2020 International Essay Contest for Young People
List of Winners
Theme: “A Letter from Myself in 2030”
No. of participating countries: 166
No. of entries: 33,632 (Children’s category: 9,578 / Youth category: 24,054)*All ages are as of June 15, 2020.

1st Prize
Children's category (1 entrant)Youth category (1 entrant)

Your future begins today

Boomerang of Hope

Dudley Cojitha Senanayake (Age 12,

Marta Andriivna Chernychka (Age 18,

Sri Lanka)

Ukraine)2nd Prize
Children's category (2 entrants)Youth category (2 entrants)

Wiser Guider Future

As we saw in the movies

Praise Mmesomachukwu

Júlia Peixoto Fernandes (Age 17,

Chukwumereze (Age 12, Nigeria)

Brazil)Lopsided Scale

Ryoka Tanoi (Age 13, Japan)

A Melting Pot of Gems
Yuka Sone (Age 17, Japan)

3rd Prize
Children's category (5 entrants)
Youth category (5 entrants)

A letter from myself in 2030



Talise Chan Luo Yi (Age 9,

Egalitarian’s View

Singapore)Technology and Ecology: An
Aadya Kapoor (Age 15, India)

A Diamond In The Rough

Daniela Odong Asianut (Age 13,

The World on RICE!
Asumi Shimada (Age 17, Japan)

Uganda)

Back To Nature
Zhou Xiangfei (Age 19, China)

1





Piece by Piece

Julianne Francesca Berse (Age 13,

Mpihary Mahefa

Philippines)

Razafindrabezandrina (Age 20,

To Myself in 2020: Don’t Give Up

Madagascar)

Satoru Ozaki (Age 13, Japan)

Ne te suicide pasTo my past self

The Ripple EffectKrisha King Lim (Age 23, Philippines)

Kaeno Shimizu (Age 15, Japan)

Honorable Mention
Children's category (25 entrants)

Youth category (25 entrants)Aarvi Malik (Age 9, India)

Aravind Anandaraj (Age 11, Malaysia)

Elise Y Chen (Age 11, U.S.A.)

Miku Nakayama (Age 15, Japan)

Eneha Marinova (Age 11, Bulgaria)

Anna Raquel Klinger (Age 16, U.S.A.)

Keiichi Kondo (Age 11, Japan)Gina Yum (Age 16, U.S.A.)

Akiko Takamoto (Age 12, Japan)Marco Erano Almarinez DumaleAngela Matilde Quintero Gonzalez



Mahlet Bizuneh Bekele (Age 15,
Ethiopia)(Age 16, Philippines)(Age 12, Colombia)

Mizuki Kage (16, Japan)



Kosei Yamamoto (Age 12, Japan)

Tianyue Ruby Sun (Age 16, FinlandMohamed Taha Samaoual (Ag 12,<Living in Canada>)

Morocco)Urtė Gedvilaitė (Age 16, Lithuania)

Alex Hayoung Jung (Age 13,Natsuki Ito (Age 17, Japan)

South Korea)

Jeevika Wadhwa (Age 18, India)Isha Singh (Age 13, India)Bashangezi Prince Bishogo (Age 19,Opara Chioma Stella (Age 13, Nigeria)

Democratic Republic of Congo

Riko Miyamoto (Age 13, Japan)<Living in Zimbabwe>)

Shashank Kumar (Age 13, U.S.A.

Diana Jugendliche (Age 19, Belarus)<Living in India>)Sarah Irdina Binti Sallehhuddin

Tayyaba Noor (Age 13, Pakistan(Age 19, Malaysia)<Living in U.A.E.>)Aman Majmudar (Age 20, Canada

Ayano Oda (Age 14, Japan)<Living in Japan>)Cristiana Gălățeanu (Age 14, Romania)Paula Ventura Barroso (Age 20, Spain)Gen Furuya (Age 14, Japan)

Soichiro Hirata (Age 20, Japan)

M. Naeem Haseef Bin Mohd Nasir



Diego Iram Rodríguez González(Age 14, Malaysia)(Age 21, México)2Pratibha Srivatsan (Age 14, India)Ghizlane Elguil (Age 21, Morocco)

Takeru Tanaka (Age 14, Japan)



Folajomi Isa Ayomide (Age 22, Nigeria)Yuna Nonaka (Age 14, Japan

Jeanie Zeng (Age 22, U.S.A.)<Living in Myanmar>)

Nant Aye Pwint (Age 22, Myanmar)

Mei Noguchi (Age 15, Japan)

Antonio Ferrara (Age 23, Italy)Tomotaro Suyama (Age 15, Japan)Jenna Hole (Age 23, U.K.



Una Muto (Age 15, Japan)<Living in Turkey>)Dave Tampus Pregoner (Age 24,
Philippines)

Purva Aggarwal (Age 24, India<Living in U.K.>)

Best School Award (2 schools)


Koka Gakuen Junior and Senior High School for Girls, Tokyo (Japan)



Setagaya Junior High School attached to Tokyo Gakugei University (Japan)

School Incentive Award (59 schools)
Akili Dada, Nairobi (Kenya)Assumption Academy, Osaka (Japan)

Brest Gymnasium No 1 (Belarus)Bunka Gakuen Nagano Junior High School & High School (Japan)Çağdaş Bilim Anadolu Ve Fen Lisesi, Marmaris (Turkey)Centro de Bachillerato Tecnologico, Industrial y de Servicios No. 234, Tamaulipas(México)

Chicago Futabakai Japanese School-Saturday School, Illinois (U.S.A.)

Chitoku High School, Shizuoka (Japan)Colegio Mundo de Alegria, Shizuoka (Japan)

Escuela Preparatoria No. 8, Universidad de Guadalajara (México)Fuji Sacred Heart School, Shizuoka (Japan)



Fukuoka Prefectural Ogori High School (Japan)

Ghiyasuddin International School, Male' (Maldives)



Gymnasium #12, Minsk (Belarus)

Honjo Higashi Junior & Senior High School, Saitama (Japan)



Ikeda Junior High School attached to Osaka Kyoiku University (Japan)

Inagi 6th Junior High School of Inagi City, Tokyo (Japan)3

Independent Secondary School, Victoria (Seychelles)International School of Milan (Italy)

Japanese Supplementary School of Middle Tennessee (U.S.A.)

Jonan Gakuen Junior High School, Senior High School, Osaka (Japan)

Joso Gakuin Junior High School, Ibaraki (Japan)

Kagoshima Gyokuryu High School of Kagoshima City (Japan)

Kyoto Gakuen Junior and Senior Highschool (Japan)



Liceul Mathias Hammer in Anina, Caras-Severin County (Romania)Matsumoto Shuho Secondary School, Nagano (Japan)Midori Elementary School of Itabashi City, Tokyo (Japan)



Mukogawa Women's University Junior & Senior High School, Hyogo (Japan)Nagano Prefectural Nakano Nishi High School (Japan)

Nagoya Sangyo University (Japan)

Nihon Fukushi University Affiliated High School, Aichi (Japan)

Niigata Seiryo High School (Japan)

Nobeoka Technical High School, Miyazaki (Japan)Okayama Prefectural Yakage High School (Japan)



Okkawa Junior High School of Handa City, Aichi (Japan)Otsuma Ranzan Junior and Senior High School, Saitama (Japan)

Philippine Science High School-Central Luzon Campus, Pampanga (Philippines)Preparatoria 23 de la Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León (México)Preparatoria Regional de El Salto / SEMS / Universidad de Guadalajara (México)Primary school Mahala, Una-Sana Cantton (Bosnia and Herzegovina)



Rangpur Cadet College (Bangladesh)

Rikkyo School in England, West Sussex (U.K.)



