NEPAD CTA Essay Contest

The New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) Agency and the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation ACP-EU (CTA) are jointly organising an essay competition under the theme; “Looking at ICTs [information and communication technologies], agriculture, entrepreneurship and climate change in Africa through the eyes of women and the youth”. The awards aim to recognise excellence across a number of categories centred on the attraction, retention, and progression of women’s and African talents to further the African development agenda.

The competition is open to 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 may be submitted in English or French.

Categories, according to the NEPAD website, include the following:

"A. 1st 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. For both categories, the length of the essay submitted must be comprised between 1,200 and 1,500 words (without the references or bibliography).

B. 2nd 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 each African region (Central Africa, East Africa, North Africa, Southern Africa, West Africa) the best photo of each category will receive a prize of EU1,000. The winning photographs will be on display at a NEPAD’s 10th Anniversary meeting to be held in October 2011 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The winners of each category will be awarded at the opening ceremony of that meeting.