Essay Challenge

GLOBAL VOICES ESSAY CHALLENGE

INTRODUCTION

As digital technologies continue to reshape economies and societies worldwide, ensuring inclusive digital transformation is crucial for achieving sustainable development. While innovation offers immense opportunities, gaps in access, governance, and digital equity persist, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

THEME

The GDC 2025 Global Voices Essay Challenge invites students to respond to the question:

“What does inclusive digital transformation mean for sustainable development in Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs)?”

Participants are encouraged to reflect on how digital transformation is reshaping societies and economies in LMICs, and to explore both its opportunities and its challenges, such as digital inequality, algorithmic bias, youth activism, and governance gaps. 

Essays should express original viewpoints, drawing from personal observation, local examples, or emerging trends, and propose clear ideas or recommendations to make digital transformation more inclusive and impactful for sustainable development.

CATEGORIES

The challenge is open to students across three academic levels:

  1. Undergraduate Students: Essays may include personal perspectives, observations, and early reflections on digital transformation and its social impact.
  2. Master’s Students: Essays should present policy ideas, critical reflections, or grounded arguments on digital equity, governance, or innovation.
  3. PhD Students: Essays may include deeper, specialised insights based on academic or professional exposure, while maintaining an accessible and opinion-driven tone.
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

The challenge is open to students  who meet one of the following criteria

  • Are currently enrolled at an academic institution in a low- and middle-income country (LMIC);
  • Have graduated from an academic institution in an LMIC within the last six months;
  • Are currently based in Clermont-Ferrand, France, regardless of nationality
PRIZES

Winners will be invited to attend GDC 2025 in Clermont-Ferrand, France, where they will:

  • Participate in a communications workshop hosted by the GlobalDev Blog.
  • Be featured in a special publication on digital transformation featuring selected winning essays.
  • Publish their work and be promoted through GDN’s digital platforms and partner channels.
  • Receive an official Certificate of Achievement from GDN.

Selected winners may also be offered opportunities for continued engagement, including the chance to participate in special GDN activities, such as workshops, editorial collaborations, or a potential panel discussion. 

DEADLINE

Tuesday, July 15, 2025

LEARN MORE AND APPLY
MEET THE JURY

JEAN CLARISSE CARLO

Jean Clarisse T. Carlos is a Project Development Officer at the Philippine Institute for Development Studies and a Senior Lecturer at Miriam College. With over a decade of experience in research, policy, and regional engagement, she specialises in gender empowerment, digital economy, and inclusive development across ASEAN, ASEAN+3, and APEC. A published author and frequent speaker at high-level regional dialogues, she advocates for evidence-based policymaking and inclusive digital transformation. She holds a Master’s in Public Policy from Meiji University and is set to pursue a PhD in Politics at the University of Edinburgh.

ETIENNE CHARRIERE

Etienne Charrière received a doctorate in comparative literature from the University of Michigan. After holding several teaching and research positions in North America and the Middle East, he joined the French Development Agency (AFD) in 2021 and is currently Deputy Head of the institution’s publishing division. In his role, he notably oversees the “Africa Development Forum” series, co-published by the AFD and the World Bank, produces and hosts the podcast “Grandes Lignes,” leads the division’s partnerships and training activities and co-convenes the European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes’s working group on development research communications. Since 2023, he has co-animated a number of policy communication training sessions in collaboration with the GDN’s GlobalDev team.

YULIYA MORENETS

Yuliya Morenets is a Barrister at Law, digital policy expert, and founder of the Youth Internet Governance Forum (Youth IGF), a global platform empowering youth in Internet governance. With over 15 years’ experience in telecom, cybersecurity, and electronic communications, she has worked with the Council of Europe and the ITU.

She has advised governments and regulators across Africa and the developing world on inclusive ICT access and cyber resilience, and authored key texts on cybersecurity and cybercrime. She continues to support public and private sector stakeholders with strategic guidance.

A three-term member of the UN Secretary-General’s IGF Advisory Group (MAG), Yuliya played a key role in shaping global Internet policy and founded the Youth IGF Movement in 2011. She was named a #SaferInternet4EU Ambassador by the EU Commissioner for her work on digital safety.

JEAN-LOUIS ARCAND

Professor Jean-Louis Arcand is a Canadian economist at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva and an affiliate professor at Université Mohammed VI Polytechnic in Rabat. He is a Founding Fellow of the European Development Research Network (EUDN) and a Senior Fellow at FERDI. Arcand has held academic positions at the University of Montréal, CERDI, and has been a Visiting Professor at institutions in China, Brazil, Africa, and the Caribbean. He holds a PhD in Economics from MIT, an MPhil from Cambridge University, and a BA from Swarthmore College. He became president of GDN in January 2023.