UONGOZI Institute Leadership Essay Competition 2017

Deadline: July 14, 2017

Are you young African Leader? UONGOZI Institute is inviting you to submit an essay for this year’s Leadership Essay Contest organised by the Institute of African Leadership for Sustainable Development (UONGOZI Institute). The essay contest aims to provide a space for the youth of Africa and the next generation of leaders in the region to contribute to important discussions on leadership. You are requested to write about your perspective on leadership as it relates to peace and security in Africa. The essays should respond to the following question: “If you were a leader, what would you do to ensure that peace and security is achieved and sustained in Africa?”

“Uongozi” means leadership in Kiswahili, and inspiring and strengthening leadership is the core purpose of the organisation. Based in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, UONGOZI Institute is dedicated to supporting African leaders to attain sustainable development for their nations and for Africa. They seek to inspire leaders and promote the recognition of the important role of leadership in sustainable development. They believe that:

• Leadership is the key to achieving sustainable development;
• The development of a leader requires specialised grooming;
• An African model of leadership is vital for achieving the most favourable development outcomes for Africa.

Prizes

• A grand prize of USD $2,000 will be awarded to the overall winner of the essay contest. A total of five winners will be selected. Cash prizes will also be awarded to the second to fifth place winners;
• The top 5 winners will travel to Johannesburg, South Africa, to receive their awards at a prize giving ceremony to be held during the Africa Leadership Forum Dinner Gala, which will be attended by senior leaders from across Africa in the public, private and civil society sectors. The overall winner will be asked to read the winning essay at the event.

Eligibility

• Applicants must be African citizens between the age of 18-25 currently residing in Africa;
• The selected winners will be required to travel to Johannesburg on August 23, 2017, therefore valid identification and travel documents will be required for this purpose;
• All essays must be written in English.

Application Process

• The essays should be no more than 2 A4 pages long. The format shall be of single spaced, Arial font size 11, and sent as a Microsoft Word document;
• Essays should be submitted by email to submissions@uongozi.or.tz.
• Applicants must also submit a written statement of originality and ownership of intellectual property rights.

Template for Statement of Originality

I, (Enter full name), hereby confirm that the content of the essay I have submitted is my own work and it has not been submitted elsewhere for any other purpose.

I certify that the intellectual property rights for this essay are owned by me and that any information that was sourced elsewhere has been appropriately acknowledged.

(Enter Signature and date)

The final deadline for submission will be Tuesday, July 14, 2017 (5pm GMT). The top five finalists will be notified via email by the first week of August. Feedback will not be provided on individual essays.

For more information, visit Leadership Essay Competition.