published here very soon.

Many congratulations to the winners and all shortlisted entrants!

Next year, we are looking to expand the competition to include other year groups and we will provide any updates about this on our competition page.