Deadline: 14 October 2013
Open to: Writers from around the world interested in democratic and economic reforms and their role in development
Prize: $250 (for three best); $100 for three runners-up, and $75 for three third place winners. CIPE will publish all nine winning entries on its blog
Description
The Center for International Private Enterprise invites bloggers from around the world to submit their best posts of up to 750 words in English language on democracy and economic reform.
This year CIPE’s competition is reaching out to the growing global ranks of bloggers. All submissions should therefore be written as a blog entry. Submissions will be accepted both from seasoned bloggers and aspiring ones. You do not need to have an existing blog to apply, but if you are interested in blogging CIPE encourages you to set one up for free using a service such as WordPress, Blogger, or Tumblr.
Your blog post should address one of the following three topics as related to developing countries (e.g., non-OECD countries):
- How can social media empower citizens to participate in a democratic dialogue on constructive reforms?
- What experiences from other countries can guide the role of youth in your country’s democratic and economic development?
- What story or personal experience can you share to illustrate the need and possible solutions for democratic and economic reforms in your country?
Prizes
Authors of the three best blog posts will each receive a $250 honorarium, three runners-up will each receive a $100 honorarium, and three third place winners will each receive $75 honorarium. CIPE will publish all nine winning entries on its blog, which reaches 15,000 readers around the world each month, and also publish them as a part of its Economic Reform Feature Service article series reaching CIPE’s network of over 20,000 contacts worldwide.
Eligibility
Writers from around the world interested in democratic and economic reforms and their role in development. Past CIPE Essay Competition Winners are not eligible to participate.
Application
The deadline for applying is October 14, 2013 at 11:00 PM (EDT). Please use this online form HERE to submit your entry. The submissions must be either unpublished work or previously published on the author’s own blog.
Previously unpublished submissions must include the writer’s name in the file name and inside the document. For example, if your name is John J. Smith, the document should be named “SMITH-JOHN.doc”. If the entry is already published on your blog, please provide the URL.
You are only allowed to submit one entry.
The blog post you submit, where applicable, should include examples from your personal experience relating to the topic. Submissions that only talk about challenges to the issues in general terms, or limit proposed solutions only to what governments should do, will not be successful.
You are encouraged to submit blog posts that contain a photo or a video to illustrate your message. Photos or videos should be original or, if someone else is the author, properly cited under fair use standards with a link to the source.
For questions or concerns, please email essay@cipe.org. Further details are at the official website HERE.
