Over 1,000 students from 46 schools signed up for the 2^nd Macao-wide English Essay Competition (MEEC), with 61 entries named winners after multiple rounds of blind judging, and awarded during a prize giving ceremony at the Macau Science Centre (MSC) on Saturday, according to a statement from the co-organisers on the same day.

The contest was the first English essay contest in Macau that aims to promote the United Nations’ 17 sustainable development goals.

Themed “An Inclusive World”, the contest categories comprised university, high school, middle school and upper primary school, with the winning entries being on various topics such as gender, poverty and justice. The winners of the “Empowerment Award” and “Best Achievement Award”, the statement underlined, were Premier School Affiliated to Hou Kong Middle School and Pui Ching Middle School respectively.

MEEC Organising Committee Chair and MPSA Executive Vice President, Sandy Leong (梁嘉怡) said in a speech at the award ceremony that the theme was a way for students to explore the barriers to inclusion that they notice within the community and brainstorm ways we can reduce inequalities in the world.

The statement said that during the ceremony, which was attended by nearly 190 people, each category’s first-prize winner read out their essays, while a panel discussion was held with student representatives who gave their thoughts on inclusion and sustainable development’s importance.

The day also saw the release of a collection of the winning essays titled “An Inclusive World”. The list of winners and the essay collection can be found on https://essaymacao.com  

This handout photo provided by the co-organisers of the 2nd Macao-wide English Essay Competition (MEEC) on Saturday shows a student panel discussion taking place on the day of the award ceremony.