• June 15, 2026 – Submission of Applications Opens

• August 25, 2026 – Submission of Applications Closes

• September 7, 2026 – Winners Announced

• September  – Awards Ceremony. Exact time and location to be announced

 

 

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Eligibility​​

 

Age and Residence: For the 2026 edition, students must be enrolled in an educational institution in the USA and entering 8th–12th grade as of September 2026.

Academic Standing: A minimum unweighted GPA of 3.0 (or the equivalent).

Teamwork: Both individuals and teams can participate in the competition. Participation in teams is encouraged. To encourage leadership and simplify the evaluation process, the maximum team size is 5, including the leader.

Eligibility for National Participants: Applicants must have Romanian heritage, or their project/experience must relate to the Romanian diaspora.

There are no Romanian or US citizenship requirements.

There are no fees required — this competition is entirely free to participate in, except for travel, accommodations, and any participatory or entry tickets. Your donations are highly encouraged to sustain the awards.

 

Evaluation Criteria

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Additional information regarding evaluation criteria is recommended to strengthen your application, but not required:

1) Community Work and Leadership

The number of volunteering hours and their visible outcome and results will be a strong factor in the evaluation. Where applicable and possible, volunteering and community work in Romania (e.g., groundbreaking projects with children, youth, and seniors from underprivileged social backgrounds, or religious and ethnic minorities) will receive the jury's highest consideration. Please highlight this aspect in your application.

Provide a detailed description of your working experience, highlighting the ways in which your activity and leadership initiatives impacted the targeted community, strengthening its civic spirit and sense of unity.

2) Essay

Submit a short motivational essay describing how your community work influenced your own personal growth and brought awareness to your bicultural and/or bilingual identity in the US. We strongly encourage applicants to model their essays from their college application essays, following a similar structure and attention to detail. The essay shall be no fewer than 200 words and no more than 500 words.

Optional Essay: Submit an essay under 400 words on any of the following topics: (1) a challenge that has taught you to be resilient, (2) where you see yourself in 10 years from now, or (3) any topic of your choice.

As with the main essay, we strongly encourage applicants to follow the college application essay format, with similar structure and attention to detail.

3) Recommendations from Local Community Leaders

Your essay and recommendations (up to 2) will play an important role in the evaluation process. A formal letter is not required — a name and contact information (email and/or phone number) will be sufficient. The contest organizers will reach out to confirm the recommendations.

4) Romanian Heritage Connection

Applicants of any cultural background may qualify, as long as they are able to demonstrate their interest, work experience, and connection to Romania. Examples of such proof include:

• Passing an officially recognized Romanian language test (where available)

• An essay written in Romanian

• Volunteer work in România or in the Romanian-American community in the US