African Youth Creative Competition

Acreative competition on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) for young people in Africa as well as those in the diaspora with African citizenship has been launched.

The competition, dubbed the ‘Umoja Africa Campaign – Youth Contributing to the Implementation of the AfCFTA’, targets young people between the ages of 18 and 35.

Those interested can submit essays, infographics and/or animations on the topic ‘The African Continental Free Trade Area’. The deadline is 31 September 2021, and the winners will be announced in November.

The content for the competition should display ingenuity in communicating the AfCFTA to young people by breaking down its elements into simple and easy to understand content for their peers.

The aim is to encourage young people in Africa and those in the diaspora to contribute to the development of Africa’s young leaders and enhance youth participation in the implementation and achievement of the AfCFTA.

The winning essay writer, infographics and animation creators will each receive a cash prize of US$1 000 (approximately N$ 15 000). The first runners-up will receive US$500 (approximately N$ 7 500) and the second runners-up US$300 (approximately N$ 4 500). The essay winner will also receive a paid internship with one of the partner institutions, while the others will receive design contracts with other partners, amongst other prizes.

The creative competition is expected to break information asymmetry among youth on the AfCFTA, and promote a bottom-up approach to policy formulation and implementation by harnessing innovative youth-driven solutions that will contribute to active youth engagement in the popularisation of the AfCFTA. This will then generate conversations and discourses on the youth’s involvement in trade in Africa and their role in the implementation of the AfCFTA.

Creating awareness among the youth in Africa on the AfCFTA will encourage them to be more innovative and creative, empowering them to become leaders not only at home, but across borders.

An international trade centre report shows that Africa is the youngest continent in the world with a median age of 19.8 years. 65% of the population in Africa is also under the age of 25. It is projected that a third of the youth will live in Africa by 2050. Yet, the majority of young people are unemployed, lack access to financial resources as well as face barriers to start and scale up their small businesses.

The AfCFTA creates an opportunity for more jobs for the youth through increased entrepreneurship and e-commercem which underscores the importance of the digital economy.

For more information, go to: yaldafrica. org/afcftacompetition