5 Regions. 200 regional qualifiers.
12 global Winners.
HCGEC 2026 will run from February through March 2026. The competition features two key rounds, the regional qualifiers held throughout 5 regions, followed by the global finals. To compete in the global round, participants must go head-to-head with local participants and place in the top 40 of the regional qualifiers.
APAC (East Asia, Southeast Asia, and Oceania)
Europe, Russia, and Central Asia
Middle East, North Africa, Central and South Africa
LATAM (South America, Central America, Mexico, and the islands of the Caribbean)
North America
All deadlines are 23:59 (GMT+0) on dates specified below
octoBER 1ST, 2025
Early Bird Registrations open
December 15th, 2025
Early Bird Registrations close
Early bird
Registrations are open to students aged 13-18
December 2025
- January 2026
Dec 16th: Regular Registrations open
Jan 30th: Prompts Announcement
REGULAR RegISTRATIONS
Regular registrations are open to students aged 13-18.
February 2026
10th: Regular Registrations close
23rd: Regional Essay submission deadline
Regional Qualifier
Participants will have over 10 days after registrations close to craft and submit their essays. Essays should be submitted in a Word Document through the submission link that will be provided to registrants.
All participants will be invited to exclusive bootcamps during the competition by top professionals and professors!
march 2026
10th : Global Finalists announced
18th: Global Essay submission deadline
31st: Global Winners announced
global round
Top 40 essays from each region - 10 argumentative, 10 creative, 10 journalistic and 10 Topical - will be invited to represent their region and qualify for the global final!
Each participant will receive 2 weeks to elaborate on their regional submission and submit their cumulative essay in a Word Document before the deadline
The top 12 submissions, of the final 200, will be recognized in the global final and will win awesome prizes.
This includes 3 essays from the creative selection, 3 from argumentative, 3 from journalism and 3 from topical.