UNESCO calls for essays engaging with young researchers to enable intercultural dialogue.
UNESCO remains committed to meaningful youth engagement, with youth embraced by the Organization as both beneficiaries and key partners in co-shaping and co-delivery its mandate to build peace in the minds of women and men. This call for Essays reaffirms the importance of youth voices and agency, and reiterates the value UNESCO attaches to Youth-led knowledge production, their innovative ideas and thoughts to advance mutual understanding and peacebuilding.
Through this intellectual challenge, you are invited to:
• Read UNESCO Global Report on We Need to Talk: Measuring lntercultural Dialogue for Peace and Inclusion;
• Demonstrate understanding through use in your Essay of any one or more of the nine (09) structural and principle domains of the Framework mentioned in section 2 above;
• Using the Framework, present concrete examples from your context of how absence of dialogue, exclusion, discrimination, marginalization and others factors impede better understanding and sustainable peace at community, national or regional levels;
• Formulate clear recommendations that looks into structures, values, behaviours, and processes needed for dialogues to work as an instrument for enhancing social inclusivity and building/sustaining peace in East Africa. You may want to focus on and address any one or more of issues such as:
Misunderstandings based on racial, ethnic, cultural or religious/belief differences, etc.;
intolerance, marginalization or discriminations due to disability, sexual orientation, belonging to a minority group, hate speech, etc.
inequalities and divisions rooted in political, economic, or social disparities, etc.
Recognizing the potential for lntercultural Dialogue and the need for better data in this area to effectively tackle pressing global issues, UNESCO has developed the UNESCO Framework for Enabling lntercultural Dialogue in partnership with the Institute for Economics and Peace. Including data from over 160 countries1 the Framework serves as a guide on how best to improve the structures1 values and processes that enable lntercultural Dialogue.
Location:
kenyaBenefits
- The best three (03) essays: A round trip from home country to participate in the UNESCO Regional Launch event in Nairobi, Kenya, including accommodation; a UNESCO Certificate; opportunity to make a presentation of the essay during a dedicated session of the Launch event; publication of the Essay on the UNESCO Website; Hard copy of UNESCO publications “We Need to Talk: Measuring lntercultural Dialogue for Peace and Inclusion” (2022).
- From the 4th to 20th best Essays: A UNESCO Certificate of participation; Opportunity to participate online and contribute to the event; publication of the Essay on the UNESCO Website.
Eligibilities
• Eligibility: Be a young researchers or young experts aged between 18 – 35, and a national from any of the 13 Member States covered by the UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern Africa (Comoros, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Rwanda, Seychelles, Tanzania, Somalia, South Sudan and Uganda).
• Language: The essay can be submitted in English or French
•Novelty/Innovation: Essays must be original, innovative and unpublished. Already published works as well as plagiarized entries will be disqualified. If you use quotations, please include the reference at the bottom of the essay (references are not included in the word count).
• Style and Format: The essay may be in academic, literary, dissertation style, and must be typed and contain a title. It should be submitted in PDF or MS Word. Font: Arial; Font Size: 12; Line and Paragraph spacing: 1.5, Word Count: 1500 – 2500 words maximum
• Copyrights: Participants are invited to transfer copyright of the contested essays to the organizer (UNESCO), through signing of an Authorization Form that MUST be submitted alongside the Essay. This will allow relevant use as well as publication of selected pieces.
Eligible Regions: Comoros, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Rwanda, Seychelles, Tanzania, Somalia, South Sudan and Uganda
Application Process
- All applications must be sent to [email protected] and [email protected] and c.c. to hc.ngandeu-ngatta.unesco.org, with the Subject: UNESCO Essay Contest-We Need to Talk, and should be submitted by 20 January 2023 20:59 p.m.
- Authors must also fill, sign, and return an Authorization Form, alongside their submission.
Application Deadline: January 20, 2023
Application ClosedOfficial link
