Targeted to youth and young adults, the IHL team hosts annual contests throughout the academic year to engage and excite students, inspiring them to bring their creative thinking to topics related to IHL.

Targeted to youth and young adults, the IHL team hosts annual contests throughout the academic year to engage and excite students, inspiring them to bring their creative thinking to topics related to IHL.
The Clara Barton Competition is an annual simulation-based, experiential legal competition designed to expose rising professionals to the practice of IHL and to real world challenges facing IHL practitioners during armed conflict. Participants will engage in a variety of practical role-playing exercises, during which they will be asked to assume various professional roles and accomplish a wide range of tasks reflective of those performed by practitioners in the field. The Competition will test participants’ knowledge of international humanitarian law and public international law, as well as their ability to present, advocate for, and defend legal positions to a diverse range of stakeholders in different simulated environments.
This competition occurs annually in March and is open to law students and cadets from US military academies.
Each year entrants are challenged with creating thoughtful and insightful entries around a specific IHL theme. This competition is open to junior high (8th grade), high school, undergraduate, law school, and graduate students. Winners are eligible for prizes, including publication of their work in a special American Red Cross digital magazine.
The competition opens for entries on November 13, 2023. Entries will be accepted through January 26, 2024. Please see the rules and submission guidelines below for more information.
This contest invites participants to showcase their creativity by designing the official Youth Action Campaign pin for the academic year. The IHL team collects the designs and selects a group of finalists for voting by Youth Action Campaign members.
This contest occurs annually from February to March. Check back in early 2024 for contest information.