Background:

Social injustice affects many people in Africa in various and distinct ways. The environment that comprises of the land, is a key factor of production for especially majority of the people in Africa.  among the most affected are those living below the poverty line. The United Nations warns that Affordable, durable, and flexible, plastic pervades modern life, appearing in everything from packaging to clothes to beauty products. But it is thrown away on a massive scale:

The United Nations Environmental Proramme estimates that every year, more than 280 million tonnes of short-lived plastic products become waste. Overall, about 46 per cent of plastic waste is landfilled, while 22 per cent is mismanaged and becomes litter. Unlike other materials, plastic does not biodegrade. It can take up to 1,000 years to break down, so when it is discarded, it builds up in the environment until it reaches a crisis point. This pollution chokes marine wildlife, damages soil and poisons groundwater, and can cause serious health impacts.

Greener energy migration just like plastic pollution crisis requires both policy and behavioural shifts. It is estimated that in sub-Saharan Africa, that 29 countries have access rates to cleaner energy is below 20% and the region saw a continued increase in the number of people without access to clean cooking reaching around 990 million in 2022. This has afar reached negative effect on the environment.

Current commitments by governments and industry are not enough. To effectively tackle the plastic pollution crisis, systemic change is needed. The bigger question therefore is how can this be possible?

It is based on that brief background as part of the writers for justice (WRIJU) of TRANET-Africa and the Refresh Climate and Environment Campaign that TRANET-Africa is sending out a call for essays to raise awareness about responsible plastic use and environmental conservation as part of promoting climate justice and solving the climate crisis.

Purpose of the essay competition: The purpose of this call for essays is to provide young writers between the ages of 15-30 with an opportunity to voice out their views and engage with the policy and governance processes related to environmental conservation, environmental degradation, climate justice, climate crises, climate financing for loss and damage among others and on how to foster awareness and responsible use of plastic waste and how to accelerate green energy migration in especially developing countries.

Specific objectives of the essay competition:

• To raise awareness about plastic pollution and propose alternatives that can be explored to foster responsible plastics use in Africa
• To create awareness about the need to steadfast greener energy migration and how it can be made a reality.

Winners and runners up: There shall be country winners and two runners up and the overall winners and runners up.

CALL FOR ESSAYS: Essays should be between 1500-3000 words and should identify the problem and factors leading to escalation of plastic waste pollution and environmental degradation and destruction of green plant cover in the context of the country of origin/ residence of the person submitting the article. Essays must provide a clear explanation of how it is a problem, who it is affecting, why they are the most affected, the most affected regions, districts and or zones and propose clear solutions on how to address the plastic pollution and green energy migration from a policy/ governance perspective as well as socio-economic and political.

Proposed solutions should be innovative and contextualized to the needs and situations of the specific country/region where the activist and or writer hails from.

After writing the article, writers should send their articles to communications@tranetafrica.org . writers/ authors whose articles have been reviewed will be contacted. Afterwards, writers will be required to publish the article either on their website, blogpost/ WordPress. After publishing the articles links to the articles should be shared and or circulated on social media platforms as well as to the communications@tranetafrica.org .

Winners and runners up of the essay competition will receive a package as well as capacity building both online and physical to enhance their work on fostering climate justice and environmental conservation and reducing environmental pollution and the climate crisis effects beyond the submission of the articles.

All writers who submit articles will be included into the network of Writers for Justice Initiative (WRIJU) and will continue to network, collaborate, share knowledge and build synergies. This call for essays is for writers from Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, South Sudan, Burundi and Rwanda and should be between the age of 15-35 by the time of submitting the articles.

Other eligible countries include: South Africa, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Namibia, Ghana, Botswana, Zambia, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mayotte and the Comoros.

Deadline for Submission of Articles has been extended to 15th September 2024 by 11:59pm Nairobi time.

Selection criteria

• The writer must be from any of the countries listed above
• Must be between the age of 15-35 by the time of submitting the article
• Artiles submitted identify the problem/ factors escalating destruction of the green cover and irresponsible use of plastic packaging materials, provide a clear analysis of how the problem affects the community, who is most affected and provides clear proposals that can be implemented to address the problems. The proposed solutions should clearly indicate who/ which institution needs implement the said solutions and how they can be implemented.
• Articles are submitted before or within the deadline date and time of 11:59pm on the 30th June 2024.
• Articles are original, clear in presentation and provide a clear understanding of the problem and propose coherent solutions.

Benefits for participating in the essay competition:

• An opportunity to have their writing and advocacy capacities enhanced and developed
• An opportunity to attend the Africa civil society summit that will take place in Arusha Tanzania from the 7th-8th of November 2024.
• Exposure to more opportunities
• Networking
• Possibility of a financial package to further advance their work

Awards: Winners shall be awarded during the 4th Editon of the Africa Civil Society Summit in Arusha, Tanzania.