FITC Youth Connect Essay Challenge 2020

The Youth Connect Essay Challenge is organized to harness the creativity and innovation mindset of the African youth in promoting growth and development in Africa. The objective is to develop in undergraduate students the habit of contributing to national and global issues, as well as providing policymakers with an accessible perspective. It aims to promote excellence and knowledge amongst young minds, putting them in the shoes of game changers and problem solvers, in the African Landscape and the world at large.

Theme: “ACCELERATING GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA: THE ROLE OF TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION.”

Eligibility Criteria

• This Essay is open to undergraduates from all tertiary institutions in Africa
• Essay can be in English or French and must not exceed 1000 words.
• Entrants are expected to show originality, creativity, clarity and focus on the topic
• Essays must be original and unpublished. Plagiarized entries will be disqualified.
• Essays must be written by one person. Co- written essays will not be accepted.
• One entry per person.
• Entries will be disqualified if they fail to meet these requirements

Prizes

• Winner – $1,000 + Laptop + Leadership Certification Programme + 1-year Mentorship Programme
• 1st runner up – $500 + Laptop + 1-year Mentorship Programme
• 2nd runner up – Laptop + 1-year Mentorship Programme

All entries should be submitted online. Fill your details on the registration page and follow the required steps.

Entry Format
Entries to the competition must be submitted using the official entry form found here and must be before midnight Central African Time on Monday, August 31, 2020.
There is no registration fee or purchase required for participation.
Only entries that are duly received by us by the closing date will be eligible for the competition. Entries not submitted following these terms and all other rules and directions, or entries that are incomplete and illegible will not be eligible.
Each entrant is required to submit only one entry to the competition.

Essay Format

• Essay can be written in English or French language.
• Essay must include a title.
• Essay must reflect the participants own work and original thinking and may not infringe on the rights of any other party.
• Any quotations or copyrighted material must be identified and referenced.
• The essay should not exceed 1000 words

Evaluation
Evaluation will be carried out by a judging panel following the closing date of August 31, 2020. Essays will be evaluated on:
Theme: How essay creatively relates to the competition theme
Focus and Details: Whether essays are well focused and supported
Organization and Ideas: How original ideas are, how they are presented and whether they capture the readers’ attention
Use of Conventions: Whether spelling, grammar and punctuation interrupt reading and detract from the meaning of the essay
Voice: Whether the writer’s unique perspective is shown

Judging panel
The judging of the essays will take place in 3 rounds: an initial screening for eligibility and plagiarism, an evaluation by the judging panel to create a list of finalists and a final round to determine the winner and runners up.
The decision of the judging panel is final and at its sole discretion.
Competition Schedule
Stage 1: Call for entries from July 06- August 31, 2020.
Stage 2: Evaluation by Grading Panel from September 01, 2020
Stage 3: Announcement of Top 10 entrants
Stage 4: Presentations by Top 10 entrants
Stage 5: Announcement of Top 3 Winners

Winners and Prizes
We will select three overall winners of the competition i.e. 1st, 2nd and 3rd positions. All entrants will be notified via email on the status of their entry before October 01, 2020.
FITC does not accept responsibility for prize winners who are unable to be contacted due to an incorrect phone number or email address on the entry form.
Prizes may not be transferred to another person. FITC will not accept responsibility for inaccurate information about prizes provided by any third party.
We will make all reasonable efforts to contact the winners. If any winner cannot be contacted or is not available, or has not claimed their prize within 10 days of the announcement date, FITC reserves the right to offer the prize to the next eligible entrant selected from the correct entries that were received before the closing date.

Legal and Ethical Notices

• FITC reserves the right to adapt the rules and awards at any time. Any notifications of said changes will be published on the competition website.
• Each entrant retains the copyright in his or her entry but grants FITC a perpetual non-exclusive royalty-free licence to publish, broadcast (across all media) and post the entry online and on any other platforms yet to be envisaged, together with his or her name, age and country of residence. This licence will be deemed to include all the necessary rights and permissions to enable such use by FITC, to fulfil the prizes and to complete the administration of this Competition.
• Each entrant must comply with subsisting copyright laws in his/her country. FITC accepts no responsibility if entrants ignore these terms and conditions and entrants agree to indemnify FITC against any claim by any third party from any breach of these terms and conditions.
• Entries may not contain statements, facts, information or quotations that may encourage persecution of people on the grounds of race, opinion, religion, ability, nationality, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, profession or other persuasion, nor encourage crime or the breaking of laws.
• Entries must not contain defamatory, obscene, offensive, or any other unsuitable material; FITC reserves the right to disqualify entries containing such matter. Entries must be suitable to be published by FITC for audiences of all ages.
• By submitting an entry, you agree that FITC may at its sole discretion edit, adapt, abridge or translate the entry for the purposes listed in these terms and conditions (even if you do not win we may, for example, publish your essay or excerpts from it as a runner-up in the Competition). You grant permission to FITC and to those acting under FITC authority, to use your name, picture, likeness, voice, biographical information and statements for promotional purposes without additional compensation, in all media now known or hereafter discovered, worldwide and on the Internet and World Wide Web, without notice, review or approval.
• FITC reserves the following rights: a) to cancel or amend the competition or these terms and conditions without notice, in the case of: disasters, war, civil disturbance and / or military, other phenomenon of nature, or unpredictable events; b) to cancel the competition in case of any actual or anticipated breach of any law or applicable regulation or any other event beyond the control of FITC

Disqualification
FITC may decide to disqualify an entry if it breaks any of the rules or violates terms under ‘Legal and Ethical Notices.
Should there be any questions about the competition or need for additional information or clarification, please contact us at info@fitc-ng.com.
Required *

Deadline: Entries must be received by August 31st, 2020 (23:59 WAT).

See the Complete Details Here https://fitc-ng.com/youth-connect-essay-challenge-2020.php

Registeration Link https://fitc-ng.com/fitc-2020-essay-competition.php

Staff Writer

This article was written and edited by a staff writer.