The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is a Regional Economic Community comprising 16 Member States,
namely; Angola, Botswana, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Established in 1992, SADC is committed to Regional Integration and poverty eradication within Southern Africa through economic development and ensuring peace and security.
In 2021, SADC is commemorating 41st Anniversary of its journey from 1st April, 1980 when its forerunner the Southern African
Development Coordination Conference (SADCC) was officially formed, in Lusaka, Zambia and later transformed to SADC on
17th August 1992 in Windhoek, Namibia. Since its inception, SADC has demonstrated unwavering commitment to peace,
stability and security in the region through adoption of a number of instruments aimed at ensuring peace and stability, as a precondition for socio-economic development.
ELIGIBILITY
All secondary school going students from all 16 Southern African Development Community (SADC) Member States are welcome to participate in the Competition.
TOPIC
The topic for the 2022 SADC Secondary School Essay Competition is “How can SADC boost productive capacities
in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic?” The topic is derived from the theme of the 41st Ordinary SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government hosted by the Republic of Malawi in Lilongwe on 17th August 2021, which is; “Bolstering Productive Capacities in the Face of COVID-19 Pandemic for Inclusive, Sustainable, Economic and Industrial Transformation”. The Summit theme seeks to accelerate the implementation of the SADC Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) 2020–2030, in particular, the Industrialisation and Market Integration pillar.
Winner and Prize
The winning entry will receive a once off prize money which will cover the outright payment of the Intellectual Property
Rights of the essay. The monetary prize will be accompanied by a certificate signed by the SADC Chairperson.
The prizes at regional level are as follows;
1st prize = USD1500
2rd Prize = USD1000
3rd Prize = USD750
The top 10 winners will all receive certificates signed by the SADC Executive Secretary. The top three (3) winners travel to the Member States hosting the SADC Summit to receive their prizes during the official opening ceremony.
The prizes at national level are as follows;
1st prize = USD500
2rd Prize = USD300
3rd Prize = USD200
The top 3 winners will all receive certificates signed by the Minister of Education and the SADC Executive Secretary
Application Procedure:
- All entries should be typed and submitted in electronic version in Microsoft Word document format, and in hard copies.
- Entrants should sign and initialise each page of the hard copy document to make sure that they have not been altered.
- All essays entering the competition should be in one of the SADC working languages, i.e. English, Portuguese and French.
- All submissions must be accompanied with a SADC Secondary School Essay Competition Entry Form which should contain
full contact details of the entrant, including, passport-sized photograph, physical address, telephone, fax number and email address; and contact details of the entrant’s parent or guardian.
Note: The essay should be 1200 words. The deadline for submission of entries to the Secretariat is 30th April 2022.
Essays are coordinated by the Ministries of Education in all respective SADC Member States and will set out a date for submission of entries to their offices. It is the responsibility of Government officials in SADC Member States to submit the top 3 essays to SADC Secretariat for adjudication at regional level. - Learners should liaise with their School Heads to submit their entries to the Ministries of Education in their respective SADC Member States. The Secretariat will not accept entries from individuals and as such those entries will be disregarded and disqualified.
Application Deadline: April 30th 2022
For More Information:
