We are pleased to announce the winners of the 2022 International Essay Contest for Young People.

This year the Essay Contest was held under the theme “My Values.” From among 19,986 entries from 152 countries, the following winners were selected. We take this opportunity to thank all of you who participated in the contest!

Each first prize winner will receive a certificate of commendation from the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan, and a gift. Certificates and gifts for other prizes will be mailed to the winners in December 2022. Entrants can download their certificates from the online registration page until December 31, 2022.

Guidelines for the 2023 International Essay Contest for Young People will be announced on this website and through the Goi Peace Foundation’s mailing list and facebook page by mid-February 2023.

List of Winners

(All ages are as of June 15, 2022.)

1st Prize (Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan Award)

Children's category (1 entrant)

• Being Who You Are
  Waka Sato (Age 12, Japan)

Youth category (1 entrant)

• You Cannot Kill People.
  Sofia (Age 20, Russia)

2nd Prize

Children's category (3 entrants)

• Kindness with a new twist
  Hiranga Bandara Suraweera (Age 11, Sri Lanka)
• My Values are My Life
  Padalko Arina Aleksandrovna (Age 13, Ukraine)
• Through this Pair of Ears, We Build Tolerance
  Elora Khiar Nareswari (Age 14, Indonesia)

Youth category (3 entrants)

• My Personal Journey In Understanding The Value of Community Service
  Ian Harris Hashim (Age 15, Malaysia)
• The Values of a Banana
  Kyo Lee (Age 15, Canada)
• I am Peace
  Estifanos Mekonnen Adem (Age 19, Ethiopia)

3rd Prize

Children's category (5 entrants)

• Values and Identity
  Afina Liang (Age 14, U.S.A.)
• Values of life or death
  Anastasia (Age 14, Ukraine)
• Values We Must Not Change
  Mayu Someya (Age 14, Japan)
• Life Is Now: The Importance of Taking Opportunities We Encounter
  Mizuki Hayakawa (Age 14, Japan)
• My Cherished Values
  Tomoka Yoshida (Age 14, Japan)

Youth category (5 entrants)

• My Value, My Life
  Eniola Oluwatomisin Deborah (Age 15, Nigeria)
• My Values for Living in the 21st Century
  Mei Katayama (Age 18, Japan)
• My Values: Instructions to a Sustainable Life
  Gamaliel Jordan B. Languido (Age 22, Philippines)
• Ethical codes
  Tuyishimire Theogene (Age 23, Rwanda <Living in China>)
• My Values
  Udeobi Obioma Jennifer (Age 23, Nigeria)

Honorable Mention

Children's category (25 entrants)

• Shohki Hirako (Age 8, Japan & China <Living in Japan>)
• Arefin Kaisan Araf (Age 10, Bangladesh <Living in Malaysia>)
• Chad Kurematsu (Age 10, Japan)
• Leigh-Joy Kendi (Age 10, Kenya)
• Gatik Goyal (Age 11, India)
• Leon Shidou Zschacke (Age 11, Germany)
• Umar Abdulquadri Olaitan (Age 11, Nigeria)
• Akane Hirayama (Age 12, Japan)
• Honoka Takahashi (Age 12, Japan)
• Jotham Foo Yue Zheng (Age 12, Singapore)
• Alya Ahmed Rasheed (Age 13, Maldives)
• Harusa Fujii (Age 13, Japan)
• Keita Minorikawa (Age 13, Japan)
• Momoe Endo (Age 13, Japan)
• Nao Omata (Age 13, Japan)
• Oriza Udagawa (Age 13, Japan)
• Subarna Timilsina (Age 13, Nepal)
• Yu, Wei-Syuan (Age 13, Taiwan of China)
• Anastasia Zibareva (Age 14, Russia)
• Dana Yang (Age 14, U.S.A.)
• Kaz Onuma (Age 14, U.S.A.)
• Munmun Dey (Age 14, India)
• Sho Tanaka (Age 14, Japan)
• Sisam Bhandari (Age 14, Nepal)
• Kanon Fujii (Age 15, Japan)

Youth category (25 entrants)

• Aye Su San (Age 15, Myanmar)
• Florence Angeli Dairo (Age 15, U.K.)
• Shiori Jokei (Age 15, Japan)
• Tejaswi Kathireddy (Age 16, Singapore)
• Albogochieva Amina (Age 16, Russia)
• David Jun Sung (Age 16, South Korea)
• Fabian Egede Ogbewu (Age 16, Nigeria)
• Rajwa Nadia Lathifa (Age 16, Indonesia)
• Tamami Sumi (Age 16, Japan)
• Elise Gimpert (Age 17, U.S.A.)
• Jedidah Wangari Chege (Age 17, Kenya)
• Koko Miki (Age 17, Japan)
• Kokone Kumazaki (Age 17, Japan)
• Kokoro Fukuzawa (Age 17, Japan)
• Pakaporn Bunmak (Age 17, Thailand)
• Zehra Uslu (Age 17, Türkiye)
• Shreenabh Moujesh Agrawal (Age 18, India)
• Angelina Alicia Chu (Age 19, Malaysia)
• Anastasiya Bohomolna (Age 19, Ukraine)
• Maryhilda Obasiota Ben Ibe (Age 20, Nigeria)
• Noy Ben-Sade (Age 20, Israel)
• Nguyen Thi Van Anh (Age 22, Viet Nam)
• Jhun-Jhun Q. Agustin (Age 23, Philippines)
• Polina (Age 23, Russia)
• Alisa Sterlikova (Age 24, Russia)

