The World Bank Group has announced a call for applications for the Blog4Dev 2021 Competition: Put Your Blogging Skills to Test!

In an effort to find a common solution to a common challenge, they would also like to hear the views of African youth on the COVID-19 response. Based on the situation in your country, answer the following question:

How can young people work with their governments and civil society organizations to respond to the impact of COVID-19 and build a stronger post-pandemic economic and social system?

Launched in 2014 by the World Bank Kenya office, the #Blog4Dev competition is an annual writing contest, inviting young people to weigh in on a topic critical to their country’s economic development. The competition is a way to engage Africa’s youth and provide a platform for them to share their views—and solutions—about development topics that are important to them. In 2018, it became a regional competition, open to young citizens from all 48 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Blog4Dev winners contribute to the blogging community through original content posted on the Youth Transforming Africa blog platform.

Youth Transforming Africa (YTA) is a World Bank-supported youth engagement initiative that aims to engage more African youth in the thinking and discussions on development in Africa.

Winning authors are eligible for several prizes, including an invitation to attend a dedicated program during the World Bank-IMF Spring Meetings 2021 (if the health situation improves), opportunities to represent Africa’s youth at high-level events, a chance to intern at a World Bank country office, or an opportunity to have their blog published on the World Bank blog Youth Transforming Africa.

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible for the #Blog4Dev competition, you must:

• Be a citizen of one of the 48 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa;
• Be between the ages of 18 and 28 on November 30, 2020;
• Not have been a winner of previous editions.

Criteria

The winning submissions will be selected based on the following criteria:

• originality;
• clarity in writing and presentation;
• practicality and relevance;
• potential impact on development.

For more information, visit World Bank Group.