Deadline: 14-Nov-2025
Applications are now open for the Pulitzer Center Writing Contest to make their voices heard by participating in a letter-writing contest that encourages civic engagement and global awareness.
The contest focuses on five key issues: Climate and Environment (Includes climate change, pollution, extractive industries, and more), Global Health (Includes health inequities, food security, mental health, water and sanitation, and more), Human Rights (Includes racial justice, gender equality, migration and refugees, Indigenous rights, and more), Information and Artificial Intelligence (Includes technology and society, misinformation, and more), and Peace and Conflict (Includes war, conflict, and peacebuilding efforts).
Prizes include $300 for first-place winners to support global community engagement in their classroom, along with publication of their letter, photo, and bio on the Pulitzer Center website. Finalists receive $75 and similar recognition. All entrants are invited to participate in a virtual Pulitzer Center town hall in November to share their solutions with peers worldwide.
Students are invited to write a letter to a local elected representative that explains the global issue they want prioritized, shows how it connects to their local community, and proposes a solution. Through this contest, students can practice global citizenship, civic action, and persuasive writing, all while exploring the underreported issues that matter to them through Pulitzer Center news stories.
Eligible participants include all current K-12 students across the globe, and letters may be written in English or Spanish. Students are encouraged to choose a story from the Pulitzer Center’s Suggested Stories tab that provides new information about an issue that matters to them. Letters should answer key questions: what issue the student wants addressed, why it is important globally, its relevance to their local community or personal life, the authority of the decisionmaker, and the proposed solution supported by evidence.
Letters will be evaluated on clarity, connection to the theme, awareness of existing solutions, appropriateness of the decisionmaker, and evidence provided to support the proposed solution. Students are encouraged to explore how global issues intersect with their local communities and to advocate for solutions that have proven effective elsewhere.
The deadline for applications is 14 November 2025.
For more information, visit Pulitzer Center.