Rosary Sister School/Marj Elhamam, Amman (Jordan)

Satriwithaya School, Bangkok (Thailand)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)



SMJK Keat Hwa, Kedah (Malaysia)



St. Agnes' Junior & Senior High School, Kyoto (Japan)

Sydney Saturday School of Japanese, New South Wales (Australia)

Taisho Elementary School of Omuta City, Fukuoka (Japan)4Teacher Su Centre, Nay Pyi Daw (Myanmar)The Lao-American College, Vientiane (Laos)Tokyo Metropolitan Koishikawa Middle School (Japan)



VII Kopernik High School, Slaskie (Poland)

Yachiyoshoin Gakuen, Chiba (Japan)

Yamanouchi Junior High School of Yamanouchi Town, Nagano (Japan)

Zhodino Secondary School 6 (Belarus)

International Essay Contest for Young People
Panel of Judges:
ChairmanGenshitsu Sen

Former Grand Tea Master of Urasenke,
UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador
Chairman & Group CEO, CCO
SEIKO HOLDINGS CORPORATION
President of The Africa Society of Japan,
Former Director-General of UNESCO
Cartoonist
Senior Advisor, Hakuhodo Inc.
Chairperson, The Goi Peace Foundation
ComposerPresident & CEO, FELISSIMOCORPORATION
Picture book author

Shinji HattoriKoïchiro Matsuura
Suzue Miuchi
Junji Narita
Masami Saionji
Shunichi Tokura
Kazuhiko Yazaki
Shomei Yoh
Organized by:Endorsed by:

The Goi Peace Foundation
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan,
Japanese National Commission for UNESCO, Japan Private High School
Federation, Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education, JapaneseSupported by:Broadcasting Corporation, Nikkei Inc.
SEIKO HOLDINGS CORPORATION, PLUS CORPORATION

5

2020 International Essay Contest for Young People【Children’s Category – 1st Prize】

Your future begins today(Original)
Dudley Cojitha Senanayake(Age 12, Sri Lanka)
S.Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia

Dear Coji of 2020,

You would never have expected a letter from me in yourwildest dreams. However, I am writing to you as your future is
my present reality now.
Do you remember how you predicted that in ten years,
people will be living on Mars and that every child will beg Santa
Claus to bring them jet packs for Christmas? Unfortunately,
neither of those things have happened yet.
However, over the last few years, there have been manychanges. Changes we didn’t expect, have crept up on us slowly so that we didn’t even feelit, but when we look back at the world we live in, it has altered considerably.
Scientists have discovered that now, they can treat life-threatening diseases that theyearlier thought were incurable. With the help of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and robotics,
doctors have made advancements in the field of medicine, and people are enjoying its
benefits today.
Schools have changed drastically in the last decade. Along with subjects like Math,
English, and Science; - Self-awareness, Diversity, and Social responsibility have made it into
the curriculum. So, as a result, people evaluate their decisions by seeing if it can passthrough these three gates: “Is it beneficial to me? Is it beneficial to others? Is it beneficial to
the world at large?” These actions have made us more human in the best way possible.
People smile a lot now. They seem genuinely happy from inside out. I thought you’ll bepleased to hear that.
War is a thing of the past. People still have disagreements, but they have learned tovalue each other’s differences without expecting everyone to be the same. Communication

6

and understanding have superseded suspicion and prejudice, and this has made ourcommunities peaceful.
The world has turned more eco-conscious now. The 3R concept of Reduce, Reuse, andRecycle is integrated into the very being of people and to their daily lives, but it doesn’t stop
there. Our generation has built on that foundation. We have introduced a more advanced
3R concept of Rethink, Reimagine, and Reinvent, which we are striving towards, with great
enthusiasm. For instance, instead of cutting trees to make way for housing, homes are
artfully designed to stand atop tree branches. Needless to say, children everywhere aredelighted with this!
I must now tell you about something more personal. Do you remember the rose-apple
sapling that you planted ten years ago? Can you remember how you watered it, faithfully,
each day and how, as soon as you woke up each morning, you would rush to see if it had
sprouted new leaves? Can you also recall how you would measure it painstakingly each daywith your ruler, to see if it was any taller than the previous day? I remember how happy
you were if it was, and how unhappy you were if it wasn’t. A decade has gone by, and you
are now at university, miles away from home. Yet the rose-apple tree is still there. Just that
it is much taller now, with branches spreading overhead, and it's laden with luscious red
fruits. After you left home for your higher studies, your parents were lonely without you.
They missed the frolic that you and your friends got up to and the laughter that filled thehouse each day, whenever you were at home. However, now, there are small children inyour neighborhood, who always come into your garden after school, to pluck some roseapples with your parents’ permission. They fill your house with laughter, and their excited,babbling voices make your parents’ faces light up once again.
So, as you can see, every action, no matter how small, has a lasting consequence.
Sometimes, you get to enjoy its benefits, sometimes you don’t, but that doesn’t matter.
What matters is that we do something good, anyway.
Lastly, let me leave you with this thought: What we do today can make a better
tomorrow, so chose your actions wisely, for your future is in your hands.

Lots of love,
Coji of 2030

7

2020 International Essay Contest for Young People【Youth Category – 1st Prize】

Boomerang of Hope
(Original)
Marta Andriivna Chernychka(Age 18, Ukraine)
The Institute of International Relations of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv
Sitting alone in a scantily lit room, I feel my words being
addressed to the silence. I write these lines with grief in myheart, guessing how it will be difficult for you to read them. You
will be trying with all your might to convince yourself this letter
was written by a stranger who doesn’t resemble the one thatmeets you every morning in the mirror.
I see this. No matter what happens, we are the ones whoalways turn a little problem into gigantic trouble. We pick up asmidgen of reality, combine it with fiction, and from thissolution, we inflate a huge bubble to hide inside it from routine.
Fate is not without a sense of irony: you will not recognize me, but we cross each other’s
path every day, in each of your dreams and thoughts. Although in one exact moment you
will avoid looking me in the eye to face this fact.
Let me unlock a secret for you: there will also be disenchantments for you, because
there is no way I (you in the future) could equal your hopes. Sorry, but even your lowest
bar will be too high for me to jump to. I am not strong enough to climb up on a pedestal
and be “the best…” Well, take it from me: you will not forget the moment of realizing thatbeing first in the race is not the main thing.
Looking at the paper, I imagine flocks of your questions emerging and becoming tangled
together. They will be apt to find the gaps in my story. In this way, it will be easy to label it
incredible.
Anyway, if l still seem to be a pure figment, then, please, listen to this figment.
To imagine the world in 2030, just ask yourself a question: “How do you see it with yourown eyes?”
In this very moment, you generate my reality in your mind. Every day, people in your8

world throw boomerangs a decade’s distance. These boomerangs show us in 2030 the path
to follow, and indicate how people in 2020 see their prospects in the future.
I can’t even calculate how many of these boomerang-messages each of us gets every
minute. Each time, it turns into a gamble of uncertainty. Yesterday, my friend came toknow that, in the past, she had decided to do some charity work. She had already sent in
her future wish to lead a charity fund.
I expect now to hear your skeptical note that it sounds too easy: just send your wish into
the future and it will be fulfilled.
To be honest, I am still waiting for my boomerang. I feel like I am at an impasse point,where I think it could have gotten lost in the sands of time. My boomerang just didn’t
manage to fly here, because your wish was lacking in faith.
Every day, I live playing by someone else’s rules. Hard work in the office has become soannoying for me and my colleagues, whose past selves ordered them to adjust to this life!
All that remains for us is to regret that something was done wrong earlier. We had toconvince ourselves to move all the mountains along the way, in order to accept who we
were.
Believe in yourself!
Remember what your father said: “It is not so important to obey rules as it is not to be
hit by a car”. The worthiest goal is not to become the perfect version of yourself, but to be ahappy person who builds her path from scratch.
Create a new life for me!
We are completely different, yet so connected by an invisible link. It sends your thoughts
to me, so they can turn into reality here.
Just look around: your life is like a castle, built with bricks of the dream of one little
princess. That one was you, who believed in becoming a kind witch who would make abetter world. So please, send your boomerang of faith to fill the hollowness around me.

