In the run-up to our international conference on Young People, Farming
and Food in March, we are running a competition to find the best media
reporting in Africa on young people and agriculture.
This competition aims to encourage young and early career journalists
and media specialists (between ages 18-40) to investigate the
challenges and opportunities associated with young people’s engagement
in agriculture, to showcase success stories and best practices that can
be replicated, and to raise awareness on the important role of young
people in agriculture and rural development.
The competition is open to all media and communication professionals
(either print, broadcast or electronic) who are nationals of African
states and are from established media houses, private and public sector
organisations (e.g. government ministries), and non-governmental
organisations including farmer organisations. Either printed or audio
entries are invited.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Future Agricultures Consortium (FAC), in collaboration with the
Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) of the
University of Ghana, is organising an international conference to
debate research findings and policy options around the theme “Young
People, Farming & Food: the Future of the Agrifood Sector in
Africa.” The conference will take place 19-21 March 2012 in Accra,
Ghana. See
http://www.future-agricultures.org/events/young-people-farming-a-food for further information.
This competition aims to encourage young and early career journalists
and media specialists (between ages 18-40) to investigate the
challenges and opportunities associated with young people’s engagement
in agriculture, to showcase success stories and best practices that can
be replicated, and to raise awareness on the important role of young
people in agriculture and rural development.
The competition is open to all media and communication professionals
(either print, broadcast or electronic) who are nationals of African
states and are from established media houses, private and public sector
organisations (e.g. government ministries), and non-governmental
organisations including farmer organisations.
Entries should be original pieces and demonstrate realities on the
ground. The piece should be based on case studies/information from the
country or region in which the journalist/media specialist operates.
Applicants must submit their entry in English only by email. Entries
should be submitted to post@wrenmedia.co.uk and copied to
info@future-agricultures.org
Your journalistic piece must reach the organisers by no later than
February 23, 2012 to be considered for inclusion in the competition.
COMPETITION THEMES
In Africa, policy interest in the linking young people to agriculture
focuses almost exclusively on the challenge of keeping young people in
rural areas and engaged in farming. This approach ignores important
drivers, trends and developments that are impacting on both young
people’s aspirations and the structure of the agrifood sector. In the
coming years the agrifood sector in Africa will undergo significant
transformation that will result in both challenges and opportunities for
young people, depending on who and where they are. Perhaps most
importantly, the agrifood sector will become an increasingly important
source of formal employment for young people, with a significant
expansion of employment opportunities in food marketing, processing,
retail, catering, research, input sales etc. These jobs will generally
require higher levels of education and different skills, and many will
be located in or near urban areas.
Your journalistic piece should correspond to one or more of the three main crosscutting themes of the Conference:
1. Education and training: Investment in human resource development is
crucial for the growth of a modern, dynamic agrifood sector.
Agriculture has had a place in rural primary and secondary school
curricula for many years, and throughout Africa there are university
departments covering all aspects of agriculture and food science. Are
these education and training activities presently delivering the kind
and quality of teaching and learning that will transform the agrifood
sector? What is the evidence that they are motivating young people and
preparing them for careers in the agrifood sector? Are there examples
of particularly innovative approaches to curriculum development and
delivery? What are the good/best practices or failures in practice or
policy? What are the knowledge gaps and what research is needed to fill
them?
2. Micro-enterprise development: Under- and unemployment of rural youth
in sub-Saharan Africa is high and carries significant personal, social
and economic costs. One common response on the part of policy makers
and development organisations is to promote job creation through
micro-enterprise development within the agrifood sector. What is the
evidence that the training and micro-credit associated with these
programmes results in sustainable employment? How
important is access to markets and other infrastructure for the success
of these projects? Which young people are best placed to benefit from
these programmes? What are the success stories or failures in practice
or policy? What are the knowledge gaps and what research is needed to
fill them?
