Apply for the 2024 Round of the African Democracy Essay Award

African Democracy Essay Award: Fostering Academic Excellence in South Africa

About the Program: 

The African Democracy Essay Award, hosted by the Centre for Research on Democracy (CREDO) at Stellenbosch University, is an annual essay writing competition open to undergraduate students across South Africa. The award aims to advance the study of democracy by African students by encouraging them to write essays on key issues relevant to the experience of democracy on the African continent.

Benefits:

Participating in the African Democracy Essay Award provides students:

• with the opportunity to engage in debates on contemporary democracy,
• improve their research and writing skills,
• and showcase their work to potential employers and graduate schools.
• Winners of the award receive an honorarium for the publication of their essay on a partnering platform, as well as valuable recognition for their CV.

Eligibility:

The African Democracy Essay Award is open to:

• Undergraduate students at any South African university, including foreign nationals.
• Students studying in the humanities, the social sciences, or law are encouraged to participate.

Final submissions are rigorously assessed by CREDO’s panel of judges, with three winning essays selected based on the quality of research, analysis, and argumentation.

Application:

If you are a student interested in participating, or a lecturer interested in sharing this initiative with your class, please read the forthcoming Writing Brief for information on this year’s topics and additional instructions.

Final submissions are closing on the 12th of October 2024 by 23:59. Apply!

Essays must be submitted via the official Google Form submissions link by the deadline.

Inquiries about the award can be directed to Sonia Twongyeirwe at credoadea@gmail.com.