World Bank Essay Competition for Young Egypt Nationals 2017

In partnership with the Economic Research Forum (ERF), the World Bank announces a Call for Essays addressing Youth Employment in Egypt.

Application Deadline: 5th November, 2016

Problem Statement:

Youth unemployment has reached alarming levels in Egypt. As much as 26.7 percent of the young Egyptians between 18-29 years are unemployed (Central Agency for Mobilization and Statistics, CAPMAS), twice the unemployment rate for the overall population.

Sub-themes: The following sub-themes are suggested:

Youth Training, which translates into enabling youth to acquire the necessary skills to enter the labor market and benefit from available opportunities. Possible areas for new initiatives include: education, training and health.

Job Creation, which involves ways to expand job opportunities for all young people, especially to youth disproportionally affected by unemployment. Possible solution areas include: economic diversity and the nature of economic growth; the promotion of entrepreneurship; and formalization (i.e. registration of informal businesses).

Eligible Countries: Egypt

To be taken at (country): Egypt

About the Award: The Egypt Youth Essay Competition is implemented as part of the World Bank’s Youth Engagement, which aims to promote and mainstream youth inclusion in Egypt through the World Bank portfolio.

The goal of this Competition is to give young Egyptians the opportunity to develop constructive and innovative solutions to address existing development challenges in their country.

Launched for the first time through the World Bank office in Cairo, this competition aims to support voice and agency of young Egyptians, whilst leveraging the ideas and innovations led by young people in tackling the challenge of youth unemployment.

The competition is open to all Egyptians up to the age 29, and invites youth to submit a 2,500 word solution-based essay (in Arabic or English) addressing youth unemployment in Egypt, particularly focusing on youth training and job creation.

Type: Essay Contest

Eligibility:

• Any Egyptian up to 29 years old.
• The essay can be written in Arabic or English and has to be under 2,500 words.
• An abstract of up to 250 words is required.
• The essay needs to contain:
  • title;
  • abstract with a concise summary of key messages;
  • simple structure with introduction, argument, and conclusion;
  • clear list of recommendations; and
  • bibliography. Please acknowledge all references and add a complete bibliography, which is not part of the word count.

Selection: The Essay will be reviewed by a panel of independent experts in two stages.

Stage 1: The panel will be evaluating all submissions according to three criteria: (1) the relevance and originality of your solutions; (2) the soundness of your argument, and whether your essay is well substantiated by the existing literature or experience; and (3) the feasibility of your policy recommendations.

Stage 2: The finalists will be invited to present their essays at an Award Ceremony in Cairo, where the winners will be selected. The final selection of the winners among the finalists will be based on the merit of their essay and the clarity of their presentation during the Award Ceremony.

Number of Awardees: 3

Value of Competition: The essay competition offers recognition and financial awards.

• In addition to a certificate of achievement to all finalists, you will be able to present your idea to an audience of policy makers, sector specialists and other stakeholders.
• The best three essays will be published online by the World Bank and by the Economic Research Forum on their websites.
• The author of the best essay will receive 20,000 Egyptian pounds. The second and third place winners will be awarded 15,000 and 10,000 Egyptian pounds, respectively.

How to Apply: An electronic copy of your individually written essay needs to be submitted online at www.cognitoforms.com/EgyptYouthEssay/Competition by November 5, 2016. The finalists will be notified by December 5, 2016. All finalists will be invited to present their essay at the Award Ceremony in Cairo on December 19, 2016.

Visit Competition Webpage for details

Award Provider: World Bank, Economic Research Forum (ERF)