U.S. Embassy & Consulates in South Africa Black History Month Essay Contest 2024

In celebration of Black History Month and to mark 30 years of South African democracy and U.S.-South Africa democratic partnership, the Embassy of the United States in South Africa announces the launch of a written and oral essay competition entitled “I HAVE A DREAM – WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE” beginning on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day – January 15, 2024.

 South African youth aged 16-20 years old are invited to write an essay of 400 words or less that relates to their dreams and vision of a positive future for South Africa, and a video of them reading that essay.  In reflecting on the experience of 30 years of the challenges and successes of democracy, the essay should tap into the hopes for what the country could look towards in the next 30 years.  The text and video should be submitted by email, including a private YouTube or other shareable video link of the individual reading their essay as though they were addressing an audience. The top 9 nationwide winners (1 from each province) will be invited to a final event in Pretoria in mid-April, where they will participate in a live essay speech event with their peers, with Ambassador Reuben E. Brigety II and other U.S. and South African officials and attendees.

Benefits

• The 9 finalists will be invited to Gauteng to present their essays orally and the top 3 winners will be selected by an expert panel.
• The 9 finalists, the U.S. Embassy will award three top prizes at the conclusion of the final performance including a MacBook computer for first place.  Winners of the 2nd and 3rd places will be awarded an iPad and an iPad Mini,, respectively
•  Winning essays and videos will be featured on the U.S. Embassy’s social media accounts.  All finalists will receive certificates from the U.S. Embassy in recognition of their efforts.

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Eligibility for Black History Month Essay Contest 2024

• The competition is for South African youth aged 16-20 residing in South Africa.
• The person submitting the essay and video will be considered the contestant and will be the only person eligible to compete for the prize.
• Immediate family members of any U.S. Government employee are not eligible to participate in this competition.

Requirement

Entries cannot:

• Be sexually explicit or suggestive, or derogatory of any ethnic, racial, gender, religious, or other group;
• Suggest support for or promote a political party or candidate;
• Communicate demeaning messages or images;
• Promote alcohol, illegal drugs, tobacco, firearms/weapons (or the use of any of the foregoing), any activities that may appear unsafe or dangerous;
• Contain prominent copyrighted materials owned by others (including photographs, television, movies or other media); promote the violation of any law.

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Application for Black History Month Essay Contest 2024

Entry form should include: Title of the original essay, full text, video of the author reading the essay as if in front of an audience, the submitter’s full name, date of birth/age, contact information (telephone number, email address), social media handles, and the link to your video.

Submit your essay and video link on here