SADC Tertiary Institution Essay Competition

All learners attending tertiary institutions across the Southern African Development Community (SADC) have been invited to participate in a competition about tertiary institutions launching in 2023.

It is this year’s competition topic, “Explain how the founders may have played a role in developing the vision for regional integration ”. As a result of Council of Ministers decisions in August 2020 and March 2021, the SADC Secretariat is taking steps to operationalize the initiative to recognize the SADC founders and their contributions.

In accordance with the SADC Council’s decision, the initiative is intended to recognize the contributions that the Founders of SADC made to its establishment and thereafter to regional integration. Wording and content of the think piece should emphasize the role the Founders played in establishing SADC, taking into consideration the current peace and security that contribute to SADC’s Objectives and Common Agenda.

Deadlines

28 February 2023

The essay should be:

4000 words;
The documents should be typed and submitted in both hardcopy and electronic formats in Microsoft Word;
The document should be written in one of the working languages of SADC, such as the English language, Portuguese language, and/or French language;
Submissions must be accompanied by an entry form for the SADC Tertiary Institution Essay Competition
The submission must be received by 28th February 2023.

The hard copy document should be signed and initialed by each entrant to ensure no changes have been made.

Marking Guidelines:

Essays should address the following sub-questions when responding to the research question:

In a 1000-word essay, describe the role that the Founding Fathers of SADC played in the development of the SADC vision (25 points);
Provide in-depth analysis of the SADC regional integration model, including how it has impacted or improved state-to-state relations (1050 words, 25 points);
Analyzes the factors influencing regional integration and/or policies in Southern Africa (1000 words, 25 points);
In order to enhance regional integration in Southern Africa, what initiatives can the people of the Region take to strengthen their economic, social, and cultural ties? This essay is 1000 words long and worth 25 points.

Competition rules and guidelines

Students from all 16 member countries of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) are eligible to enter the competition;
In any SADC Member State, the work of the entrants should not have previously been published or broadcast by a licensed or registered broadcast company, newspaper, blog, radio station, television station, or agency or appeared on the website of a licensed or registered agency;
There is no limit to the number of submissions per writer, and the competition is open to all tertiary school learners who possess a valid student ID;
You must write your essay in one of the working languages of the SADC, such as English, Portuguese, or French. A writer can, however, insert some inserts in any SADC indigenous language with a glossary of translations;
An essay must reflect the SADC region and its people and cultures; and be composed in a way that reflects the SADC region;
Lecturers, tutors, and tertiary school employees are not eligible to enter, and will not be considered.

What the competition offers

An outright payment of all Intellectual Property Rights will be made to the winning entry as part of the one-time prize.

Following is the list of regional winners;

A USD2000 prize money will be awarded to the winner of the first prize;
A second prize of USD1500 will be awarded;
USD1000 will be awarded for the 3rd Prize; and
SADC’s Chairperson of Politics, Defence, and Security will sign certificates to the top 10 winners.

Prizes will be directly paid to winners in their home countries by the Secretariat.

Application process

South African applicants must submit their completed applications via email at [email protected], as well as sending hard copies via courier to the following address;

The Department of Education and Training

International Scholarships

Private Bag X174

Pretoria

0001

OR hand delivered at

Department of Higher Education and Training

123 Francis Baard Street

Pretoria

0002

Announcement of the winners will be done through the SADC website (www.sadc.int) including its social media handlers on 17th August 2023.

Contact

All queries should be forwarded to [email protected]

Note

We would like to inform you that this opportunity is not offered by the Department of Higher Education and Training. The applicant is responsible for ensuring that the qualifications will be recognized in South Africa by conducting their own research into programmes and institutions. The sponsor’s information supersedes the details provided above in the case of discrepancies. In addition to the existing funding, there will be no additional support from the Department of Higher Education and Training.\