Following up hmniak's diary entry about 'Geovision', I saw a comment that there aren't any other international competitions, other than sporting ones.
In fact there are a few:
The Martanidia Prizes are international prizes in Science, Medicine, Literature and Peace - equivalents of the Nobel Prizes.
The Jko Prize is an international art prize - equivalent of the Turner Prize, but extended internationally.
There is also the Cruz y Lopez prize, a prize for architecture.
Maybe there are others...
Happy mapping Udi