Julina Kaakunga
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) Secretariat is inviting students in tertiary institutions from all 16 member states to submit essays for a writing competition.
The topic for the competition is “What, in your opinion, has SADC achieved since its formation; and does it reflect the vision of its founders?”
During its meeting in August 2020, the SADC Council of Ministers directed the Secretariat to operationalise the initiative to recognise and honour the founders of the regional organisation.
The initiative, as approved by the Council of Ministers, is aimed at giving due recognition to the founders of SADC for their contribution to the establishment of the organisation and the subsequent pursuance of a regional integration agenda.
“The essay competition is one of the main activities we have that is targeted at young students to create awareness about SADC. We have the essay competition every year and the topic is always linked to the theme of SADC during that particular year, so we looking forward to have as many entries as possible from all SADC member states,” said the head of communications and public relations at the SADC secretariat, Barbara Lopi.
For this reason, students enrolled in post-secondary institutions are invited to submit essays for consideration by the SADC Secretariat.
The language and substance of the articles ought to emphasise the role SADC founders played in advancing the organisation’s goals and common agenda while also taking into consideration the current state of peace and security in the region. The competition will only accept one submission per writer and is open to all students with a valid student identity document.
All SADC nationals may enter the competition, except those in institutions contracted by SADC, subsidiaries of SADC, and the SADC secretariat staff.
All essays for the competition should be in one of the three SADC official languages, that is, English, Portuguese, and French.
However, the writer can use some inserts in any national indigenous language of the SADC region but provide translation in the glossary.
The tone or composition of the essay must be reflective of the SADC region and relate to the people and culture of its inhabitants.
The essay should be 4 000 words and the deadline for submission of entries to ministries of education in respective SADC member states is 29 February 2024.
The deadline for submission of entries to the Secretariat by the ministries of education is 31 March 2024.
All entries should be typed and submitted in both hard copies and electronic versions in Microsoft Word document format. Entrants should sign and initial each page of the hard copy document to make sure that they have not been altered.
All submissions must be accompanied by a SADC Tertiary Institution Essay Competition entry form which should contain full contact details of the entrant, including, a passport-size photograph, physical address, telephone number, copy of national identification card, copy of a valid student national identification card, fax number and email address.
The winning entry will receive a once-off prize money which will cover the outright payment of the intellectual property rights of the essay.
A monetary prize will be accompanied by a certificate signed by the Chairperson of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Hakainde Hichilema, President of Zambia.
The prize will be paid directly to the winner in his or her home country through the secretariat.