Winners of the 2020 Wole Soyinka Essay Competition have emerged and will be unveiled on July 14.
The competition is part of the 11th Wole Soyinka International Cultural Exchange, WSCICE, and the winners will earn various sums denominated in American dollars.
The winners in the two categories will win various Dollar sums: Senior — Global $500=$1000; Junior — Global J+$300=$600, Global Winner CDP-S-$200 R-$100=300, Winner CDP-J-2000. R-$100=300.
The competition, which ran from June 5 to 26, was organised in two categories: Junior (12-16 years) and Senior (17-22), and attracted participation from five language zones of the world: Anglophone (English), Francophone (French), Cinophone (Chinese), Hispaphone (Hispanic) and Lusophone (Portuguese).
Entries were submitted by participants from Nigeria; South Africa; Nepal; Pakistan; Ghana, Uganda; Angola; Barbados; Brazil; The Gambia; United States of America; Cuba; Cameroon; Kenya; Malawi; Tanzania; Zambia; China; United Arab Emirates; Canada; Philippines; Bangladesh; Indonesia; Zimbabwe.
The theme of the competition was: I AM because YOU ARE, inspired by UBUNTU, the Southern African cultural philosophy on the principle of interdependence of the Human Family.
The theme is said to be especially relevant now in the era of COVID-19, which has ruptured the fabric of collective humanity, in particular due to its protocol of social and physical distancing.
The essay writing competition represents the Students/Youths section of the annual project.
The over 2000 entries went through four levels of adjudication involving 12 judges appointed from the various language zones, most of them in the academic and cultural advocacy sectors.
The long lists were then sent to external judges to serve as auditors of the decisions arrived at by the adjudicators.
“We went through that long, elaborate process to ensure transparency of the competition, and integrity of the entire project. Though the two virtues of transparency and integrity have always been our core principles since inception of the project 11 years ago, they have become even more imperative now that we have taken the project to the global stage,” stated Teju Kareem, Executive Producer of the WSICE.
The winners of the dollar prizes will be formally unveiled during the ‘Meet & Greet’ which will hold virtually in the evening hours of Tuesday, July 14th,
Interested members of the public have been advised to join the zoom party via: Meeting ID: 835 7543 6744; Password: WSICE2020.