92020 International Essay Contest for Young People【Children’s Category – 2nd Prize】

Wiser Guider Future(Original)
Praise Mmesomachukwu Chukwumereze(Age 12, Nigeria)
Surebloom High School, Port Harcourt, Rivers State
Dear Praise,
How are you ten years ago? I look back and I see you, full of life, a complete dreamer
and believer of a better tomorrow. A lot of events and innovations have taken place, many
that would blow your 2020 outdated mind. I need to let you know some, given the fact thatyou are much younger and would need guidance from me, your future 2030 self.
At 22 years, I have had many good and unpleasant life experiences in the past decade.
Though I cannot tell you exactly what they are and how they happened, but I can give yousome red flags and words of wisdom on what the future has in store.
The world has developed far more than you can imagine. When you think of the future,
you might be thinking only about machines, robots and even more advanced electronic
gadgets. Well, you are about to be proven wrong by me.
Agriculture and the environment are playing major roles in the society, thoughtechnology has helped make their relevance more impactful. Agriculture has eventually
overtaken crude oil as the major source of revenue and the state of the environment is also
being taken more seriously. Both are connecting different nations together, brainstorming
and offering solutions to our global challenges and with different sectors coming together tosupport each other. Farm produce are now sourced locally, fresh, and healthy, and there isa ban on the use of chemical preservatives and cancerous food colourings. Many developing
countries are functioning better today, and more importantly, children are no longer being
used as labourers in our factories and farms.
At the moment, I am an environmentalist and my job is to ensure that there is a healthy
ecosystem in Nigeria, applying best practices to protect our environment. I also draft
policies that encourage reduction of carbon emissions from our industries and monitor for
strict compliance to our environmental laws. Every year, we plant millions of trees to sustain

10and promote a green environment. Also, the different government agencies are helping
each other; the new ministry of earth conservation continues to provide the much needed
funding for our agency, supporting our collective efforts in meeting the United Nations
sustainable development goal on climate action this year, 2030.
My career choice as an environmentalist was influenced greatly by our local farmers,
climate change activists, and social & healthcare workers. These caring groups of men andwomen spurred me through their life-saving actions such as campaigning to save ourenvironment from oil spills, seeking important legislations on climate change, caring for themost vulnerable in our society, and very importantly, going all out to care for those withdeadly diseases like the Ebola and Covid-19.
The Covid-19, that was introduced to humans in late 2019, that led to a global
pandemic, is no longer a problem in 2030. Vaccines have been developed, approved anddistributed widely to government authorized hospitals which are administering free toeveryone. Although things have not been the same, however, life has improved
tremendously since the outbreak; businesses have re-bounced from their losses, andmajority of the people have embraced the social distancing rules, and other laid down
health protocols to prevent resurgence. Generally, the Covid-19 pandemic has served as a
wakeup call to anyone who had not been taking good hygiene practices seriously. The
passion and sacrifices of our healthcare workers is a worthy example of the human fighting
spirit and remains the hallmark of our victory over the worst pandemic in modern history.
As I conclude, I would like to remind you of who you are; a fearless, hardworking, smart,and multitalented girl who stands up for what she believes are right and true. Always
remember that the future is not cast in stone, it is your daily decisions that will determine
the reality of this inescapable future; you have the power to make or mar it. But I will
always believe in you to stay determined, intentional, and take the right decisions to step
into your inspiring future.
I am confident that your exceptional attributes will guide you to this future which I am
intentionally creating beyond your 2030 self.
With love,
Praise11

2020 International Essay Contest for Young People【Children’s Category – 2nd Prize】

Lopsided Scale(Original)
Ryoka Tanoi(Age 13, Japan)
Shibuya Junior High School, Tokyo
Dear thirteen-year-old me,
As I drove past a small, homely town in America several days ago, I witnessed aband of sixth graders walking down a street, each holding an ice cream. Teens withblond heads and pale skin licked dark chocolate ice cream that were swirled on top of
the cones, while hands of dark skin held onto vanilla ice creams. Between them, there
were yellow-skinned Asians eating ice creams of mixed flavors of vanilla and chocolate.
Arms opposite to the ones holding ice creams wrapped around one another, andinnocent, ecstatic smiles spread across their faces. This is what I wanted to see in
2020. This is what I actually see in 2030.
As always, I captured the moments clearly in my brain like a photo and later wrote it
down in a notebook where I kept ideas for my books. As a writer, I am constantly on alookout for something intriguing. At the same time, I am willing to depict inspiring,
captivating moments like the one above into a story so that it can be shared with awider view of the audience. My only hope in doing this, is that somehow thoseaudiences would be inspired by what they had read. This is the biggest thing that I ask
for in my readers. Nevertheless, there is a tiny piece of my heart that is praying for thestory to be part of their soul and eventually be passed on to their grandchildren.
When I think of 2020, I remember you, or rather I, writing a short essay titled:
Innocent But Black. If my memory proves right, you wrote about how in a book – To
Kill a Mockingbird – that supposedly took place around 1933, a black man was accusedof a crime that he was not responsible for. Moreover, you concluded how despite many12

years having past, race discrimination still happened in 2020, and how human thinking
failed to develop unlike technologies. However, I can assure you that the next ten years
would be the years where we, humans, finally stopped pushing the snooze button toracism. Right now, I am proud to say that we live in a society where not only the term
‘racism’ is no longer alive, but also the act itself is gone.
When thinking about what to write to my old self, I considered several options. One
was telling you about several major events in my life that influenced me in many ways.
However, I held off on the idea since it is the unknown that makes a journey of life sothrilling. Secondly, I toyed with the idea of telling you beforehand of mistakes that you
are going to make in the upcoming years. But, I decided not to because if thosemistakes are not made, then I would not be the person whom I am right now. Finally I
decided to go with my third option: giving you a lesson I now know, that I wish I had
known before.
I envisioned Earth as a balance scale, and I asked myself: what would world be like
if we are all the same in character, gender or race? In my brain, an image of a balancescale being lopsided popped up since only one plate was filled up with identical humans
while the opposite plate was empty. However, if there are more races, then the
opposite plate of the balance scale could be filled, creating an equal society. In otherwords, because there are differences between us, we can compensate for the things
each lacks. Because there are differences between us, we need each other.
At the same time, one could refuse stepping onto the balance scale if one feels
mistreated, misjudged or misunderstood, which would unsteady the balance. Your job
is to make sure that none are feeling that way. That each and every one of you aretreated the way that they are meant to be treated. This does not automatically meanfund raising or protests. What I am suggesting is to use your voice through yourpassion – writing – to promote the idea.

13

2020 International Essay Contest for Young People【Youth Category – 2nd Prize】

As we saw in the movies(Original)
Júlia Peixoto Fernandes(Age 17, Brazil)
Escola Sesc de Ensino Médio
Brazil, January 1st, 2030.
Dear Peixoto,I always thought the world would be over by 2012, as the Maya Calendar predicted. I
remember being in my father’s car, looking to the night sky through the window andimagining how our existence would vanish. When the year came to an end, but we were still
here, I realized that what could destroy humanity wouldn’t come from far away, it was
already here: our lack of empathy, our hate and our prejudices - and only we, together,
could save ourselves.
Unquestionably, you have already made this analysis, because by the time I, or rather
we, were 17 we could not accept the inequalities that exist in the world. Although, to betrue to ourselves, just by being born a girl into a race mixed family in a South-Americancountry we could never understand the reasons why people were worst treated due to theirethnicity, gender, social status, sexual orientation or gender identity.
We no longer have to understand the incomprehensible, or try to justify horrendous
discriminations, as many did in the past. Therefore, I must say not even in our best dreams
and hopes we had a glimpse of what our world would come to be. It’s all so different now,
Julia! You would be completely amazed and happily overwhelmed by the changes wemanaged to do.
The process started through education, as we always believed it would. Schooling - in all
its levels - is now free for all, thanks to public education and UNESCO’s efforts everybody
has similar possibilities of studying, and that makes admission in colleges and jobs much
more fair than it ever was, since the line where we start our professional journey is thesame for all students. In addition, good education now includes studies in race, religion and

14gender, teaching respect, understanding and inclusion of the differences that make eachhuman unique.
As a result of the democratization of education, we’ve also made significant breakthroughin science, the world is now powered solely by renewable energy, the diseases thataffrighted society are curable, vaccines that prevent pandemics to happen are offered to us
all with no costs.
Likewise, health care as a basic human right exists all over the planet, we no longer haveto wait in long lines for treatments we wouldn’t have because we couldn’t afford, themedical supplies are never short as they were in war zones and underprivileged areas.
Every human being can live in dignity through the medical care offered.
Furthermore, art and cultural expressions are now highly valued as basics rights andseen as essential to the social living. I know, Julia! We never thought art would finally berecognized as a key part of a society reconstruction, but it is. You always felt the importance
all forms of art had in preserving memories and paving the way for the future experiences
and that is what you have been doing, you are a movie director and an activist as you
dreamed.
We documented through our films the changes that were only fiction before. The steps
society took in order to become an equitable and fair community are forever recorded in ourcameras and in our minds. The movies we directed were protest pieces that showed theinequality spread across the social relations and the enforcement of rights, but now our
motion pictures are reminders of where our hate and injustice led us in the past.
You must remember the power of change that exists within art, it will help you into theright path and you shall never forget that, just like in the movies, decisions made in thevery first scene have consequences to the final sequences. Our movies are important proofof what happened and can’t be forgotten, since knowing humanity previous mistakes andmisjudgements help us never let them happen again, otherwise our history will turn to be arepetitive collection of errors and omissions.
No rights should be taken for granted, Julia! Even now when the situation is ideal, we
keep fighting, so nobody will ever suffer again.
With great hope in the changes humanity can make,Júlia Peixoto.

