Johannesburg, April 11, 2013 - As part of celebrations to mark the Golden Jubilee of the Organisation of African Unity, which is now the African Union(AU), the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) Agency in partnership with the Technical Centre for Agriculture and Rural Cooperation (CTA) is inviting entries for photos and essays on Youth, Women and Rural Agricultural Development.

The OAU was established on May 25, 1963 in Addis Ababa, at the height of Africa’s liberation struggle from colonial rule. The entity evolved into the African Union in 2002. This year marks 50 years since the pan-African body was formed and iconic celebrations throughout Africa are earmarked for the occasion.

The Photo and Essay contest which is open youth aged 13 to 35 who are citizens of AU member states will run from March 27 to May 6, 2013.

"This is year marks a significant milestone for the Continent, when we celebrate 50 years of African Unity. NEPAD, which is the technical body of the African Union, is using this occasion to showcase the significant developmental efforts of the continental body, partly through this photo contest, which is specifically to draw attention to the issue of women and youth empowerment and rural development in Africa. By entering the completion the youth will get to learn more about the NEPAD Programmes, “said Maureen Nkandu, Head of Communications at NEPAD.

The essence of the Contest is tied to this year’s AU theme “Pan-Africanism and African Renaissance”. It is aimed at to drawing public attention to the efforts that NEPAD and its partners are making towards agricultural and rural development, as well as the empowerment of women and youth. Photos and Essay entries are expected to make reference to NEPAD Programmes and Projects where youth and women’s development is directly and indirectly involved such as Gender, Food and Nutrition Security, the School Feeding scheme CAADP and Climate Change.

At a time when the world’s attention will be focused on what will happen after the deadline for attaining the MDGs, the winning photos and essays will put a human face to the campaign and to what NEPAD is doing to facilitate and support AU members to attain their development goals.

Prizes of the Contest include cameras and cash. The winners will be announced by NEPAD at the end of May 2013. The winning photos and essays will be printed out and framed, captioned and exhibited at a Museum in Johannesburg for a month.

Entry forms for the competition can be downloaded from the NEPAD website www.nepad.org

Entrants to the competition can also send their queries to competition@nepad.org 

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Contact:

Benita Nsabua

Phone: +27 11 2563635

Email: benitan@nepad.org

Abiola Ajayi

Phone: +27 11 2563635

Email: abiolaa@nepad.org

Millicent Seganoe

Phone: +27 11 2563615

Email: millicents@nepad.org