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Category: Initiatives and Programs

Initiatives and Programs

2025 Nelson Mandela Essay Prize Competition

Inspiring African Leadership in Global Affairs

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

Academics Stand Against Poverty (ASAP) East and Southern Africa, in collaboration with the University of Zambia’s Graduate School of Business, proudly announces the inaugural Nelson Mandela Essay Prize Competition for 2025.

This competition invites young African scholars to address pressing continental issues and propose innovative solutions for global governance. With South Africa set to chair the G20 and the African Union joining as a permanent member, this initiative provides a timely platform for African voices to shape global discussions.

Competition Details
  • Essay Length: 4,000-8,000 words
  • Total Prize Pool: USD 5,000 for up to three winning essays
  • Submission Deadline: March 21, 2025
  • Format: Follow Journal ASAP guidelines 
Prizes and Benefits
  • Cash prizes the USD 5,000 pool
  • One-year ASAP fellowship with mentoring, internship, and networking opportunities
  • Presentation of winning essays at the next Yale Global Justice Program conference
Essay Themes

Essays should focus on one or more of the following priority areas, presenting specific, actionable proposals:

Climate change resilience: e.g., Developing policy frameworks to ensure equitable access to climate adaptation technologies for vulnerable African communities.

Economic empowerment: e.g., Designing microfinance models that address regulatory capture and promote democratic economic participation in rural areas.

Healthcare systems: e.g., Proposing reforms to intellectual property laws to improve access to essential medicines in underserved African regions.

Education: e.g., Creating programs to educate youth on global governance structures and encourage civic engagement in international policy-making.

Digital transformation: e.g., Analyzing the impact of trade agreements on digital inclusion and proposing more balanced policies for technology transfer to African nations.

Gender equality: e.g., Researching the effects of austerity measures on women’s economic participation and advocating for gender-responsive economic policies.

Peace and security: e.g., Developing strategies to address forced migration and statelessness as drivers of conflict in African regions.

Eligibility and Submission
  • Open to citizens of African countries without a PhD degree
  • Joint submissions by two eligible authors are accepted
  • Submit essays to mandelaprize@academicsstand.org by March 21, 2025
  • Include university or organization affiliation and essay title in the email
  • Ensure the essay is anonymized for blind review

This competition offers a unique opportunity for young African thinkers to contribute to global efforts on poverty alleviation, sustainable development, and economic progress. We encourage all eligible scholars to participate and share their innovative ideas for addressing Africa’s most pressing challenges in the global context.

 
Join us in shaping the future of African leadership in global affairs!
Initiatives and Programs

Join the ASAP Fellowship: Be a Fellow of Global Justice!

The ASAP Fellowship is a unique opportunity for emerging scholars and activists to work alongside leading experts in the fight against global poverty and strengthening democracy. Through a combination of mentorship, research collaboration, and networking opportunities, the ASAP Fellowship is designed to equip you with the expertise and insights needed to effect tangible positive change in the world.

What You’ll Gain:

  • One-to-one mentorship from renowned scholars and practitioners in the field of global justice.
  • The chance to collaborate on cutting-edge research and development or civic projects that address pressing poverty or democracy issues.
  • Participation in the annual Yale Global Justice Conference, where you can connect with leading thinkers and policymakers from around the world.
  • Publication opportunities in Journal ASAP, a leading academic journal focused on poverty studies.
  • Access to the ASAP network of alumni and partners.

Eligibility:

  • Applicants must be emerging scholars or activists with a strong commitment to social justice and making democracy work.
  • Master’s degree or equivalent is required / Outstanding ideas and projects are to be considered outside the requirements of academic degrees, from candidates from low income countries.
  • Fluency in English is required.

How to Apply:

  1. Submit your CV and a concept paper (no more than two pages) to Mihai at mihai@academicsstand.org , outlining your research and/or development interests (ongoing work or any novel program/research are welcomed). 
  2. Applications will be reviewed by a committee of ASAP experts.
  3. Shortlisted candidates will be invited to submit a 2 minute elevator pitch type of video clip, with the idea / project of focus for this fellowship and why they should be selected in the ASAP fellowship program.
  4. The ultimate roster of fellows will be shared with the international board of trustees that confirmed the participation as mentors, and each member will express their interest in engaging in individual discussions with the fellows.

