THE 2025 TACITUS LECTURE

On Thursday 27 February 2025, The World Traders’ 38th Annual Tacitus Lecture was given by Pamela Coke Hamilton, Executive Director of the International Trade Centre in Geneva,  a joint venture between the UN and the WTO. She spoke to an audience of around 500 at the Guildhall in the City of London.  Her lecture is available here to watch online.  A transcript of the lecture is available here.

ESSAY TITLES

Entrants are invited to write an essay from a choice of four titles:

1.  Why does history matter? George Santayana’s often quoted phrase ‘Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it ‘is one reason often given. This statement emphasizes the importance of historical awareness and of learning from previous errors to avoid making the same mistakes again. Discuss the statement, drawing on examples from both Pamela Coke Hamilton’s lecture and your own knowledge of history. 
   
2. Over the last few years and particularly over recent months we have witnessed challenges to Free Trade, Overseas Aid and Multilateral Organisations. Is this trend something to be welcomed or something to be feared and fought against? With reference to Pamela Coke Hamilton’s lecture please discuss. 
   
3. Pamela Coke Hamilton stressed her belief in the ability of the individual to make a lasting difference. Discuss this view with reference to her lecture. To what extent and in what ways do you believe you as an individual can make a lasting difference. 
   
4.  ‘Trade is a story of humanity both at its best and at its worst’ (Tacitus Lecture 2025). Discuss this statement, drawing on examples from Pamela Coke Hamilton’s lecture and your own research.

ELIGIBILITY

• To enter you must be studying in the UK in Year 12 in England or Wales, or equivalent in Northern Ireland or Scotland.
• You do not need to have been at The Tacitus Lecture to enter, nor do you need to be studying Economics, Geopolitics, Social Affairs or History.  However, you must be able to demonstrate that you have accessed  the lecture in some format. 
• All entries must be submitted by Friday 6 June 2025.  

ENTRY FORMAT

• Your essay must be no longer than 1,000 words and should be typed in size 12 font directly into the Word Document entry form.
• The use of graphs, diagrams or images is welcome if they add value to your argument and, if used, they should be referred to within the essay.
• The content of your essay should be original and must be all your own work.
• All sources of information (data, quotes, graphs, diagrams, images etc) should be acknowledged and referenced at the end of your essay (this is not included in the word count).

JUDGING CRITERIA

Your essay will be judged on the structure of your argument, clarity of communication, choice and validity of supporting evidence (such as data, other views or research conclusions), originality of your ideas, effectiveness of your evaluation (s) and quality of your conclusions.

Your essay must be written by you and we may disqualify any essays that are revealed as AI generated.

A panel of judges will read and mark your entry before the winning entries are announced.

The results will be announced in July.

HOW TO APPLY

Please complete the essay submission form downloadable here which include  a space for your details as well as for your essay and send this document to education@world-traders.org by 6 June 2025.

If you would like to read these instructions in a different format, click here.