3. The youth bulge - the salvation of African agriculture? The 'youth
bulge' - that is, the high proportions of young people in the African
population - can be seen as an opportunity as much as a threat. In
particular, young people are sometimes seen as the salvation of the
agricultural sector which, across the continent, is the primary source
of employment, food and income. Do rural policies coincide with the
aspirations of young people? What aspects of the agrifood industry
broadly (from on-farm activity to off-farm businesses) are young people
interested in? For those young people already involved in the agrifood
sector - as entrepreneurs, as employees - what do they hope to gain
from their involvement in the sector? How does the propensity for young
people to migrate and/or move back and forth between urban and rural
spaces affect the way agriculture features in their lives?
ENTRY CONDITIONS
Each candidate will submit only one print (in word doc or docx format)
or audio piece (in mp3 format) from any African country. Any
accompanying photos for print articles should be sent as jpegs. The
title and the name of the author should be clearly written on the cover
page to the piece, or details included in email with audio piece. The
deadline for receipt of submissions is 17 February, 2012. Note: if you
have difficulty submitting your audio piece by email, you can use
YouSendit (www.yousendit.com) or a similar free internet service. All
applications should submit a short biographical note including name and
full contact details; email address, telephone number(s), postal
address, town, country, and a scanned photocopy of the applicant’s
identification card or passport (as proof of age). Entries received
after 17 February will not be considered. Notification of approved
selections will be announced on Monday 5th March,
2012.
SELECTION PROCESS
A panel of judges from Future Agriculture Youth theme and Communication Coordinator,
WRENmedia, and the media will review entries and make their
recommendations to the International Steering Committee for the
Conference. The pieces should demonstrate that the author(s) understand
the issues as well as the potential of young people in agricultural
and rural development. The main selection criteria for the pieces are:
• Originality and quality of analysis;
• Creativity;
• Relevance and responsiveness to development challenges;
• Quality of language (engaging writing style, good spelling and grammar, etc.);
• Presence of bibliography and/or other relevant references;
• Respect of the prescribed format:
♦ Number of words/duration - Print: max 1,200 words. Audio pieces should not exceed 5 minutes.
♦ Print format: Font : Arial size 11 - Line spacing: 1.5
• NB: Additional points will be awarded to journalist/media specialists
whose pieces are published or broadcasted in national, regional or
international news outlets before the deadline for submission. The date
of publication must be included on the submission as only original
pieces that have been prepared after the announcement of this call will
be considered.
AWARDS AND PRIZES
The best print and best audio journalistic piece will be selected using
established criteria. The top two finalists will be announced on March
5, 2012 by email or phone. These two finalists will be fully supported
to attend the international conference on Young People, Farming &
Food at the University of Ghana, Accra. They will also each be awarded
with a certificate of recognition during the conference. In addition,
they will be invited to report on sessions during the conference.
Besides the winning entries, the top ten selected pieces will be
published and promoted regionally, internationally and on the FAC
website.
ADDITIONAL RULES
FAC reserves the right to disqualify any entry if it does not meet the contest criteria and present regulations;
♦ By entering, participants warrant that their print/audio materials
are original and do not infringe on any third party's rights;
♦ Entry to the contest constitutes an agreement to allow FAC to make
articles/audio pieces, name, occupation and state of residence of
applicants, public.
♦ In addition it constitutes an agreement to allow FAC to use the
material in its publications and in the framework of promotional
activities. Applicants will retain ownership and all other rights to
future use of their texts;
♦ FAC will not be able to return submitted articles / audio to their authors;
♦ If, for any reason, the competition is not completed as planned, FAC
reserves the right at its sole discretion to cancel, terminate, modify
or suspend it; ♦ The decisions made by the panel of judges are final
and beyond dispute;
♦ All participants in this competition implicitly accept the rules presented in this document.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
For inquiries: info@future-agricultures.org
For submissions: post@wrenmedia.co.uk and copied to
info@future-agricultures.org
Website: http://www.future-agricultures.org
Source:
The Bookaholic blog