15

2020 International Essay Contest for Young People【Youth Category – 2nd Prize】

A Melting Pot of Gems
(Original in Japanese)
Yuka Sone(Age 17, Japan)
Koka Gakuen Senior High School for Girls, Tokyo
This year, 2030, is the year in which the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are set
to be achieved. We are at a major turning point for the world. And as part of that, Japan
has also undergone a big change. That is, we no longer have the policy of being closed to
refugees, and we now have many more ‘friends’ in Japan. Today, Japanese people havecome to know and live together with people from countries that they knew nothing about
ten years ago. When I was in high school, I had the chance to participate in a Model United
Nations conference, and it made me pay attention to what was going on in the world. Since
graduating university, I’ve been working at a job where I help give support and protection
to refugees.
People said that if a lot of refugees came into Japan, it would create disorder in Japanesesociety, but in truth nothing like that has happened. To be honest, it has brought only goodthings. With this change in Japanese society, I feel like my perspective has broadened 180
degrees. If you walk to the right, there is a large Christian church. Not only Christianbelievers, but also people from the neighborhood gather there to enjoy a moment of peace.
Over to the left, you can see a Muslim mosque. It’s common to see the Halal mark on foodproducts, and there are lots of restaurants offering Halal dishes. The back streets arebustling with restaurants serving the local cuisines of countries that you’ve never heard of
before, as well as shoppers looking for rare cultural items. At the same time, there’s been arevival in shops selling traditional Japanese goods, as foreigners look to deepen theirunderstanding of Japanese culture. It seems that more people are taking another look at
Japanese culture. This cultural ‘give and take’ has enriched the citizens of Japan, bothmaterially and spiritually.
In addition, beyond the realm of everyday life, naturalized Japanese citizens haverecently been making considerable advances in the political sphere. In today’s global
society, it has become absolutely essential to have people with an objective view of Japan.

16Through diversified policies, we can expect further growth and development for Japan.
Of course, when I started working with refugees, I sometimes encountered very painful
circumstances. But they are the ones who have experienced unimaginable things. They
have braved danger and risked their lives, and finally made it to Japan, and as many ofthem as possible must be allowed to stay. In 2020, that would have been very difficult. At
that time, to say the least, I was not aware of the situations that refugees were in. It
seemed hard to understand their customs and cultures, and since they were in far off
countries, I guess I turned a blind eye to their problems. But over the past ten years, I’ve
encountered many values that I would never have known if those refugees had not been
accepted. Each time, my curiosity was aroused, and I embraced their precious culture andspirit—something that no one can take away. That attitude is what I have learned during
the last ten years. Compared with that time, when Japan took in less than 50 refugees ayear, we have now become a world leader in accepting refugees. It’s evidence that each
Japanese citizen has begun to move toward greater cooperation with the rest of the world.
At age 17, you will now go to university, and have the chance to meet lots of people,
step outside the shell of Japan and learn about all kinds of things. At that time, I hope you
will take the initiative to turn your attention overseas, and keep wanting to learn more. At
university, you’ll exchange ideas through papers and presentations, and when you go out
into the world, you’ll have the chance to interact with all kinds of people, both Japanese andforeigners. The world is studded with gems you have never seen before—gems known as‘values’. If you can observe as many of those gems as possible, be amazed at theirunfathomable variety, and share them with others, I’m sure you will grow into a personwith inner riches. Then, by the time it’s 2030, you’ll have an even better grasp of the world
than I do now.

17

2020 International Essay Contest for Young People【Children’s Category – 3rd Prize】

A letter from myself in 2030
(Original)
Talise Chan Luo Yi(Age 9, Singapore)
Nan Hua Primary School
Dear Talise,
I am your future self from 2030. This is my first attempt at sending out an email throughtime. You might find this unbelievable, but please read on.
Last December, my team and I found a code that could send emails through time. Cool?
Now, we are emailing to our past-selves and future-selves. Knowing you inside out, I am
sure your curiosity has been pricked now.
Let me tell you about your future. Our parents are still alive and working tirelessly.
Knowing our father, this is definitely not the life he wants, but the cost of living now ishigher than in 2020. Unlike ten years ago, senior citizens now are as productive as the
younger workers. However, the senior generation is no longer working as cleaners in foodcourts anymore. The culture of clearing our own plates has taken root in our country andconsumers help keep the place neat and clean.
Remember that we used to be paranoid that robots might take over the world? Well, it is
now happening. Food courts and hawker centres are fully automated, so robots do most of
the manual work or preparing and selling food. I remember that our mother used to orderdelivered food via FoodPanda and Deliveroo apps. In 2030, drones are used for fooddelivery. Many jobs have been taken over by robots and automation. Thankfully, jobs that
require human touch and human judgement are still retained in the hands of mankind.
You might be wondering why senior citizens are still working now. After COVID19, a lotof money was spent to research cures for different kinds of viruses and illnesses such as flu,dementia, cancer and diabetes. Humans have also adapted and now usually live to around ahundred years old and work till they are around 85. Since most of the senior generation
remains healthy, they remain in the workforce longer. The workforce also needs them as
the rate of birth globally is declining. There is also more flexibility in work choices. We can18choose to work from home or in the office.
Luckily the luxury of staying home is not a choice for children as they need to learn social
skills. To make learning more interesting, all students bring hologram iPads to school
instead of bags full of books. Also, all major annual examinations for primary school
students were scrapped in 2025. In other words, we now sit for only the Primary
Graduation Examination (PGE), which was formerly known as the PSLE (Primary School
Leaving Examination).
With or without examinations, we still made it to university. My friends and I decided toenrol in a coding and engineering course. My deepest worry had always been robots taking
over the world. I figured that an inventor’s job can help to stay ahead of technology and not
be easily replaced. For my first project, my friends and I are inventing a code to send emails
through time. I have worked as an intern before university and hence have some hands-on
knowledge in coding and engineering. Anyway, these are all trivial compared to the lastchange that has been made to the human world.
You are experiencing COVID19 in your time, right? I remember vividly that we were
terrified of the virus. However, there is a silver lining to every cloud. After the virus ended
people became nicer, kinder, more accepting and more forgiving. After being stuck at homefor very long, people started to appreciate everything that we had taken for granted. They
missed the simple pleasure of going out, talking to friends and working in teams. They
realised that life was very vulnerable and everyone should live life to the fullest and treasure
lives.
The virus was indeed a wake-up call to the people in Singapore. We learnt that we must
be self-sufficient and not just rely on other countries for our supply of food and necessities.
When you are 15 fifteen years old, you will see many gardens sprouting up everywhere thatused to be empty spaces, such as rooftops, vacant car parks, and in schools.
I will write to you again. Meanwhile, please ask Mother to start growing vegetables.
Love,2030 Talise Chan