Best School Award (3 schools)

• Koka Gakuen Junior and Senior High School for Girls, Tokyo (Japan)
• Suma Gakuen Junior High School, Hyogo (Japan)
• Tokyo Metropolitan Oizumi Junior High School (Japan)

School Incentive Award (64 schools)

• Antique Vocational School- Special Program in Journalism (Philippines)
• Arsakeio Secondary Schools of Thessaloniki (Greece)
• Baljagriti English Secondary School, Bagmati (Nepal)
• Beaconhouse Sri Inai International School, Selangor (Malaysia)
• Biotechnical Centre Naklo, Gorenjska (Slovenia)
• Boston Education, Los Angeles, California (U.S.A.)
• Brest Gymnasium No 1 (Belarus)
• Bukhara region Karavulbazar district School N1 (Uzbekistan)
• Chicago Futabakai Japanese School-Saturday School, Illinois (U.S.A.)
• Colégio Dr Walter Bellan, São Paulo (Brazil)
• Colégio Vital Brazil, São Paulo (Brazil)
• Drukgyel Central School, Paro (Bhutan)
• Écoles Al Madina Site Californie, Casablanca (Morocco)
• Écoles Al Madina Site Polo, Casablanca (Morocco)
• FPT University, Hanoi (Viet Nam)
• Fuji Sacred Heart School, Shizuoka (Japan)
• Fukuoka Prefectural Ogori High School (Japan)
• Fukushima Prefectural Aizu Gakuho Junior and Senior High School (Japan)
• Ghiyasuddin International School, Male’ (Maldives)
• Gymnázium Šrobárova, Kosice (Slovakia)
• Ikeda Junior High School attached to Osaka Kyoiku University (Japan)
• International School of Milan (Italy)
• Iskandhar School, Male’ (Maldives)
• Jamaluddin School, Male' (Maldives)
• Jonan Gakuen Junior High School, Senior High School, Osaka (Japan)
• Joso Gakuin Junior & Senior High School, Ibaraki (Japan)
• Kagoshima Gyokuryu Junior & Senior High School of Kagoshima City (Japan)
• Kyoto University of Advanced Science Junior & Senior High School (Japan)
• Labuan International School, Labuan (Malaysia)
• Matsumoto Shuho Secondary School, Nagano (Japan)
• Midori Elementary School of Itabashi City, Tokyo (Japan)
• Milan Hoshuko (Italy)
• Motherland Secondary School, Pokhara Lekhnath (Nepal)
• Mukogawa Women's University Junior & Senior High School, Hyogo (Japan)
• Mutiara International Grammar School, Ampang Jaya (Malaysia)
• Nan Hua Primary School (Singapore)
• Naragakuen Tomigaoka Senior High School, Nara (Japan)
• Nobeoka Technical High School, Miyazaki (Japan)
• Omori 6th Junior High School of Ota City, Tokyo (Japan)
• Otsuma Ranzan Junior and Senior High School, Saitama (Japan)
• Ozel Cagdas Bilim Koleji, Muğla (Türkiye)
• PECHS Girls School, Karachi (Pakistan)
• Preparatoria num. 11 Universidad de Guadalajara (México)
• Preparatoria Regional de Colotlán, Jalisco (México)
• Santo Tomas Elementary School-Annex, Laguna (Philippines)
• Satriwithaya School, Bangkok (Thailand)
• School 11, Cherkasy (Ukraine)
• Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Sri Nipah, Kelantan (Malaysia)
• Sekolah Kebangsaan Minden Height, Pinang (Malaysia)
• Setagaya Junior High School attached to Tokyo Gakugei University (Japan)
• Showa Women's University Junior-Senior High School, Tokyo (Japan)
• SISA - School of International Studies in Sciences & Arts, Punjab (Pakistan)
• SJKC Kong Min Cawangan Kedua, Penang (Malaysia)
• SMJK Chio Min, Kedah (Malaysia)
• SMK Taman Pelangi Indah, Johor (Malaysia)
• Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology (Taiwan of China)
• St. Agnes' Junior & Senior High School, Kyoto (Japan)
• St. George's School, Brunei Muara (Brunei)
• Sydney Saturday School of Japanese, New South Wales (Australia)
• Toyama University of International Studies High School (Japan)
• Toyo Eiwa High School, Tokyo (Japan)
• Yamaguchi Prefectural Karyo Senior High School (Japan)
• Yamanouchi Junior High School of Yamanouchi Town, Nagano (Japan)
• Yaroslavl College of Industry and Economy, Yaroslavl (Russia)

Essay Contest 2022 Flyer (PDF)

English
Japanese
French

Past Winning Essays