1. Eligibility:

All secondary/high school going students from all 16 Southern African Development Community (SADC) Member States are welcome to participate in the Competition.

2. Topic:

In an effort to encourage youth participation in the regional integration affairs, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) launched the SADC Secondary School Essay Competition, which is open to all secondary school learners in South Africa.

The topic for the 2025 SADC Secondary School Essay competition is “How can innovation enhance SADC industrialization and sustainable economic growth and development?”

The topic is derived from the theme of the 44^th Ordinary SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government held in the Republic of Zimbabwe, Harare on 17^th August 2024, which is; “Promoting Innovation to unlock opportunities for sustained economic growth and development towards an Industrialized SADC”.

The theme seeks to recognize that innovation is a fundamental instrument with significant potential to drive priority sectors of manufacturing, mineral beneficiation and agro-processing to enhance industrialization and economic growth of the SADC region.

3. Instructions

The essay should be 1000 words. A complete word count must be provided at the end of the essay. Learners must provide references for their work where necessary; however, references do not contribute towards the word count of the entry. The preferred format of citation is APA. To facilitate simple sequencing, each answer must be accompanied by the question at the top. Learners are cautioned against using the bullet point format for their work.

The deadline for submission of entries to the Department of Basic Education is 19 April 2025. 

ALL entries must be typed and submit in electronic version in Microsoft Word and in hard copies. Entrants should sign and initial each page of the hard copy document to make sure that they have not been altered. All essays entering the competition should be in one of the SADC working languages, i.e. English, Portuguese and French. All submissions must contain full names, contact details of the entrant, name of school and province.

4. Marking Guidelines:

The set of questions below are meant to guide entrants when responding to the question above. In answering the question above, secondary school learners should ensure that they address the questions listed below in their essays;

1. What is your assessment of the level of industrialisation in the SADC region? (20 points).
2. SADC is working towards economic growth and development through regional integration. Highlight some key endeavours in the SADC region that support industrialisation at regional level. (20 points).
3. SADC region is developing and strengthening national and regional systems of innovation to drive sustained socio-economic development and the rapid achievement of the goals of the SADC common agenda including poverty reduction and eradication. Give examples of national and regional activities and programmes which support industrialization growth through innovation. (20 points).
4. In light of the 4th Industrial Revolution, the success of economies relies heavily on technological and innovative progress. What are some of the impediments that Member States face in harnessing innovation and how can SADC address these impediments to accelerate industrialization and economic growth in the region? (20 points).
5. In your perspective, what role does innovation play in manufacturing, mineral beneficiation and agro-processing and in enhancing the competitive advantage of the SADC region? (20 points).

Submissions

All essays should be emailed to: Sadcessay@dbe.gov.za.

Winners will be awarded a cash prize as follows:

First place USD 500; Second place USD 300; and Third place USD 200.