19

2020 International Essay Contest for Young People【Children’s Category – 3rd Prize】

A Diamond In The Rough(Original)
Daniela Odong Asianut(Age 13, Uganda)
Mt St Maryʼs College Namagunga
Daniela,You must be wondering why I have chosen to write to you. Why 2030? Why now?
Perhaps, it is to tell you that we have achieved world peace. Or that the climate crisis is athing of the past. Maybe, it is that we can now watch documentaries about the Corona Virus
pandemic on History Channel. Would you believe me if I told you the answer lay in a
beautiful sunset? As I watch the sun’s rays glisten upon the sky’s canvas in colours: pink,violet and blue entwined, I believe it is proof that true beauty can only be found indifference.
Let me tell you a tale of my world. A world brought together by the worst of times.
Today, the atmosphere is set in a normal like never before. The COVID-19 pandemic was
not merely a bend in the fabric of our way of life. It posed a question of significance andpriority to many people. What was worth giving away a portion of their lives to and what
wasn’t? Not once in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that such a tragedy, in thepages of history, could paint such a magnificent future.
Spring cleaning people’s priorities, the pandemic created a deeper sense of community.
From all the people coming together to build homes for the homeless, to the loving smiles
being shared between strangers on the street; kindness has never been more evident. This
love is in turn being echoed by our planet. Birds tailored of a thousand colours roam free
without fear of being victimised by the sun’s rage. The skies are bluer than ever; free from
pollution. All these are ripple effects. Not of how much time we had but, what we chose to
do with it.
Prior to the outbreak, many people were cyber-focused. They lived life behind theirscreens and gadgets. They took the people around them for granted. The pandemic seemed
to press a pause button on the world. People were detached from the rest of the world and20had their gadgets to keep them company. But, that was not satisfactory enough. They
realised the asset in being able to not only be around people but also, to love them andcherish those moments. It is painful to think that only after a calamity like this, which took
thousands of lives, did we come to this realisation.
I understand your dream was always to help children with neurological disabilities andgive them a chance at a normal childhood. As a paediatric neurosurgeon, this dream is stillclose to my heart. I now believe my influence should go beyond the operation theatre. That
is why I partner with countless child care organisations around the globe to help children
with disabilities. I want to help them to realise their worth and show them that they areenough. This is a passion that I would never trade for anything else. These children havemore courage than I ever could. Their smiles in the harshest moments are the greatest gifts
I could possibly ask for. No matter how bad my day is, I always go home feeling as though I
have touched the life of someone special.
Daniela, I hope by the time you read this you appreciate that in difference lies
unfathomable beauty. What some may see as a rainy day, you should see as a prelude for a
lovely rainbow. It is only in the rough, that we can find a true diamond. Every day, when
you wake up to the sun’s rays at sunrise, glistening the sky’s canvas with colours: yellow,
orange and crimson, remember that it is not always that way. Some days, it’s calm lavenderand is still so endearing. In the same way, let your difference shine like a light illuminatingthat of others. Your world could use it, maybe now more than ever.
With love,You,
Only a decade away.

21

2020 International Essay Contest for Young People【Children’s Category – 3rd Prize】

Piece by Piece(Original)
Julianne Francesca Berse(Age 13, Philippines)
Dear Younger Self,
What if I told you that the world in 10 years would be occupied by war, inflicted withpandemics and other infectious diseases, or that racial discrimination is commonplace
anywhere you go? Would you believe me? Would you run away or accept this supposed fatecomplacently? If I told you something else did happen, but differently, would you be more
willing to believe that? That the world suddenly changed? That people did, too. The air iscleaner, tensions among nations ceased, the environment is much greener, and we all live
as one harmonious race despite our occasional shortcomings as individuals. You would love
to believe this, would you? You should, because as a matter of fact, it is the truth.
It is the year 2030, and I want to tell you how much change could happen in 10 years,
with a little more effort by everyone in the world. Let me give you a picture of how things
look from where I am at the moment. Here I am, sitting down on the floor of my airy
house, writing this letter as a look at the cluttered desk on my left, with a solar lamp which
was a gift to me three years ago. To my right is the door that leads to the kitchen and in
front of me is a wide window with a perfect view of the street. Outside, children are playing
freely while the adults chat as always with their neighbours, as they all wait in line forambulant vendors to hand them their goods. The streets are full of people selling food andother items. People don’t go to grocery stores as often as before. At the end of the street
where I live now is the remnant of a once mountain-like dumpster. The neighbourhood took
action and repurposed it to accommodate a small plot of land for alternative crops farming.
The healthy soil is being tended by people who suffered financially from the pandemic 10
years ago. With some support from the government and other volunteers, these people who
lived in an impoverished state before were given a fresh start.
Things are better now, but that came with a big sacrifice. The world is healing itself, but
the marks of abuse are still visible. Majority of the forests in some countries are gone and22have not recovered from the fires that lasted for more than a month. The tsunamis thatcame a decade ago on some islands ate up some of the most beautiful shorelines one could
walk on. Our seas and oceans are still recovering from the years and years of abuse they
endured from the piles of trash thrown by irresponsible individuals who could not care less.
I can say that our own mistakes as a human race caught up with us, and in a way forced us
to work with one another and changed drastically the usual, normal way of how everyone
did things. People were compelled to alter the rules, change borders, implement ecofriendly systems, and adopt a more open and equal society. Everyone pushed the planet toits limit, and it gave everyone what they deserved.
I am sending you this letter because I want you to know what is at stake here: it’s yourfuture. And that despite the challenges you see around you now, I pray you will remain
positive and hopeful. I am writing this to you because I want you to have faith in the future,
and a little more faith in yourself. That is all the advice I want to give you for now. I want
you to do your best and help while you can, share your opinions without fear, andencourage others to do the same. I leave this task to you with the hope that you may truly
have a better future. I promise you, everyone from 2030 continues to learn and fix ourways of living. It may have taken us long, but we learned our lesson and we’re slowly
building back the world together, piece by piece.
Love,
Julianne23

2020 International Essay Contest for Young People【Children’s Category – 3rd Prize】

To Myself in 2020: Don’t Give Up(Original in Japanese)
Satoru Ozaki(Age 13, Japan)
Setagaya Junior High School attached to Tokyo Gakugei University
This may seem out of the blue, but what do you think the world will be like ten years
from now? You probably thought something like this: If things go on the way they are now,
global warming will be getting worse, and many areas will be uninhabitable. In Africa andother places, the gap between rich and poor won’t have improved at all. But nowadays, it isimproving. Compared with how it was in 2020, people are working harder to create a worldthat feels better to everyone. And they are doing so voluntarily. People show more gratitude
to others than they did in the past. I am one of these people. I give thanks to nature, andthanks to the people who make our everyday goods. Now that I think about it, I really thinkthat gratitude has given me humility and joy in living, and that has given me happiness forboth myself and others.
What is your present self like? Are you showing enough gratitude to others? Appreciating
the normal, everyday things around us leads us to take action for the future. But right now,
you’re in junior high school, and it’s hard for you to do the same things as an adult would
do. However, there are still lots of things you can do. For example, you can share youropinions, as you are doing now. There’s always a need for new ideas to help solve
environmental problems and poverty issues. The posts you have been writing will definitely
be helpful in the future. The volunteer activities we are doing now have been aided manytimes by various ideas.
The conflicts that were taking place in 2020 have now completely disappeared. I suppose
this is because everyone has become happier. Nowadays, everyone is given equal
opportunities for things like education, and it is a very fair and just world.
Just like Japan in 2020, now everyone in the world can work toward their own goal. And
employment in poor regions has gone way up. In developing countries, lots of volunteers
worked together to help advance the primary industry. This was done not by just one
person, but with the help of everyone. I myself have been calling on everyone to lend a24

hand. Especially because you were born in a wealthy country, I think you could be moreproactive. The actions you take can save a lot of lives.
Education has changed a lot, too. First of all, the number of children getting an education
has increased since 2020. This is because advances in information technology have been
put to use in education. In places where education needs improvement for some reason orother, we have introduced online classes. That way, all children can get an education
without any trouble. And the expenses are paid almost entirely by donations. As a memberof humanity, I, too, have given donations.
As a junior high school student—or rather, as a human being—I hope you will sharesome of the things you feel at your age. Especially when it comes to education, we canlearn a lot from the things children are feeling. You should value the things that you areable to do in your position.
We created a world that is easy for everyone to live in because each individual thought
about what they can do and then put that into action. There are lots of things that you, as a
junior high school student, can do. You can share your opinions. You can learn about whatis actually going on. You must never give up and say that one person can’t make adifference. In the end, it is the efforts of each individual that will save the world.

