CREATE Prize

What is the CREATE Prize looking for?

An original, unpublished contribution in English of not less than 2500 and not more than 6000 words that deals with a topic of great importance for the Central and Eastern European region in relation to Catholic Social Thought. The actual topic can be chosen by the candidate. 

Here are some suggestions, grouped into 5 areas, but topics from other areas are also welcome:

1. Future of CST; CST and Evangelisation: 

   1. Did the pandemic challenge CST? How does it need to develop?

   2. CST in action: using CST to guide practical action and motivate change.

   3. John Paul II, a Polish Pope, classified CST as part of moral theology (Sollicitudo rei socialis, 41), so as part of the core teaching of the Church. How can CST be part of the Church’s evangelising mission?

2. Politics and CST: 

   1. Liberal democracy in in crisis: can CST help? 

   2. What could “Christian Democracy” mean today? (especially in the CEE context)

   3. Migration and CST in the CEE region: the key issues and how to resolve them.

3. Economics and CST: 

   1. “Purpose-Driven Business”: an evaluation from a CST perspective

   2. The “Economy of Francesco”: what can it offer the CEE region?

   3. CST argues that private property is a “secondary natural right” (Fratelli Tutti, 120), dependent on the “universal destination of goods”. Does this sound dangerous in a post-Communist region? How could we understand and explain it better to people who still remember, and even still suffer from, the effects of Communism? 

4. Technology and CST: 

   1. CST and the Green Transition: which are the technologies that CST would favour and why?

   2. CST and AI: Developing a human-centred workplace

   3. What can CST offer to the formation of engineers?

5. European Unity ; Identity and CST: 

   1. Christian Identity and European Identity: Overlaps and Tensions.

   2. Christians need to support European unity and challenge EU policies that undermine human dignity. How?

   3. Historically European Unity has been supported much more by Christians than by non-believers. What future is there for European unity in a Europe with declining numbers of believers? [see https://www.researchgate.net/publication/342663382]

We welcome essays from  one or more of the following countries: Albania, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine.

First Prize: 3,000 euros and (only if the health situation permits) travel and accommodation costs for a five-night stay in Rome at the end of November, in order to present the topic to a wider group of expert and for the prize-giving ceremony.

The prizewinning essay and further selected essays will be published in an appropriate journal or as part of a book, as will be agreed with the Faculty of Social Sciences. 

Submission deadline: June 30, 2024.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is eligible to apply? 

Young people (20-35) in the CEE region with a first cycle (bachelor’s) degree or higher. Members of the Jury or their family members are not eligible to apply. Each applicant can make one submission only.

What are the formal requirements for an essay?

An original, unpublished contribution in English of not less than 2500 and not more than 6000 words that deals with a topic of great importance for the CEE region in relation to CST. The actual topic can by chosen by the candidate. Documents must be submitted in PDF format (a doc format will be later required to the winners for publication).

What is CREATE?

Catholic social teaching Rome Exchange: Advanced Training Experience (CREATE) is an international programme of the Faculty of Social Science at the Pontifical University of St Thomas Aquinas - Angelicum in Rome, to promote inclusion and social innovation through a greater awareness and knowledge about Catholic Social Teaching and its applications in society (social, political and economic issues).