Deadline: January 26th, 2024

Frequently Asked Questions:

What are the research themes of the ASAP Fellowship?

The ASAP Fellowship welcomes applications related to research as well as civic and development programs addressing diverse facets of global poverty. It places special emphasis on themes such as social protection, economic inequality, climate change, human rights, and efforts aimed at fortifying democracy. Aspiring fellows are encouraged to explore innovative projects and initiatives within these overarching areas, fostering a comprehensive approach to combating poverty on a global scale.

What is the time commitment for the ASAP Fellowship?

The ASAP Fellowship, spanning one year, necessitates occasional online engagement. It functions as a supportive ecosystem, aiding selected fellows in honing and expanding their ideas/programs. Active individual participation is crucial in the fellowship program. Fellows are anticipated to engage in frequent meetings with mentors, collaborate on research endeavors, and partake in the ASAP Conference, Yale Global Justice Program seminars, or contribute to the Journal ASAP.

What are the financial benefits of the ASAP Fellowship?

The ASAP Fellowship does not provide a stipend and does not require physical presence.

What are the career benefits of the ASAP Fellowship?

Structured as an inventive and interdisciplinary initiative, the ASAP Fellowship engages distinguished academics as mentors, providing participants with a distinct advantage in both the academic and professional realms. Fellows will acquire valuable research and professional skills, establish robust connections, and enjoy the prospect of showcasing their work through publication in ASAP’s academic journal, and also refining and growing their ideas for a more significant impact. This program is designed to enhance your overall competitiveness and open doors to opportunities in academia and the job market.

Terms and Conditions:

  1. Applicants must be at least 18 years old.
  2. Fellows are required to complete all program requirements, including attending meetings, participating in research projects, and presenting their work at the annual ASAP Conference.
  3. Fellows are expected to uphold the highest standards of academic integrity and professional conduct.

We encourage you to spread the word among your networks and nominate promising young scholars to join us in this exciting journey!

Initiatives and Programs

11th Amartya SEN Essay Prize

This year, Global Financial Integrity, Academics Stand Against Poverty and Yale’s Global Justice Program will be awarding the tenth annual Amartya Sen Prizes to the two best original essays examining one particular component of illicit financial flows, the resulting harms, and possible avenues of reform.  

Essays should be about 7,000 to 9,000 words long. There is a first prize of USD 5,000 and a second prize of USD 3,000.  Winning essays must be available for publication in Journal Academics Stand Against Poverty. Past winners are not eligible.

Illicit financial flows are explicitly recognized as an obstacle to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and singled out as target #4 of SDG 16. They are defined as cross-border movements of funds that are illegally earned, transferred, or used – such as funds earned through illegal trafficking in persons, drugs or weapons; funds illegally transferred through mispriced exchanges (e.g., among affiliates of a multinational firm seeking to shift profits to reduce taxes); goods misinvoiced or funds moved in order to evade taxes; and funds used for corruption of or by public or corporate officials.  

Components of illicit financial flows can be delimited by sector or geographically. Delimitation by sector might focus your essay on some specific activity, business or industry – such as art, real estate, health care, technology, entertainment, shipping, weapons, agriculture, sports, gaming, education, politics, tourism, natural resource extraction, banking and financial services – or on an even narrower subsector such as the diamond trade, hunting, insurance, or prostitution.  Delimitation by geography might further narrow the essay’s focus to some region, country, or province.

Your essay should describe the problematic activity and evaluate the adverse effects that make it problematic.  You should estimate, in quantitative terms if possible, the magnitude of the relevant outflows as well as the damage they do to affected institutions and populations.  This might include harm from abuse, exploitation and impoverishment of individuals, harm through subdued economic activity and reduced prosperity, and/or harm through diminished tax revenues that depress public spending.