25

2020 International Essay Contest for Young People【Children’s Category – 3rd Prize】

To my past self
(Original in Japanese)
Kaeno Shimizu(Age 15, Japan)
Tokyo Junshin Girls' Junior High School
Are you happy right now? I’m sorry for the abrupt question. I am your future self,
ten years from now. I have some things I really want to tell you, so I’m writing you thisletter.
But first, I’ll tell you what the world is like in 2030. In this world, which is mypresent and your future, progress has been made in many areas. For example, inpolitics. Recently the number of women in Parliament has been increasing little by little.
They are trying their best to solve problems that only women can understand. It is very
promising.
In transportation, self-driving vehicles are now normal. The number of accidents isdecreasing each year. I hope that someday, there will be no traffic accidents at all.
In the field of education, it’s now possible to teach each student in the way that best
suits their situation. For example, children who can’t attend school can study anytime
using video lessons, and for children who don’t like studying, they’ve devised ways tomake learning more fun, as if they are playing a game. At every school, they’re coming
up with different ideas and putting them into practice.
In the field of medicine, new drugs have been discovered to treat all kinds ofillnesses. X-rays and other images can now be analyzed more accurately. We can now
get test results in less than half the time it took ten years ago, so doctors can quickly
determine what the disease is and how to treat it. With these new technologies, hardly
any patients are beyond hope for medical treatment. It’s a big step forward in
medicine.

26

Speaking of which, I am now working as a nurse in pediatric surgery, helping
children who are battling serious diseases. No matter how advanced medicine gets,there are still many diseases about which much is unknown. My job is to support thesesick children and give assistance to the pediatric surgeons. The process of becoming anurse was much more rigorous and more difficult than I imagined. But now that I’m
through it, the work is very fulfilling. When a child I have cared for leaves the hospital,
the happiness I feel cannot be expressed in words. Of course, when working in a
hospital, there are many things that make you feel sad and depressed. But despite that,
I couldn’t leave this job. That’s because I love this job, and even though it’s harsh andsad at times, you can’t quit what you love. I think that’s the reason why I’m able tokeep doing it. Since I am you and you are me, I’m sure we think the same way. So
please, don’t give up on what you want to do. That’s the first thing I really want to tellyou.
There’s one other thing I want to say. It’s about what happened in the past. As you
know, when I was in grades 3 and 4, I didn’t attend school. At the cram school where I
went in grades 5 and 6, I was bullied terribly, and then I was bullied again in grade 7,
my first year of junior high school. It was a very difficult five years. But those five years
were definitely not wasted. Nothing in life is ever pointless or wasted. The day willdefinitely come when you feel this way. I can’t tell you about it in detail, but I will justtell you this: your future is dazzlingly bright. The future I mentioned earlier is just one
possibility. The future will change. Your options for the future are infinite, andeverything is up to you.
So, have confidence in yourself, and cherish each and every day. Please don’t forget
my message. When you get a little older, do as I’m doing now—tell your younger selfgoing through hard times whatever you feel is important to say at that moment in time.

27

2020 International Essay Contest for Young People【Youth Category – 3rd Prize】

Technology and Ecology: An Egalitarian’s View
(Original)
Aadya Kapoor(Age 15, India)
Amity International School Vasundhara Sector 6
Dear Aadya,
How are you? I am good. I just got off the hologram conference for my book release. As
it’s Thursday night and its weekend already, so, I thought of writing to you (more likereciting it to the self-writing pen). You might be thinking, ‘weekend? It’s Thursday!’ But forpast couple of years the week ends on Thursdays.
The weekend might be three days long but on the working days I am snowed with work
right up to my ears. For the last three years, I have been working for the Soccer AI
refereeing management department, where the drones help the match referees in decision
making in critical situations. We maneuver these drones to provide holographic videos
replayed from all the angles of the field. Many such technologies and innovations have been
introduced for different sports over the years.
As you know that writing has been my hobby for a long time, now I am a professional
author. I publish my writings in the daily hologram (the holographic magazine) and I havepublished two online books. To enthrall the readers, I garnish my books with musicalleitmotifs and 3D graphics.
About a decade ago, for the preservation of trees and minimal use of low-grade plastic
for packaging, book printing was terminated. Widespread use of reading devices evolved
over the years and now we have Holo-pads. They narrate holographic books withmeticulous modulation and enthralling graphics. Albeit, I always had a knack for collecting
books, so I still have the library of my old paper bound books, tucked safely in preserving
shelves, it is one of the few physical book libraries present in the whole world. Nowadays
the libraries consist of Holo-pads, holo-projectors, audiobooks and the AI librarians.

28

Earlier today, when I was in my book release conference, a queer incident happened. I
was signing a book when my ‘Garuda’ drone delivery service dropped the package right on
top of my holograph projector, and I was zapped back to my room with a digital pen in myhand and a package of organic and 3D printed groceries on the desk. I thought, how did thesensors of the drone not sense the holo-projector?! When I checked the settings on thewidget, I saw it had been changed to emergency delivery (to be delivered upfront to thecustomer). I believe that this was the doing of my 10-year-old cousin, who might have got
her hands on my delivery widget when she was visiting this Tuesday.
I am planning to visit my parents tomorrow; they live in the next town over, 150 kms
from here. It is a 20-minute ride by the floating trains which are the major public transportsystem. The use of cars has been reduced drastically, very few people own private cars, allof which are either electrically powered or run on batteries. A long-distance Superloop has
recently been established for interstate and international travel.
In the last quartet years, the major aim of all the countries of the United Nations ofUnited Countries (UNUC) has been the restoration of the Ecology and for the same, aproposal of Technology and Ecology Pact (TEP) was signed. The Green revolution took placeagain and it started a series of movements for ecology-preservation. There is the Artificial
Intelligence TE police assigned by the TEP organization all around the world that work withhumans, side by side, to maintain the ecological balance.
I used to believe that AI and IOT will take over the world, but I was wrong. Instead AI
and IOT augment us. AI and homo-sapiens make a great team, as someone once said thatthe brains of AI and wisdom of humans can do wonders.
We need to evolve technologically while preserving the ecology. If we maintain thebalance while integrating technology and ecology, the world will never be Grey.
My DIAD (do-it-all-device) has been buzzing for a while, it’s time to take Kieran, my dog,
on a walk to the dog streets. I wish you well and hope you give your best in whatever you
may do.
‘The best way to predict future is to create it’- Abraham Lincoln
Love,
Aadya

29

2020 International Essay Contest for Young People【Youth Category – 3rd Prize】

The World on RICE!
(Original in Japanese)
Asumi Shimada(Age 17, Japan)
Senior High School at Sakado, University of Tsukuba
To myself ten years ago:
My 2020 self probably can’t afford to think about the future, because my head ispreoccupied with my university entrance exam and my impatience with the fact that I still
don’t have a boyfriend. But please, don’t stop learning now. I say this because, in 2030, atage 27, I’m able to feel happy, thanks to the things I have learned so far.
As a matter of fact, nowadays the world is undergoing an unprecedented boom in rice.
The problem of decreased rice consumption and what was described as the westernizationof food are already things of the past. Today, rice is eaten all over the world, and it’s so
popular that it has shot to the top among the world’s three major grains. How did thishappen? For this, we have to talk about the amazing work by people in the integrated
course at Senior High School at Sakado attached to the University of Tsukuba.
As an adult, I’ve pursued a career in agriculture, a field that I love. I started working
toward the dream I’ve held since I was in elementary school—to develop the best rice inJapan. Through many years of research and rice cultivation, and together with others who
studied rice production in the high school’s agriculture course, we developed a new variety
of rice called Tsukusakamai. Tsukusakamai shook Japan by beating out the special AA rank
in the taste rankings of the Japan Grain Inspection Association—a rank that even the
Koshihikari variety had not attained. Naturally, this achievement was praised by many
agricultural institutions and won many awards. But here is the important thing.
Collaborating with graduates of the school’s international studies course, we used the prize
money to donate Tsukusakamai to developing countries that were unable to grow rice.
Since it is the best rice in Japan, Tsukusakamai put a smile on the faces of people in manydifferent countries. We also worked to spread the name of Tsukusakamai within Japan. With
the help of graduates of the business course, we worked to increase the consumption of rice30

