Dear students, teachers, and parents,

We are happy to announce the results of Gulen Institute Youth Platform 2012 and thank you for your participation in our essay contest. If you have not seen the results before, please visit our "Winners 2012" page.

We appreciate and congratulate all the students for their efforts and contributions and all parents, and educators for their valuable support and leadership.

The contest topic for this year was “Creating solutions for the challenges faced by children today”. Based on their research, students addressed challenges such as violence, poverty, lack of access to education, child neglect, child labor, trafficking and slavery, drug abuse, health and nutrition, and gender inequality and tried their best to provide potential means that realistically overcome these challenges.

Youth Platform has received more than 1,300 essays from 40 states in the U.S. and from 65 countries around the world. Thirty-seven contest winners will be awarded a five-day trip to Washington, D.C. and New York City to participate in the award ceremony between May 28 and June 2, 2012. During this sponsored trip, students will have the opportunity to tour the capital, meet with U.S. Congress members and community leaders, and visit various think-tank organizations. This trip offers a unique opportunity for cross-cultural understanding, as contest winners are invited to share their essays and engage in respectful dialogue with their peers from around the world.

The Award Ceremony will take place in the U.S. House Rayburn Gold Room on Wednesday, May 30, 2012. As in 2011, the ceremony will be chaired by the respected U.S. House of Representative members Congressman Gene Green and Congressman Ted Poe.

We again thank you for your participation and encourage you to participate again in next year's essay contest.

If you have questions about your participation or the trip and award ceremony, we invite you to read the F.A.Q. page of this website.

Best regards.