SADC ESSAY WRITING COMPETITION FOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS, 2021

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) Secretariat, as customary practice, has organized the SADC students Essay Writing Competition for the year 2021. The Essay writing competition is intended to broaden knowledge of the secondary school going population on SADC activities and is open to Form 1 up to 6 students. The students are required to begin researching on the topic prior to writing and submitting their work to their Heads of School.

The topic for the year 2021 deliberated by the 40^th Summit of Heads of State and Governments is “How has SADC contributed to peace and security of the region in the last 40 years and how can SADC consolidate peace going forward?’’

The set of questions below are meant to guide students when responding to the question above. Thus, on answering the question above, a student should answer all the questions listed below:

Discuss some of the key objectives for the formation of SADC and the instruments that were put in place to achieve the set objectives and mandate (250 words, 20 points)
The apartheid system in South Africa had many negative effects for the SADC region. Explain how the system posed as a threat to peace and security in the region and how the region worked collectively to end the system (250 words, 20 points)
One of the major aims of SADC is to build peace, stability and security. According to your understanding discuss what you think is the best approach to mitigating internal and external conflicts and highlight through examples on how SADC has over the years successfully worked as a collective to ensure peace, stability and security. (250 words, 30 points)
Discuss in general the threats to peace, security and stability which the SADC region is facing now and how the region can address these threats in order to maintain peace and stability in the years ahead, using contemporary approaches to conflict, violence, security, peace and development. (250 words, 30 points).

4. Head of schools are supposed to ensure that the students adhere to the following guidelines:

The essay should be 1000 words as prescribed above;
All essays must be typed and submitted in electronic version in Microsoft Word document format, and in hard copies;
Students will have to sign by using initials in each page on the hard copy document to make sure that they have not been altered;
The essay shall be written in English language;
The front page or cover page will display the name, sex, class, school address and stamp, Headmistress/Headmaster’s email address, signature and phone number, region and country;
The title of the essay should be written on the cover page (students should not paraphrase the title);
All reference material must be written in the last page; and
All submissions must be accompanied with a filled SADC Secondary School Essay Competition Entry Form attached.

5. Students are expected to begin writing immediately and submit their essays to their Heads of school. The Heads of School will then be expected to constitute a marking panel which will choose best essays of the school. The panel should go through the essays (Please do not mark the essays) and choose three essays to be submitted to The Permanent Secretary Ministry of Education Science and Technology, Government City- Mtumba, Afya Street, P.O. Box 10, 40479 Dodoma not later than 30^th March, 2021. The national adjudication will take place from 05^thto 16^th April, 2021 in order to get three entries which will be submitted to the SADC Secretariat in Botswana by 30^th April, 2021.

6. For more information visit the Website: https://www.sadc.int/news-events/news/sadc-launches -2021-sadc-secondary-school-essay-competition