by promoting Tsukusakamai on TV and in supermarkets. However, things didn’t go thatsmoothly. In a world where tempting foods like pizza and tapioca stand out, rice didn’t get
much of a spotlight. I had thought several times about giving up, when suddenly, the ricecraze happened. The strong point of Japanese rice—that it goes well with any kind of food—meant that it adapted well to foreign cultures where the rice had been donated, and it won
people’s hearts. This phenomenon crossed the seas, and finally, in 2030, the rice craze
came to Japan.
This rice boom has changed Japan significantly. First, with regard to the problem ofpeople’s diets. Rice improved the situation of people eating too much flour, and since it isoften cooked in a pot, it taught people the pleasure of sitting down at the table with one’s
family instead of eating alone. The second change was in agriculture. The rice craze
triggered an explosion in agricultural development all over the world. Even in Japan, with its
concerns about the aging population, ‘smart agriculture,’ which places little burden on
people’s bodies, was developed and implemented throughout the country, thanks toeveryone from the engineering course. In addition, since the rice boom arrived, Japanesefood has been attracting more attention all over the world. In the West, the term ichijusansai (a meal of soup, rice, and three dishes) has come into fashion and caused a social
phenomenon.
The rice craze has affected the whole world, warmed the hearts of the entire planet, anddelivered the happiness of delicious food. And we cannot forget that this phenomenon
required the support of many people from different academic disciplines, not only
agriculture. These include the international studies course to connect Japan with othercountries, the business course to connect producers and consumers, and the engineeringcourse to develop various kinds of machinery and improve the work of cultivation. Throughthe cooperative efforts of all these specialized courses that make up the integrated course,
we were able to affect the whole world.
My 2020 self is probably not so attracted to studying agriculture, which doesn’t usually
get much attention from society. And yet, just as Tsukusakamai connected the world
through delicious food, the seemingly unremarkable field of agriculture can bring people
great happiness. There are still a lot of problems in the world. Poverty and war are notcompletely gone, but rice—the food I love—was able to bring the entire planet together in
one bowl. That’s why I want you to take pride in learning my beloved subject of agriculture.
And never take it for granted that you are able to say “itadakimasu” and “gochisosama”(words spoken before and after meals in Japan) every single day.

31

2020 International Essay Contest for Young People【Youth Category – 3rd Prize】

Back To Nature(Original)
Zhou Xiangfei(Age 19, China)
Zhongnan University of Economics and Law
ThursdayMay 30, 2030

Fine

Rural mornings never need any alarm clock. When sparrows’ chirping mixed with thefirst ray of sunlight jumps into my room, I lift down the kitten that crept into my bed atnight and open the curtains to start a new day.
I have been a college-graduate village official for 8 years since 2022. This small village,
located in Hunan province, though closed and undeveloped, was full of attraction andchallenges for me, as I thought it needs educated youngsters to make it better. So I gaveup the offer from a big company in Beijing and returned to my hometown. Beijing is amodern city with plenty of ambitious dreamers. They try to keep up with its pace without
realizing that they are becoming a contributing factor individually. It sounds a bit like avicious circle. On the contrary, life in the countryside can be leisurely as there is no sense ofurgency caused by the elapse of hours and minutes. People work at sunrise and rest atsunset, closely following the steps of nature.
Breakfast matters to a day so I never slack off. Newly picked dewy cabbages and othervegetable from my garden are always my first choice to prepare breakfast for my family.
Then with a pair of cloth shoes and a suit of casual clothes I leave for the village officecenter to begin work. No traffic jams, no crowded subways, only the sounds of greetingwith children who are late for class and old people who exercise in the park help awake thesleeping countryside. Every time I walk on the road that I united the villagers together tobuilt 6 years ago, the most proud thing to see is the peach trees on the hills on either side.
It is the end of spring when peaches should be picked and packaged to deliver to theoutside world. The fruit tree planting project was introduced a few years ago as I found thatthe climate here matched the trees’ growth requirements perfectly. After experimenting

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with my villagers, we made it. Now I am in charge of external liaison and sales, whichbecame an important economic source of the village. Villas have replaced those shabby
country-houses for families lived here. And all have changed even at a rate that can be seenby the naked eyes over the past eight years. The future here is full of infinite possibilities as
nature brings us endless treasures. We built by the mountains, and live by the water, willing
to be integrated with them.
The night here is cool, together with gentle moonlight and pleasant chirping. The elderly
may leisurely sit under trees in the rocking-chair, resting to attain mental composure;children run around the tree, chasing each other happily though sweating heavily; some
women and I sit there, talking a few words of daily life. I look down the path at the end of
the village, which not only leads to distance but also to the future. Noisy cities never lackambitious youth, but the small closed and undeveloped village here needs the young to stayand open the way to the outside. And I am willing to put down roots here all the time, formy villagers, and for my hometown.
Although the moonlight, the stars and the fireflies along the road are enough to light theway home, I will soon put up street lamps for my villagers, as they are more like lamps ofhope and prosperity, directing us to the better. Before I go to sleep, I write this diary torecord my feelings and what I experienced today, fold it carefully and put it into a bottle
which tomorrow I will put into a river that flows to the past, about ten years ago, namely, in
2020. When I myself receive the letter and see what will be like ten years later, I will notregret the decision that I will make two years later. After all, that is the life I desire.
Tomorrow, the beginning of summer, all are to start a new round of busyness, except
this small village.

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2020 International Essay Contest for Young People【Youth Category – 3rd Prize】

Ne te suicide pas(Original in French)
Mpihary Mahefa Razafindrabezandrina(Age 20, Madagascar)
One Way for Change
Tananarive, 09 juin 2030
Chaque dimanche, je reste chez moi. Mon mari est part à l’hacienda du quarter: unterrain agricole communautaire, entretenu par les riverains, et qui pourvoie à leurconsommaton quotdienne. Depuis que le WWF a lancé son programme écologique, denombreux Etats (dont Madagascar) ont accepté d’entamer les démarches pourl’autosufsance de chaque quarter; grâce à l’aide des entrepreneurs locaux et la coopératoninternatonale, le projet a été un franc succès, mon mari fait parte de ces entrepreneurs.
J’en ai donc profté pour faire le ménage. Au moment de placer le nouveau bonsaï, monœil fût atré par un objet sur l’étagère: un crucifx. Cet objet a fait surgir en moi dessouvenirs d’il y a une décennie. Cete letre est pour toi: le moi de 2020.
Oui, c’était au cours de cete année que tes parents ont découvert que tu es un garçon
qui aime les garçons. Persuadés du fait que tu iras en enfer, ils ont voulu que tu voies unprêtre, il t’avait donné ce crucifx, dans l’espoir que tu « guérisses » un jour de cete «maladie ». Alors tu as voulu te suicider en avalant une plaquete entère dechlorphéniramines.
Heureusement, tu t’es fait un nouvel ami, cela t’a gardé en vie. Vous êtes tombés
amoureux l’un de l’autre, mais sachant qu’il vient d’une famille musulmane, vous avez
perdu tout espoir d’une possible vie en commun. Les pensées suicidaires n’étaient jamais
loin, ainsi que l’incerttude et la peur du futur.
Aujourd’hui pourtant, une belle journée s’annonce. Dans deux heures, les familles duquarter vont venir pour le déjeuner hebdomadaire d’échange culturelle, une coutume que tuviens d’instaurer. C’est le tour de ta famille cete semaine. Ton mari va rapporter lesingrédients cueillis de l’hacienda, et puis vous cuisinerez pour les voisins. Autour d’une table
garnie de plats bios, toutes ces familles pourront échanger dans le but de se comprendre

