Invitation to the SFAST 2023 Contest

Contest Announcement
The Science Culture Construction towards a
“Sustainable Future through Applications of Science and Technology”

Purpose

The Science Culture Construction towards a “Sustainable Future through Applications of Science and Technology – SFAST 2023” contest is launched by the Andean Road Countries for Science and Technology (ARCST), the International Center for Innovation in Science and Technology for Latin America and the Caribbean (CICITLAC), the International Green Science Center for Latin America and the Caribbean (IGSCLAC), UNESCO Media and Information Literacy, and the Journal of Latin American Sciences and Culture (JLASC).

Eligibility

The SFAST is open in three categories:
• High school students of any year.
• University students.
• General public.

Benefits for the participants

It is a fantastic opportunity to demonstrate the positive actions for nature that take place in your realities through written essays and/or technological and scientific research and innovation projects. Through the competition, competitors hone their academic and professional skills and demonstrate their knowledge of sustainability, ecological development, and biodiversity conservation.

Bases for the competition

Competitors must build a compelling argument using real-world examples from their studies, research, innovations, or ideas. Projects must focus on arguments supported by facts, and support based on data and references; they must be recorded and signed by parents, teachers, guardians, or some other authority that can provide veracity of the information presented by the participant. The language of the submitted materials can be English or Spanish.

The winners’ work will be published on the website of the Journal of Latin American Sciences and Culture at https://journalasc.org/es/ as well as on the Publisher’s website https://revistas.univalle.edu/index. php/jlsc and will be available to the entire Green Science community in general.

Overview of the topics

The written projects or essays will refer to the following topics:

• The trends, opportunities, and challenges of environmental sustainability,
• green buildings and environmental sustainability,
• transport sustainability,
• environmental education for sustainability,
• strategic environmental sustainability,
• the role of food for sustainability in the built environment,
• greenwashing: total environmental sustainability?
• The link between environmental sustainability and social sustainability.
• Achieving sustainability in the environment, is there a relationship between economic development and environmental sustainability?

Rules for the presentation of essays:

1. The presentation format includes a Word document with the text written in APA format according to the format that can be downloaded from the following link: https://journalasc.org/es/call_for_papers/ in the section that says “To download the template, click here”
2. Participants must choose one of the essay topics and write a response with a strict limit of 500 words. That includes a small abstract that summarizes the main idea of the essay or proposal.
3. The submission must be made through editorial@journalasc.org and participants are limited to submitting one essay and only the first submission is considered. Each essay submission will have a $20 reading fee that must be paid at the time the essay is submitted. If this fee will impose a significant financial burden on your family, please email us requesting the waiver. The deadline to submit the essay is December 2, 2023, at 23:59 GMT+8.
4. Online test for non-plagiarism and “non-use” of GPT chat. Both tests are carried out online and you must attach the report when sending your essay along with the bank transfer receipt from the bank. If the document contains more than 2% plagiarism, it will be automatically disqualified from the competition.

Rules for project presentation:

1. The presentation consists of preparing a video of no more than 3 minutes that briefly shows the results of the Project with essential visual elements that validate what is described in the Word document that must contain only 500 words that can be downloaded here. In the section that says “To download the template, click here”. The document will have to be signed by the “viewer” who may be the educational institution that attends, or the tutor or parent, or representative who confirms the veracity of the information shared, just as it will be necessary to include the viewer in the video to also confirm its real existence.

2. The presentation must be made through the email editorial@journalasc.org and participants are limited to sending one project and only the first presentation is considered. Each essay submission will have a $20 reading fee that must be paid at the time the essay is submitted. If this fee will impose a significant financial burden on your family, please email us requesting the waiver. The deadline to submit the essay is December 2, 2023, at 23:59 GMT+8.

Key dates

September 2, 2023: publication of the contest call
23:59 GMT+8, December 2, 2023 – deadline for project submission
December 7, 2023: Finalists notified
December 9, 2023: notification of the winners and publication of the results during the celebration of World Green Science Day (WGSD – 2023).

More information about the WGSD can be found here.

Awards

The scientific committee or judges of the competition is made up of a group of international experts from 4 continents. The judges’ decisions are final.
Prizes will be awarded for the best essay and the best Project. The work of the top three participants will be published (with the author’s permission) in the Journal of Latin American Sciences and Culture (JLASC). Likewise, the three winners will receive a digital certificate that will be delivered in a special ceremony during the celebration of World Green Science Day. They will also be invited to become members of the Andean Road Countries for Science and Technology (ARCST), the International Center for Innovation in Science and Technology for Latin America and the Caribbean (CICITLAC), and the International Green Science Academy Network (IGSAN).

Terms and Conditions

• The word limit of 500 must be strictly adhered to. Any words above the limit will be truncated. This limit excludes abstracts, references, footnotes, titles, headers, and footers.
• projects must be written solely by the participant. Any external help must be declared at the beginning or end of the test.
• Only your first submission will be accepted. No more submissions will be read.
• References must be included, any plagiarism will lead to disqualification.
• References must be in Chicago or APA format.
• The only accepted document format is PDF. No other format will be accepted nor will refunds be made to those who do not follow this rule.
• No refunds are granted.
• The essay must not participate in any other contest or be published anywhere else, the project may have been presented in its educational institutions or have previously participated in a national category of projects related to the topic.
• Individual feedback on essays will not be given.
• The decisions made by the Scientific Committee of the competition in the final round of adjudication are final.
• Winners agree to have their names published on the ARCST and JLASC official websites.

If you have further questions kindly send us an email to editorial@journalasc.org