Tana Forum invites students from African regions to participate in the Annual University Essay Competition 2020. The Tana Forum is an annual meeting that brings together African leaders and stakeholders to engage and explore African-led security solutions. The Forum strives to provide a platform for young Africans to engage with African heads of state and governments; practitioners and experts in peace and security in Africa. Moreover, the main motive of the competition is to obtain views from the youth on various peace and security challenges faced across the continent.

Benefits/Compensation

The Tara Forum will invite the three winners to attend and address participants at the Tana Forum. The Tana Forum Annual University Essay Competition 2020 covers all the costs of the winner. Furthermore, the authors will receive mentorship from a pool of experts based at the Institute for Peace and Security Studies (IPSS) prior to the event.

Rules of Entries 

• Applicants must be African citizens studying in any universities in Africa or in the diaspora pursuing either a BA, MA or Ph.D. in a relevant field.
• Essays must be typed, double-spaced, in 12-point Times New Roman with a one-inch margin on all sides and should be between 5-10 pages in length excluding reference materials.
• The essay must be the original work of the applicant with a comprehensive list of sources. Essays on topics other than the current theme of the Tana Forum are not acceptable.
• The language of the essay must be either English or French.
• The paper must include a reference list in APA style with a minimum of three primary sources; i.e. books, periodicals or newspapers. Other sources may be accessed online, provided they are cited correctly. Any submissions lacking three primary sources are not acceptable.
• Any essay using crowd-sourced and publicly editable sources such as Wikipedia will be invalid.
• Furthermore, an applicant must submit an essay in Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) format. Submission in any other format other than this will not be valid.

Entry Instructions

• Candidates must email their essay with the subject line: [Full name] 2020 Essay Competition.
• In addition to that, candidates must attach a short bio (250 words) that includes your name, university, degree title (BA, MA or PhD.), professional background, country of origin and contact information (email address, telephone number) as well as a copy of their valid passport.
• Interested candidates should send their essay to [email protected]  before 31 January 2020.