Global Student Paper Competition Taking on Drug Policy -- First Submissions Due 10/30

The Global Debate and Public Policy Challenge (GDPPC) has chosen "Rethinking Drugs" for its 2013-2014 theme. GDPPC is a written and oral policy competition for undergraduate students from around the world. It provides a platform which embraces the concept of open society, bringing together outstanding undergraduate students from across the globe to foster a rich and lively exchange of ideas through critical thinking and well-informed debates. A new video captures the highlights of last year's forum, which concluded in June 2013. The video is online at http://youtu.be/ptSHMga4wHU.

Students participating in the competition are asked to explore what policies governments should adopt to address the current challenges that drugs, drug-related crime and violence pose on a social and political level. This encourages students to think critically about the war on drugs, the implications of current drug policies on security, health, justice and human rights. Students are asked to submit two written papers (a policy memo and a policy brief) on different scenarios. The first one (policy memo) is due 30 October 2013. Outstanding students will get to present their ideas at a final forum in Budapest and stand the chance of winning one of up to five $10,000 scholarships and grants.

The Global Public Policy Institute (GPPi) has partnered with the International Debate Education Association (UK), the IDEA Central Foundation, the European Council of Foreign Relations as well as the School of Public Policy at Central European University to organize the third round of the Global Public Policy and Debate Challenge (GDPPC). The Challenge is sponsored by the Open Society Foundations.

More information and fresh updates about the Challenge can be found at http://gdppc.idebate.org as well as on Facebook.