The world is on fire. Under business as usual, scientists warn that by 2050 over half of the world could face water scarcity, unsafe levels of air pollution, and increasingly unpredictable weather events. The world is at a crossroads. If we act now, we have a unique opportunity to remake the world otherwise. What future do we hope for? What future do we fear? If you could write any world into being, what world would that be?
The climate crisis is global, but it was not made and will not be felt equally. Africa is the continent that has contributed least to carbon emissions. Yet it stands to be most devastatingly affected by the effects of climate change, with limited resources to cope. Today, African perspectives on just transitions to a low-carbon world have never been more important. That’s why we have launched Africa@2050. We invite short stories (max 1500 words) or poems (max 1000 words) to the Africa@2050 Climate Fiction competition.
The Judges of the competition are Helon Habila, Ytasha L. Womack and Makena Onjerika. Read more about the judges here.
THE AFRICA@2050 COMPETITION: TERMS & CONDITIONS
• The competition is free to enter
• Submit your story of Africa@2050, as a short story (max 1500 words) or poem (max 1000 words). The story should broadly and creatively engage with the issue of climate change on the African continent, including (but not restricted to): climate justice; energy; carbon emissions, trading and capture; mining & rare earth minerals; water scarcity; electric transportation; agriculture & food security; extreme weather events; waste; toxicity; sustainability.
• Submit your entry here
• Cash prizes: £1000 (winner), £500 (second prize), £300 (third prize), and shortlisted entries (£100).
• Submit your entry by 18 JUNE 2021, 23:59 Central African Time (CAT).
• In addition to cash prizes, winning and shortlisted participants will be invited to participate in a Climate Futures Workshop on June 30, 2021. Winners and shortlisted applicants must be available to attend and contribute to the Climate Workshop following their award (to be held virtually on Zoom). Winners and shortlisted entries will be showcased on the website, and feature in a virtual COP26 fringe event in October 2021 at the Energy Ethics 2021 Conference ‘Energy Transitions & Planetary Futures’.
• You must be aged 18 or over, and be national or resident of the following sub-Saharan African countries: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Republic of the Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Réunion, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Western Sahara, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
• Your entry must be previously-unpublished work.
• Entries can be in any language, but, if not in English, must be submitted alongside a full English translation for the purpose of the competition. Only the English version will be evaluated for the competition. If selected, winning and shortlisted texts will feature in their original language texts alongside the English translation.
• You will retain copyright of the entry you submit. By entering the competition, you agree to have the entry featured on our website.
• Entries will be reviewed and shortlisted by an internal panel, and submitted to a panel of external judges for final review and award.
• Winners, runners-up and shortlisted applicants will be notified by email.
Deadline for submission: 18th June 2021,23:59 Central African Time (CAT).
ABOUT AFRICA@2050
Africa@2050 is a project based at the Centre for Energy Ethics (CEE) at the University of St Andrews and the Centre for Climate Change and Sustainability Studies (C3SS) at the University of Ghana. It is funded by the Scottish Funding Council. Read more about AFRICA@2050 here.
For more information, please email africa2050@st-andrews.ac.uk
Or email competition organisers Dr. Bob O. Manteaw rmanteaw@ug.edu.gh or Dr. Pauline Destree pd73@st-andrews.ac.uk .
