Call for Submissions: African Human Rights Essay Competition

 

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: AFRICAN HUMAN RIGHTS ESSAY COMPETITION

 

TOPIC: HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSE AND VIOLATIONS IN AFRICA

The African Chapter of the International Human Rights Art Festival (IHRAF) is currently accepting submissions for its 2021 African Human Rights Essay Competition. The scope of the submission must directly relate to this year’s topic: Human Rights Abuse and Violations in Africa.

In Africa, the idea of human rights is a comparatively recent phenomenon. Contributing to the establishment of human rights system in Africa are the United Nations, international law and the African Union which have positively influenced the betterment of the human rights situation in the continent. However, extensive human rights abuses and violations still occur in many sections of the continent. Most of the violations can be attributed to political instability (as a consequence of civil war), racial discrimination, corruption, post-colonialism, economic scarcity, ignorance, illness, religious bigotry, debt and bad financial management,  monopoly of power, lack/absence of judicial and press autonomy, border conflicts, unauthorized intrusion of privacy, establishment of laws barring specific of free expression, criminal defamation laws that are usually indistinct, restrictions on freedom of the press, freedom of assembly and association, corruption of government officials, lack or absence of independence and neutrality in the judiciary, gross domestic violence against women, prohibition of same sex activities, sexual abuse on LGBTI persons, and human trafficking.

PRIZES TO BE WON:

Nelson Mandela Prize: $100

Thomas Sankara Prize: $75

Omoyele Sowore Prize: $50

AND Seven Honorable Mentions will be awarded

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Language Medium – English

Genre – Essay

Theme – Human Rights Abuse and Violation in Africa

Essays should be between the minimum of 1000 and the maximum of 1500 words.

Entries will be judged based on originality of thought, depth of analysis, clarity of expression, spelling and grammar and conformity to contest rules. Participants also have the flexibility to choose any subject related to this topic, however, the scope of the submission must directly relate to this year’s topic or it will be disqualified.

Entrants are advised to send the following information alongside their entries

i. Name

ii. Age

iii. Gender

iv. Country

v. Address

 vi. Phone Number

vii. Where you heard about the Call for entries

viii. Short Profile about yourself.

ix. Permission to publish your poem/essay (in one or two paragraphs)

x. Name of school or university if any

Entrants can be from any African country

Permission to publish your work among the shortlisted entries.

Title of your mail should be addressed as “AFRICAN HUMAN RIGHTS ESSAY COMPETITION”

All entries must be submitted to: ihrafnigeria@gmail.com and also copy societyofyoungnigerianwriters@gmail.com.

Deadline for Submission is 31st of March, 2021.

Any signs of plagiarism will disqualify the entrant.

Organizers’ decision is final

OTHER BENEFITS

Award of Certificates of Participation to all Entrants.

Award of Certificates of Excellence to only the shortlisted entrants.

Only shortlisted work(s) will be published in e-book format

Automatic membership into African Chapter of the International Human Rights Art Festival

For more enquiries contact: Wole Adedoyin +2348072673852 (woleadedoyin@gmail.com) or Tom Block (tom@ihraf.org)