Youth & Elections in Africa Dialogue Series 

Get Involved: African Youth Voice on Africa’s Elections Essay Contest

Summary

What does it take to make your voice heard in an election year? In a world where social media, misinformation, and representation can shape outcomes, young people have a unique power and a responsibility to contribute to the integrity of elections, the development of democracy and enriching their civic participation. 

The essay writing competition as part of the Youth and Elections in Africa Dialogue Series is an opportunity for you to reflect, delve deeper, bringing fresh insights and perspectives on the real issues surrounding African elections in 2024 and beyond. It aims to encourage critical thinking and empower young voices to share perspectives on the role of social media, combating misinformation, and promoting female representation in elections. Below are the detailed guidelines for participants to follow when crafting their essays. 

1. Competition Details

• Launch Date: Thursday, 7th November 2024
• Submission Deadline: Monday, 25th November 2024 – 11:59 pm EAT 
• Age: Participants must be adults between 18 and 30 years old.
• Geography: Open to young people residing in African countries.
• Language: English and Swahili

2. Competition focus/ themes

Participants are required to choose from one of the following themes, and be creative with the title and content of their Essays:

1. Internet Culture in Shaping Digital Social Halls for Youth Engagement in Elections in Africa
   • Discuss African governments’ readiness to promote online space tools for civic discourse and public participation in Africa.
   • Discuss challenges on all forms of content governance and moderation and surveillance in digital social halls and how to address these in an ever-changing digital world.
2. Social Media in Shaping Youth Engagement in Elections
   • Discuss how platforms like Instagram, X, and TikTok are influencing youth voter turnout, youth leadership and political advocacy.
3. Combating Mis/Disinformation
   • Explore the impact of misinformation on elections and propose strategies young people can employ to combat fake news and deep fakes.
4. On Intersectional Representation in African Elections
   • Analyze the current state of female representation in African politics, discuss the barriers women face in the electoral process, with recommendations.

3. Evaluation Criteria

Entries will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

• Originality and Creativity: Uniqueness of ideas and the creative approach to presenting them. Essays must be original works and should not have been previously published. Plagiarism and AI generated essays will automatically result in disqualification.
• Relevance: The extent to which the blog addresses the outlined themes.
• Potential Impact: The anticipated impact of the content on the audience and wider community.

4. Prizes

First three winners of the essay competition will receive the following:

• Cash prize (1st – $300, 2nd – $200, 3rd – $100)
• Certificate of recognition
• Publication of essays on Pollicy’s Medium with credit given to the author.

5. Submission Guidelines

• Word Count: Essays should be between 800 – 1,000 words
• Language: The essay must be written in English or Swahili.
• Title Page: Include a title page with the following information:

• Title of the essay
• Your full name
• Age
• Country of residence
• Contact information (email and phone number)

6. How to Submit

• Submissions should be sent strictly via email to info@pollicy.org by Monday, 25th November 2024, 11:59 pm EAT with the subject line: “Youth and Elections In Africa Essay Submission – (Your Name)”
• Ensure that your essay and all required information are included in both the body of the email and your essay document.

Conclusion

This essay writing competition is a unique opportunity for young people to contribute to the ongoing dialogue about Africa’s elections. We encourage participants to be bold, creative, and insightful in their writing. We look forward to reading your submissions and amplifying the voices of youth across Africa.