Stikhina Irina Aleksandrovna Head of the Department of Foreign Languages, Candidate of Philological Sciences, Associate Professor

International Essay Contest in English "Social Justice: Problems, Discussions, Solutions" It is held within the framework of the Congress of Entrepreneurship and Engineering of the Eurasian Economic Youth Forum (hereinafter EEYF) and is implemented at the EEYF's parent site, Ural State University of Economics, as well as at foreign and regional EEYF venues that have chosen this Competition.

The contest is dedicated to the World Day of Social Justice. In many countries of the world, educational lectures, seminars, and conferences are held in this regard, where urgent problems of the social sphere are discussed, proposals for improving legislation, employment programs, and social security are considered.

The objectives of the Competition are:

• to draw participants' attention to the problem of social inequality faced by people due to their gender, age, race, ethnicity, religion, culture, or disability;
• analysis and critical reflection of the problem identified by the Contest topic, search for possible solutions;

Increasing interest in learning English as a language of international cooperation and joint discussion of global human issues.

Directions of the Competition:

1. National unity as a basis for sustainable development and social justice.
2. Through justice to unity: the youth agenda of the 21st century.

The competition is conducted in the form of a selection of the best essays submitted in English, prepared individually based on an analytical approach to the areas of the Competition, as well as the creative application of knowledge and skills in the field of a foreign language as a tool of the participant. The finalists present their work at the face-to-face defense in the form of an oral presentation.

Contest participants:

• Students of non-linguistic fields of study at universities, academic institutions in Russia and abroad, as well as other interested organizations. The age of the participants is from 18 to 35 years.

Stages and dates of the Competition:

• Applications for participation in the Competition and competitive works are submitted until March 20, 2026 through the registration system of the website.

The lists of finalists invited to defend their works in person and to participate in the final events of the Forum will be published on the competition page from April 1 to April 10, 2026.

The face-to-face defense will take place on April 24, 2026.

The award ceremony will take place on April 25, 2026.

The winners and prize-winners of each direction of the Competition are awarded with diplomas and cash prizes:

• 7,000 rubles - for 1st place
• 5,000 rubles - for the 2nd place
• 3,000 rubles - for the 3rd place

The winners of the Competition, awarded with a Diploma of the first degree, are awarded points for individual achievements when applying to study at USUE under master's degree programs (2 points).

Following the results of the final events, it is planned to release a collection of materials of the XVI EEYF, where the abstracts of the finalists of the Competition will be posted. The collection will be indexed in the RSCI and on the website of the Ural State University of Economics.