The African Space Leadership Institute (ASLI) invites students and young professionals to participate in the third edition of the Space for Africa Essay Competition. This edition requires an essay outlining how space can be used to meet one of the goals of the African Union’s Agenda 2063.
The aim of the competition is to introduce students and young professionals to space policy, applications and political economy, with particular focus on Africa.
QUALIFICATIONS
In order to qualify to apply for the competition, you should be a:
> citizen of a Member State of the African Union, resident in Africa or abroad.
> student or a young professional between 18-35 years.
GUIDELINES
> Essay should focus on only one of the goals of Agenda 2063. Each goal will form a category.
> No more than 1000 words in length. Written in English.
> Can include no more than 4 relevant pictures. All pictures should have a title or brief description. Credits or sources should be stated.
> Where necessary, essay should contain appropriate references which are accessible online. No footnotes, endnotes nor references at end of essay. All references should be inserted within the essay as hypertext.
> No use of AI tools.
> Only one entry is allowed per applicant.
> Essays that do not follow the guidelines will be disqualified.
ASSESSMENT CRITERIA
The essays will be evaluated based on:
> Content: How well does the essay address the goal? Does the author include real life issues and/or examples?
> Structure: Is the essay organized in a logical manner?
> Clarity: Are arguments clear?
> Logic of ideas: Do the arguments and examples support the author’s main idea?
> Potential impact: How do the recommendations and/or solutions address the goal discussed? Are the recommendations and/or solutions pragmatic?
PRIZES
> Top essays in each category will receive scholarship to participate in the African Space Policy and Strategy course at ASLI. On successful completion of the course and publication of the essays, participants will be given a verifiable Certificate of Participation.
> Best two essays in the competition will receive scholarship to participate in the 9th Africa Space Generation Workshop. Sponsored participants are expected to present their works at the workshop.
> Top essays in each category will be published on physical and virtual platforms. Essays are expected to be published before the workshop.
SUBMISSION
> Essay (in MS word format) and CV can be uploaded here: https://bit.ly/SpaceforAfrica3
> Essay should contain your surname, name and title.
> File name should be Surname_Name_SpaceforAfrica3.
> Deadline for entries is 11:59 GMT, 4th May 2025.
Authors of top essays will be publicly announced by 31st May. Please note that if you are not contacted by this date, your essay was not selected.
ASLI reserves the right to published winning essays on its physical and online platforms. Authors will be given due credits.
For further inquiries, kindly send an email to info@aslispace.org. (Essays should not be sent to this email. They should be uploaded using the link above.)