Rules, Code of Conduct, and Privacy & Data Protection

1) Purpose & Spirit of the Challenge

The SMART Essay Challenge amplifies youth voices on the future of education, technology, and society. We reward original thinking, clear writing, and responsible imagination. The policies below protect fairness, safety, and privacy for everyone.

2) Eligibility

• Open worldwide; no age limit.
• Where local law requires, entrants under the age of digital consent must obtain parent/guardian permission (see §13).
• Organizers, core judges, and their immediate family members may not compete.

3) Topic, Format & Submission Window

• Topic: “The Future is SMART: How Youth Can Redefine Education, Technology & Society.”
• Length: 500–1000 words (hard limit).
• Language: Clear, respectful wording.
• Deadline: As posted on the official site/app.
• Method: Submit via the SMART website form. Submissions are logged and forwarded to moderators (including via our official Telegram bot).

4) Originality & Use of AI

• Essays must be your own work.
• Allowed: AI for brainstorming, outlines, and grammar/style edits.
• Not allowed: fully AI-generated essays or unattributed paraphrasing.
• We may use automated tools plus human review to detect plagiarism/over-automation.

5) One Entry, Edits, and Withdrawals

• One entry per participant.
• You may edit until the deadline; after that, entries are locked.
• Withdrawals after the deadline may be granted only for serious reasons (e.g., accidental personal data disclosure).

6) Code of Conduct

Do not include:

• Hate speech or slurs toward any identity group.
• Harassment, threats, explicit sexual content.
• Profanity/vulgarity; keep language youth-appropriate.
• Personal data about third parties without consent.
• Dangerous instructions, self-harm promotion, or incitement to violence.

Do:

• Cite facts or data for strong claims.
• Discuss risks and ethics of your ideas.
• Use inclusive, plain language.
• Disclose conflicts of interest where relevant.

Violations may result in editing requests, score penalties, or disqualification.

7) Evaluation & Selection

Rubric (100 pts): Insight & Originality (20) • Structure & Logic (15) • Evidence & Examples (15) • Feasibility/SMART Actions (15) • Topic & Impact (20) • Ethics & Risk (10) • Clarity & Style (5)

Tie-breakers: (1) Originality signal (2) Impact (3) Feasibility (4) Writing quality (5) Evidence quality.

Judges recuse for conflicts of interest. The jury’s decision is final.

8) Prizes & Recognition

• 🥇 1st: 1 month Telegram Premium
• 🥈 2nd: 100 Telegram Stars
• 🥉 3rd: 50 Telegram Stars

Winners are contacted using the provided Telegram username. If unreachable within a reasonable period, we may offer the prize to the next eligible finalist.

9) Intellectual Property & License

• You retain copyright.
• By submitting, you grant SMART a worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive, perpetual license to publish, distribute, display, translate, and adapt your essay for non-commercial educational and promotional purposes with attribution.
• Any commercial use would require additional permission.

10) Moderation & Enforcement

SMART may fix minor formatting and ask for revisions where safety or policy concerns arise. We may redact or disqualify entries that violate law or policy.

11) Technology, Availability & Limitations

We aim for reliable service but can’t guarantee uninterrupted access. Third-party infrastructure (hosting, analytics, Telegram) is used. Keep a local copy of your essay.

12) What Personal Data We Collect (and Why)

• Data you provide: name, place of education, age, city/country, Telegram username, essay content, optional contact info.
• Data we generate: internal reference ID, timestamps, scores/notes.
• Data collected automatically: basic device and usage logs; optional local storage (e.g., theme, draft autosave).

Purposes: operate the challenge; moderation and fairness; publish winners; program improvement.

Legal bases (where applicable): consent, performance of a contract (the contest), and legitimate interests (security, fraud prevention, service improvement).

13) Minors’ Privacy & Consent

Participants under 18 are welcome. Where required by local law, a parent/guardian must consent. Parents/guardians may contact us to review or request deletion/anonymization of a child’s data (see §19).

14) Data Sharing & International Transfers

We do not sell personal data. We share data only with trusted processors strictly to operate the challenge, such as hosting providers, messaging services (including Telegram Bot API), and anti-spam/security tools. These providers may process data in other countries; appropriate safeguards are applied where required.

15) Security

We implement technical and organizational measures appropriate to risk (access controls, encryption in transit, limited staff access). Do not include sensitive personal data in your essay.

16) Data Retention

• Registration & submissions: retained until the end of the challenge plus up to 12 months for audit, prize fulfillment, and disputes; then deleted or anonymized.
• Published essays: may remain indefinitely as part of our archive unless the author withdraws permission (subject to reasonable archival needs).
• System logs: short retention for reliability and security.

17) Your Rights

Subject to law and contest integrity, you may request access, correction, deletion, restriction/objection, or (where applicable) portability. We verify identity before action. Some requests (e.g., deletion during judging) may affect eligibility.

18) Cookies & Local Storage

The site may use local storage for user experience (theme, optional draft autosave). We do not use third-party advertising cookies. Analytics, if any, are aggregated for program improvement.

19) Contact

Privacy requests: smart-privacy@yourdomain.org
Contest operations: smart-team@yourdomain.org

Include your Reference ID if you already submitted.

20) Changes to This Statement

We may update these policies when we improve the program or to meet legal requirements. Significant changes will be posted with an updated “Last updated” date. Continued participation indicates acceptance of the updated terms.

21) Governing Law & Disputes

Unless otherwise stated on the site, these terms are governed by the organizer’s jurisdiction. Disputes should first be addressed via good-faith dialogue with SMART; unresolved matters may proceed to competent courts or neutral mediation where available.

22) Model Consent & Acknowledgment (Checkbox Text)

I confirm that the essay is my original work; I agree to the Rules, Code of Conduct, and Privacy Policy; I grant SMART a non-exclusive license to publish my essay with attribution; if I am under the age of digital consent, I have parent/guardian permission; and I agree not to change my Telegram username until winners are announced.

23) Fairness Checklist (Internal)

• Conflict-of-interest screening for judges
• Double-blind reading where feasible
• Two independent scores + third review if large variance
• Automated plagiarism/over-automation check + human verification
• Tie-breaker rationale recorded in 1–2 sentences
• Accessible language & accommodations on request