African Union 2022 Summit Essay Contest for Young Africans

Published: 05 Sep 2022

The African Union Summit on Industrialization and Economic Diversification will be convened under the theme “Industrialising Africa: Renewed commitment towards an Inclusive and Sustainable Industrialization and Economic Diversification.”

The Summit will be convened as  part of the Africa Industrialization Week annual commemorative activities. Given the importance of industrialization and economic transformation in Africa, the 20th of every November is commemorated as the Africa Industrialization Day,adopted by the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the Organization of African Unity in July 1989, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.  The Africa Industrialization Day provides an opportunity to key stakeholders to reflect on Africa’s industrialization by looking at how the continent can change its current status quo. Since 2018, the Africa Industrialization Day has been commemorated with weeklong events, marking a departure from the one-day tradition, and which affords more time to reflect and accelerate actions towards Africa’s structural transformation, as an enabler to meet the objectives of Agenda 2063, and SDGs, 2030.

African Union Summit Essay Contest

Application Deadline	September 30, 2022
Funding Type	Fully Funded
Country to study	Niger
Type	Contest
Sponsor	African Union
Gender	Men and Women

Benefits of African Union Summit Essay Contest

1st Prize will receive:

• AUC issued Certificate
• Round trip from home country to the AU Summit on Industrialization and Economic
• Diversification in Niamey, Niger.
• Accommodation during the said Summit
• Present the essay to the Summit to leaders, and technical experts

2nd and 3rd prize:

•  AUC issued Certificate
• Publication on the AUC website.

Requirements for African Union Summit Essay Contest

• The competition is open to young people 15 – 35 from All African Union Member States.
• Only one entry per person.
• The essay can be submitted in one of the AU working languages (Arabic, English, French, Portuguese, and Spanish)

The winning essay will be presented at the AU Summit on Industrialization and Economic Diversification in Niger. The essay will be used as a guideline, a voice of young people and their views on the promotion of SMEs and Innovation on the continent especially leveraging from the AfCFTA.
The essay should be centred around the Summit theme, elaborate the challenges and actions within the region and solutions to those challenges. It should also include one of the AU Agenda 2063 aspirations:

• Aspiration 1: A prosperous Africa based on inclusive growth and sustainable development
• Aspiration 2: An integrated continent, politically united and based on the ideals of Pan-Africanism and the vision of Africa’s Renaissance
• Aspiration 6: An Africa, whose development is people-driven, relying on the potential of African people, especially its women and youth, and caring for children.

Selection Process

• Program will last from 20 – 25 November 2022.

Application Deadline

September 30, 2022

How to Apply