USAID Nepal Essay Competition: Fostering Nepali Youth to Become Champions of Reform

Deadline: 12 August 2012

To celebrate International Youth Day in August, USAID/Nepal, in partnership with The Week, Republica, and Youth Initiative, is pleased to announce an Essay Competition on the following topic:

Fostering Nepali Youth to become Champions of Reform: Designing a Better Future for the Country

As indicated by the specified topic, the essay needs to address the theme: The role of this country’s youth is undeniably important - but what, how, and when will this young generation play a more decisive, active role in the country’s future?

The Competition officially opens on August 1, 2012 (Wednesday) and ends August 12, 2012 (Sunday).

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENT: This competition is open to all citizens of Nepal aged 18 to 30 years, living inside and outside of Nepal.

PRIZES:

• Cash prizes (for top two winners)
• Publication of the winning essay in Republica National Daily's weekend edition, The Week, as well as in USAID/Nepal’s publications including the monthly newsletter
• A chance to travel to the mid and far-west of Nepal with USAID staff for a first-hand exposure of ongoing development activities in the country
• Books
• Other attractive prizes

ESSAY RULES:

• No literary form other than an essay will be accepted.
• Only one (1) essay may be submitted by each contestant.
• Only entries in English will be reviewed.
• Submissions must be in .doc format and may not exceed 2000 words in length (excluding references).
• The essay text is limited to double-spaced, 12-point font, single-sided with numbered pages.
• The first page of the submission must be in this suggested format:
• Name of Essay:
• Name of Author:
• Age of the author (a copy of the author’s citizenship also needs to be emailed together with the essay)
• Author's email address and phone number:
• The actual essay must begin on the second page of the submission and only the title of the essay may appear in the body of the submission.
• The competition will be idea-based as much as it will be about creative writing skills.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS:

• Employees of USAID, their families or anyone else associated with this competition are not eligible to enter in the competition.
• Participation in the competition is free.
• IMPORTANT: By submitting an entry, the contestant warrants that the work is original, factually accurate, and must not infringe or violate any law or the legal or equitable right of any person or entity, nor contain material that infringes or violates any personal property rights of others or that constitutes defamation, invasion of privacy, an infringement of the intellectual property rights of any third person, or is otherwise unlawful. By submitting an essay, each entrant acknowledges his or her understanding of and compliance with these rules. Any forms of plagiarism or violation of these rules found DURING or AFTER the announcement of winners will immediately result in elimination or confiscation of the award.
• References should be included and clearly identified.
• To be considered, entries must be received on or before August 12, 2012. Entries should be e-mailed to usaidnepal@gmail.com. Place “USAID Nepal Essay Contest” in the subject line.
• If and when more than 100 entries are submitted, USAID reserves the right to stop accepting entries. An announcement will be made on the USAID website and official facebook/twitter page when the 100th essay is received. Review of more than 100 essays is beyond the resources of our staff and volunteer reviewers.
• Any entries received after the deadline will be deemed invalid.
• All submissions become property of the USAID Mission to use, reproduce, or distribute as it sees fit in its sole discretion, although authorship will be acknowledged. By submitting an entry, the contestant grants permission to USAID to use her or his name for publicity purposes, including, but not limited to, announcing the results of the contest.
• USAID reserves the right to disqualify any entry deemed inappropriate for publication, at their discretion. The decisions of the judges are final and non-reviewable.
• Prizes are non-transferable.
• This contest is void where prohibited by law.

JUDGING: Essays will be judged by prescreening groups consisting of qualified USAID employees, and then by a final judging panel comprising of renowned writers and senior USAID Mission staff. The review and scoring will take place from August 13 to August 21, 2012.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

For queries/ submissions: usaidnepal@gmail.com

Website: http://nepal.usaid.gov