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mutuellement. Cécilia et Sandra vont parler de leur demande d’adopton en cours, Ahmad etYasmina vont raconter leurs actes de charité lors du dernier ramadan, Olivia pourra seconfer à propos des séances de kinésithérapie du pett Nathan.
Tu ne me crois pas? Tu te demandes comment un couple musulman peut-elle accepter
de s’atabler avec des couples homosexuels? Comment un couple de lesbiennes peut ilenvisager l’adopton? Comment tu as pu te marier? Dans un des derniers pays au mondeauquel on aurait pensé que de tels changements pouvaient avoir lieu.
Difcile de croire à un monde où la discriminaton n’existe plus; difcile d’y croire quand lesinsultes sont nos pains quotdiens, du haut de nos vingt printemps.
Après avoir eu mon diplôme en journalisme, j’ai réalisé un reportage sur les
discriminatons envers les personnes LGBT+ à Madagascar. Ayant gagné le prix Pulitzer pource reportage, j’ai commencé à être de plus en plus visible sur la scène internatonale; alors
j’ai profté de cete occasion pour nouer des liens avec des organismes importants, et mon
magazine a été créé.
Chaque semaine, depuis la créaton du magazine, nous avons recueilli des milliers detémoignages de jeunes LGBT+ victmes de violence et de discriminaton, nous travaillons
avec plusieurs cabinets de psychologues réparts dans toute l’Afrique pour les écouter.
Grâce à mes textes poignants, le magazine a encouragé de nombreux jeunes à s’afrmer
en tant que personnes LGBT+, avec l’appui des organismes internatonaux, un vent dechangements a soufé sur le contnent: les peines de morts liées à l’orientaton sexuelle ont
été abolies, de nombreux pays ont permis à tous les citoyens de se marier légalement,
indépendamment du genre.
Aujourd’hui, je contnue à écrire, c’est ma passion. J’utlise l’écriture pour donner une voix
à ceux qui ne peuvent pas parler, apporter le souten à ceux qui se croient seuls, à donner
de l’espoir à ceux qui veulent s’arracher la vie, comme moi il y a dix ans, comme toi.
Alors, ne te suicide pas; des millions de jeunes dans ta situaton ne peuvent pas parler:
sois leur voix. Ne te suicide pas, tu es important. Ne te suicide pas, ils ont besoin de toi.

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Do not commit suicide(English translation)
Antananarivo, 9 June 2030
Every Sunday, I stay home. My husband went to the hacienta in the neighbourhood: acommunal farmland, maintained by local residents, which provides for their daily
consumption. Since the WWF launched its ecological program, many states (including
Madagascar) have agreed to start the process of self-sufficiency of each neighborhood;thanks to the help of local entrepreneurs and international cooperation, the project has
been a great success, my husband is one of them.
I took the opportunity to clean up the house. As I placed the new bonsai tree, my eye
was caught by an object on the shelf: a crucifix. This object brought back memories of adecade ago. This letter is for you: the me of 2020.
Yes, it was in that year that your parents discovered that you are a boy who loves boys.
Convinced that you would go to hell, they wanted you to see a priest, who gave you thiscrucifix in the hope that you would one day be able to "cure" this "illness". So you wanted tocommit suicide by swallowing chlorpheniramine pills.
Luckily, you made a new friend, it kept you alive. You fell in love with each other, but
knowing that he came from a Muslim family, you lost all hope of a possible life together.
Suicidal thoughts were never far away as well as uncertainty and fear of the future.
Today, however, a beautiful day is coming up. In two hours, the families of theneighbourhood will come for the weekly cultural exchange lunch, a custom you have justintroduced. It's your family's turn this week. Your husband will bring back the ingredientsfrom the hacienta, and then you will cook for the neighbours. Around a table full of organic
food, all these families will be able to exchange in order to understand each other. Cecilia
and Sandra will talk about their current adoption application, Ahmad and Yasmina will talkabout their charitable deeds during the last Ramadan and Olivia will talk about little
Nathan's physical therapy sessions.
Don't you believe me? You wonder how a Muslim couple can agree to sit down withhomosexual couples? How can a lesbian couple consider adoption? How could you get
married? In one of the last countries in the world where you would have thought suchchanges could take place.
It's hard to believe in a world where discrimination no longer exists; hard to believe in aworld where insults are our daily bread from the top of our heads.

36After graduating in journalism, I did a report on discrimination against LGBT+ people in
Madagascar. Having won the Pulitzer Prize for this report, I began to be more and more
visible on the international scene, so I took this opportunity to establish links with importantorganizations, and my magazine was created.
Every week since the creation of my magazine, we have collected thousands oftestimonies from young LGBT+ victims of violence and discrimination, and we work withseveral psychologists' offices throughout Africa to listen to them.
Thanks to these poignant texts, the magazine has encouraged many young people toassert themselves as LGBT+ people. With the support of international organizations, a windof change has blown across the continent: death sentences related to sexual orientation
have been abolished, many countries have allowed all citizens to marry legally, regardless of
their gender.
Today, I continue to write, it is my passion. I use writing to give a voice to those who
cannot speak, to give support to those who think they are alone, to give hope to those whowant to take their own lives, like me ten years ago, like you.
So don't commit suicide; there are millions of young people in your situation who can't
speak: be their voice. Don't kill yourself, you are important. Don't commit suicide, they need
you.

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2020 International Essay Contest for Young People【Youth Category – 3rd Prize】

The Ripple Effect(Original)
Krisha King Lim(Age 23, Philippines)
University of the Philippines Manila
Dear Krisha,
I am writing this in a makeshift tent on a mountain. Yes, after several months ofplanning and preparation, my colleagues and I finally embarked on another mission. Thistime, it is for a community of Lumads- indigenous groups from the southern part of thearchipelago. I am excited to see this tent transform into an equipped, fully functioning,
concrete health clinic to cater to the needs of the ethnic minorities. For now, our once amonth visit here to conduct health check ups and out-patient surgeries would hopefully
suffice and make healthcare more accessible. It is such a breath of fresh air to be outside,
to meet a diverse group of people, and to realize that being a doctor does not stop the
moment you walk out of the hospital. I know you have always been curious of what the
future holds, well let me tell you that a decade has passed since the pandemic. The kneejerk reaction after the pandemic was to strengthen healthcare systems and to revive theeconomy. After all, everybody was reminded that a strong economy needs healthy citizens,and a strong economy is needed to maintain the population’s health. However, therelationship between health and economy is not a dyad; health is multifactorial such thatthe environment, education, and politics, among others, also affect a person’s overall wellbeing. As I look into this scenic view from where I am, a drizzle is starting and I am
reminded of how nature sustains every human endeavor, including the nourishment for ourhealth. You have realized this in your youth, I know that achieving a more sustainable
environment is an advocacy dear to your heart and you have already taken small actions. I
remember you putting up posters that encourage customers to bring their own reusable
lunch boxes and utensils in take out canteens. Well, people today have also realized ourdependence on nature, that the relationship that we have with the environment is fragile

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and that disruption of even the most basic element in an ecosystem can create a ripple
effect that transcends borders. As studies showed that most epidemics like AIDS, Ebola,
SARS, the most recent COVID-19, and many more originated from animals and wildlife, thepublic has become more aware that disease is an environmental issue as much as it is apolitical one. You would be happy to hear that legislations are being passed and being
strictly implemented to stop further deforestation and loss of wildlife habitat, to halt
dumping of chemicals, toxic substances and garbage in rivers, to improve practices of the
livestock industry, and to shift to sustainable energy sources. Biodegradable and sustainable
alternatives to single use plastic bags and cutleries among others are now made available.
Our neighborhood, which was once so against plastic bans, has been active in recycling andreceptive in patronizing more environment-friendly shops and businesses. As for thehealthcare sector where most supplies are single use and disposable, it is still a challenge to
do away with plastics as cross reactions and contaminations must be prevented. However,
you would be proud to know that I am part of an international collaboration that researches
on how to manufacture medical supplies from other sources such as algae and plants whichshow promising results. We still have a long way to go, but creating lasting change is not asprint but a marathon. The challenge for the future is making these advancements
accessible to everyone, even for people in remote areas like where I am now. For now,
never tire of bringing your own reusable utensils for lunch and urging your friends to do thesame. You may not realize it, but these small actions can generate a ripple effect thattranscends generations and prevent another epidemic. Prepare yourself well so that you
may provide the best care for your future patients and the environment, as a doctor and as
an advocate. The road ahead will get tougher but always let truth, passion, and advocacy
guide and remind you of why you started in the first place. You will never lose your way if
you never lose your why. Until then.
With love,
33-year-old Krisha

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