33 %
of the world’s population still has no access to the Internet.
Eduki National Competition 2025/2026 & Françoise Demole Award
Competition
A bi-annual competition, under the high patronage of the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva, that invites young people from all over Switzerland to share their vision of the future, to imagine, create and act for a sustainable world, through artistic works, media productions or concrete actions.
Target public
Students attending school in Switzerland, from primary to secondary II (aged 4 to 19), accompanied by a teacher. A unique opportunity to get involved, reflect and become an agent of change.
Awards ceremony
Participants will have the opportunity to present their projects and showcase their work at the awards ceremony at the United Nations in Geneva – an unforgettable experience at the heart of international Geneva!
With the support of
The United Nations Office in Geneva, International Telecommunication Union, Swiss Confederation, Swiss Commission for UNESCO,Department of Public Education, Training and Youth of the Canton of Geneva and Fondation pour Genève.
Interconnected: human - digital - sustainable
Edition theme
Exploring the impact of digital technology on our daily lives ..This is Eduki’s challenge for you this school year!
The compass is the symbol of this 10th edition.
It embodies the quest for orientation and the search for the best path towards a responsible digital world, where human beings and sustainability are at the heart of development.
This theme, which is both topical and transversal, offers numerous educational avenues for developing students’ critical thinking, creativity and ethical reflection. Their artwork, projects and concrete actions will point the way forward in our increasingly interconnected world.
Two main approaches
Human and social impacts
Digitalisation is transforming our lifestyles, impacting them in a variety of ways, both positive and negative. It influences social relations, well-being, education, work and civic life. Thanks to technology, we are increasingly interconnected and informed. However, it also raises major issues such as misinformation, online safety and mental health.
Environmental impacts
New technologies offer invaluable tools for analyzing environmental changes and responding swiftly, among many other things. But they also raise crucial questions: energy-consuming equipment production, high electricity consumption, extraction of rare resources, management of electronic waste… to name but a few.
Key dates
Registrations are open from September 1 to December 31,2025.
A first
ITU launch event
Join us on September 30, 2025 at 2:00 p.m. for the launch of the 10th edition of the competition, at an inaugural event organized in partnership with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to mark its 160th anniversary.
This highlight will feature interventions by Ms. Doreen Bogdan-Martin, Secretary-General of the ITU, and Ms. Francine de Planta, President of the Eduki Foundation.
- Attendance at this online event is NOT mandatory for participating in the competition.
62
billions of kilograms of e-waste is generated every year by the digitized world.
Françoise Demole Award
The Françoise Demole Award supports projects or project ideas by young people in Switzerland relating to “International Geneva” and sustainable development, with funding of up to CHF 10,000. Open to secondary II students in the “Concrete action” category of the competition, it enables innovative concepts related to the theme of the edition to be implemented.
How to participate?
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1. Familiarize yourself with the competition and the edition’s theme
Get ready to take part with the help of our team! Throughout the competition, Eduki offers webinars, teaching resources and practical tools to support teachers in their approach. Discover our resources to help you better understand how the competition works and how to tackle the theme in class. Get inspired by the winning projects of previous editions, and help spread the word about this unique opportunity by ordering our free posters and flyers – for distribution in your schools or via your networks.
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2. Choose the category
Select the category that best suits your project: artwork, media achievement, or concrete action.
→ Artwork can include visual art (drawing, painting, photography, sculpture), literature (poem, story, comic), live performance (theater, dance) or digital art (photo montage, digital illustrations).
→ A media achievement refers to an audiovisual or digital production, such as a video report, a short film (documentary or fiction), a micro-trottoir, a radio program, a website, a video game, or a music video.
→ A concrete action is a project carried out or imagined in connection with the competition theme, which unfolds in a real context: at school, in a neighborhood or city. It can be: 1) an idea for a project (still in the design phase), 2) a project in progress, 3) or a project that has already been completed, if it was carried out in the 12 months prior to the submission deadline.
Looking for ideas? Take a look at projects from previous editions for inspiration!
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3. Register
Fill in the online form to register your project idea before December 31, 2025.
Useful information: You can also submit a project carried out in the last 12 months, or integrated into an already planned school activity (e.g. phone-free day, digital week, sustainability week, etc.). See the rules and regulations of the competition and the award for more details.
Please note : Only teachers or administrative staff may register a project. If you are a student and would like to register a project, please speak to an adult advisor.
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4. Validation by our team
Once your entry has been registered, our team will review it to ensure that the guidelines have been met and that you have registered in the appropriate category. Please note that, unfortunately, we can only accept projects from schools in Switzerland.
Useful information: If necessary, you can receive feedback or advice to help you refine your project before the next stage.
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5. Jury’s decision
Once your registration has been validated, you will be able to submit the final version of your project online up until February 28, 2026. All you need to do is fill in a brief technical form and submit the following elements according to your category:
→ Artwork: For a visual or digital art project an image of the work in JPEG format. For a literary or live performance project a document of no more than ten pages in PDF format.
→ Media production: A video in MP4 format or audio recording in MP3 format.
→ Concrete action: A maximum two-minute video in MP4 format, without subtitles, giving a brief presentation of the project.
Other photos or documents may be attached as appendices to illustrate the process followed.
Please note: A concrete action project from Secondary II? Don’t forget to submit it to the Françoise Demole Award – a great opportunity indeed!
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6. Awards ceremony
On May 6, 2026, experience an unforgettable day at the United Nations in Geneva! Fun and cultural activities will be offered to explore the competition theme and discover international Geneva (subject to availability; priority to prizewinners). Discover the 2024 ceremony here.
Useful information: Transport support provided by the Eduki Foundation (offer subject to conditions, please contact the Eduki team for more information). Accommodation recommendations available on request.
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7. Any questions?
For frequently asked questions, consult our FAQ or contact the Eduki team directly: we’re here to help!
Educational approaches
- Educational approaches: the competition is aligned with several teaching strategies that promote understanding of global issues and youth engagement, such as education for sustainable development (ESD) and global citizenship education (GCE).
- Cross-disciplinary skills: taking part in the competition enables participants to work on key skills such as collaboration, critical thinking and creativity.
- Cross-disciplinary learning: each edition of the competition tackles specific themes linked to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or in connection with the objectives of Swiss curricula (Plan d’études romand, Lehrplan 21, etc.).
A 360° sustainable vision
Eduki team endeavors to take the three pillars of sustainable development into consideration as best as possible through :
- Environmental: reduced printing, use of recycled paper, local and seasonal products, and tap water at events.
- Social: promoting inclusion, interaction and collaboration between students of all levels, educational background and linguistic regions.
- Financial: prizes, donated by public and private partners, are vouchers for school equipment or cultural/sports activities. Within the limits of the available budget, Eduki also supports class trips for the prize-giving ceremony.
Testimonials
Students, teachers and competition veterans share their experiences! To find out more about their projects, the successes they’ve had and the impact the competition has had on their learning, explore past reports or dive into the blogs of the Françoise Demole award winners.
Competition partners
The Eduki Foundation would like to thank all the departments of United Nations in Geneva, as well as our other partners and sponsors, without whom this 10th edition of the competition would not be possible.
For any partnership requests, please contact the Eduki team.