Your essay should also explain the persistence of the harmful activity in terms of relevant incentives and enabling conditions and, based on your explanation, propose plausible ways to curtail the problem.  Such reform efforts might be proposed at diverse levels, including supranational rules and regimes, national rules, corporate policies, professional ethics, individual initiatives, or any combination thereof.  The task is to identify who has the responsibility, the capacity and (potentially) the knowledge and motivation to change behavior toward effective curtailment. Special consideration will be given to papers that provide a detailed description of how change may come about in a particular geographical or sectoral context.

We welcome authors from diverse academic disciplines and from outside the academy. Please send your entry by email attachment on or before 31 August 2024 to Tom Cardamone at SenPrize@gfintegrity.org. While your message should identify you, your essay should be stripped of self-identifying references, formatted for blind review.

Initiatives and Programs

Ambedkar Grants for Advancing Poverty Eradication (AGAPE)

AGAPE is a program of Academics Stand Against Poverty (ASAP), an international community of scholars and researchers working to confront the rules and practices that perpetuate global poverty and to initiate targeted, evidence-based reforms.

This program commemorates and honors Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, India’s great leader in poverty eradication. Initial seed funding for AGAPE was generously provided by Krishen and Geeta Mehta.

AGAPE provides competitive funding and mentoring for innovative pilot projects in severe poverty eradication that offer strong prospects of cost-effective scale-up.

In its first year of operation, AGAPE has made four awards in India:

  1. The Snekithi Charitable Trust in Tamil Nadu was awarded Rs. 199000 for an initiative that will raise the productivity and thereby the incomes of Dalit woman farmers in the rain-fed areas of Karur District. AGAPE’s mentors for this project are Srilakshmi Vajrakarur and Johnson Prasant Palakkappillil.
  2. The Kuriakose Elias Service Society (KESS) in Elanjikulam, Nadathara, Thrissur. They were awarded Rs. 200000 for an initiative that will help women who have lost their jobs build a tailoring cooperative after suitable fashion design training. AGAPE’s mentor for this project is Jose Nandhikkara.
  3. Dr. Arambam Noni Meetai at Dhanamanjuri University, Imphal, Manipur. He was awarded Rs. 220000 for an initiative that will enable villagers in Kwatha to market their fermented bamboo shoot product directly in Imphal, thereby capturing a larger share of the final sales price. AGAPE’s mentor for this project is Tanvir Aeijaz.
  4. The National Service Scheme Unit at Sacred Heart University and Chellanam Panchayat. It was awarded Rs. 175000 for an initiative that will improve the livelihood of women by enabling them to create an enterprise for the manufacture and distribution of ecofriendly paper bags. AGAPE’s mentor for this project is Johnson Prasant Palakkappillil.

Contributions to AGAPE are tax-deductible in India and the United States. Help those who know poverty first-hand try out their best ideas toward eradicating severe poverty for good!

In its second year, AGAPE aims to divide well over Rs. 1 million among five promising projects that will pilot innovative approaches to poverty eradication.

Here poverty is defined broadly as including the whole range of basic social and economic needs; and eradication is conceived as enabling households to escape poverty permanently. At this time, only individuals and organizations planning pilot projects in India are eligible to apply.

Srilakshmi Vajrakarur delivered a progress report on the inaugural projects in India at the ASAP/Yale GJP annual conference in November 2023.

Forwardgoing, AGAPE aims to continue funding promising projects that will pilot innovative approaches to poverty eradication. Here poverty is defined broadly as including the whole range of basic social and economic needs; and eradication is conceived as enabling households to escape poverty permanently. At this time, only individuals and organizations planning pilot projects in India are eligible to apply.

Applications should consist of one page each on the proposal and the proposers.

The proposal page should specify a detailed plan for the pilot project, preceded by a one-sentence summary statement of purpose, and followed by a brief timeline and budget.

The proposer page should give relevant details about the person(s) intending to do the work and (if applicable) their organization.

Additional supporting materials are accepted but not encouraged.

An expert panel will assess pilot projects based on their cost-effectiveness and promise of success as well as their potentials for innovation and scale-up. Projects funded in prior years may be resubmitted for additional funding.

Proposals should be sent agapeindiagroup@gmail.com.