ESSAY COMPETITION:“Looking at ICTs and agriculture in Africa through the eyes of women and the youth”

Enter the competition to win EUR 1000 and join NEPAD’s 10th Anniversary!

The New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) Agency and the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation ACP-EU (CTA) have joined forces in celebrating NEPAD’s 10th Anniversary. It is within this context of reflecting over the advancement of  the African development agenda, that the two institutions are jointly organising an essay competition under the theme; “Looking at ICTs and entrepreneurship in agriculture and rural development through the eyes of women and the youth”.

This contest also falls in the framework of CTA activities on Youth, Women and ICTs. In line with these objectives, CTA and the NEPAD Agency are searching for enthusiastic African young (writers, journalists and other youth), who want to demonstrate their abilities by examining these issues.

The Awards recognize excellence across a number of categories centred on the attraction, retention and progression of youth, women’s and African talents to further the African development agenda.

1. Who can participate

The competition is open to young people, men and women between 18 and 35 years of African nationality. Students, journalists and young entrepreneurs (from the civil society or private sector), men or women, are particularly encouraged to participate. Entries will be submitted in English or French.

A. 1^st category: Women and ICT in agriculture

This category is open to both young men and women. Candidate must write a story, in the format of an essay, on an African woman working in the agricultural sector, who has used ICTs in her professional businesses (for example: use of mobile phones for the marketing of horticultural products, use of mobile applications for the access to/or the dissemination of strategic information, innovative use of computer for the traceability of livestock, mixed use of internet and radio for extension, etc.). 
The text submitted must provide clear information on:

• The profile of the woman whose story is told (background, studies if any, expertise in agriculture and if applicable in ICTs, etc.);
• The kind of business she is involved in;
• Description of the use of ICT implemented: what ICT tool(s) have been used; for what purpose; how it has/they have been used; costs incurred; service provider of the tool(s) (if applicable); difficulties met; results achieved; how far has/have the tool(s) used contributed to increased yields or revenues of the business or stakeholders targeted (if it’s the case)? How far have the tooI(s) used contributed to an increase of access to strategic?  Lessons learned; etc.
• Analysis by the entrant of the use of the tool(s) by the woman whose story is told: how far is it/are they appropriate to the problem(s) being addressed; are there alternate tools that can be used to better address the problem faced or to reach the aim targeted, limits of the use of the tool(s); how far is this use replicable, etc;
• References or documents (web links, articles, publications, etc.) illustrating the work of the woman or supporting the arguments developed by the entrant in his/her essay.

B. 2^nd category: Youth and ICT in agriculture

This category is open to both young men and women. Candidate must write a story, in the format of an essay, on a young African professional working in the agricultural sector, a man or a woman, who has used ICTs in his/her professional businesses (for example: use of mobile phones for the marketing of horticultural products, use of mobile applications for the access to or the dissemination of strategic information, innovative use of computer for the traceability of livestock, mixed use of internet and radio for extension, etc.). 
The text submitted must provide clear information on:

• The profile of the youth whose story is told (background, studies if any, expertise in agriculture and if applicable in ICTs, etc.);
• The kind of business he/she is involved in (it can activities in civil society organizations or in private businesses);
• Description of the ICT use implemented: what ICT tool(s) have been used; for what purpose; how it has/they have been used; costs incurred; service provider of the tool(s) (if applicable); difficulties met; results achieved; how far has/have the tool(s) used contributed to increased yields or revenues of the business or stakeholders targeted (if it’s the case)? How far have the tooI(s) used contributed to an increase of access to strategic? Lessons learned by the youth; etc.
• Analysis by the entrant of the use of the tool(s) by the youth: how far is it/are they appropriate to the problem(s) being addressed; are there alternate tools to better address the problem faced or reach the aim targeted, limits of the use of the tool(s) by the young entrepreneur; how far is this use replicable, etc;
• References or documents (web links, articles, publications, etc.) illustrating the work of the young person or supporting the arguments developed by the entrant in his/her essay.

In this category, the person whose activities are presented must also be a young person, a man or a woman. 

For both categories, the length of the essay submitted must be comprised between 1,200 and 1,500 words (without the references or bibliography). Applicants must submit their entry in French or English.

2. Selection process

An international panel of judges, made up of experts in ICT and in agriculture will be set up to review entries and select winners. Pre-selected candidates may be interviewed remotely prior to the final selection.

3. Prizes

For each African Region (Central Africa, East Africa, North Africa, Southern Africa, West Africa) the best essay of each category will receive a prize of EUR 1000. 
The winners will be informed by mid-September 2011. They will be invited to attend the NEPAD’s 10th Anniversary award ceremony in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to receive their prizes.
Apart from winning entries, other best essays will also be promoted by the organizers, through various online and off-line channels, and also during the meeting organized by the NEPAD Agency in October 2011.

4. Deadlines

• Applications should be sent to CTA by email (see addresses in section 7 below) by 15 August 2011
• The winners will be announced mid September 2011
• Winners will receive their prize in October 2011 during a NEPAD Agency event.

5. Selection criteria

The main selection criteria for the written essays are:

• Originality of the use;
• Relevance of the usage to development challenges;
• Personal vision of the entrant in his/her arguments;
• Potential for replicability of the experience or solutions;
• Quality of language (engaging writing style, good spelling and grammar, etc.);
• Presence of bibliography and/or other relevant references;
• Respect of the prescribed format (number of words: between 1,200 and 1,500 words (without the references or bibliography);
• Respect of the requirements of the category in which the essay is submitted.

6. Documents to be submitted

All applications should include the following documents:

• The essay in Word format; a cover page will be included and on this page, the category for which the essay is submitted must be clearly indicated;
• A short biographical note (to introduce the applicant), including his/her full contact details (email address, telephone number(s), postal address, town, country, etc.) – no more than 1 page;
• A scanned photocopy of the applicant’s identification card (a card on which the date of birth is mentioned).

Only one entry will be submitted per category; the same entry cannot be submitted for both categories.

7. Contact details

• To submit entries:

All applications should be sent simultaneously to the following two addresses:
essay-contest2011@cta.int and ictprogramme@gmail.com.

While sending the applications, the subject of the e-mail should be “Entry for the essay competition”.

• General information on the competition

Email : essay-contest2011@cta.int ; 
Tel : +31 (0)317 467 102 (CTA – Netherlands)

8. Other rules for participation

a) A essay which received an award during another competition cannot be submitted;

b) The NEPAD Agency and the CTA reserve the right to disqualify any entry if it does not meet the contest criteria and present regulations;

c) By entering, participants warrant that their entry materials are original and do not infringe on any third party’s rights;

d) Entry to the contest constitutes an agreement to allow the NEPAD Agency and CTA to make, if necessary, articles, name, occupation and state of residence of applicants, public. In addition it constitutes an agreement to allow CTA and the NEPAD Agency to use submitted texts in its publications and in the framework of promotional activities. Applicants will retain ownership and all other rights to future use of their texts;

e) The NEPAD Agency and CTA will not return submitted articles to their authors;

f) CTA and the NEPAD Agency‘s staff and their immediate family members are excluded from the contest.

g) All local taxes and fees on prizes are the sole responsibility of the winner;

h) If, for any reason, the competition is not completed as planned, the NEPAD Agency and CTA reserves the right at its sole discretion to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend it; 

i) The decisions made by the panel of judges, the NEPAD Agency and CTA are final and beyond dispute; 

j) All participants in this contest implicitly accept the rules presented in this document.

 

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