Are you a blogger or interested in
blogging? Do you also have interest in Agriculture? If your answers are in the
affirmative, then this opportunity is for you.
Submit
your individual or Institutional Blog and win up to 3000 Euros. The Technical
Centre for Agriculture and Rural Cooperation ACP-EU (CTA), in collaboration
with FARA, Yam-Pukri, CAFAN, AYF, ANAFE, SPC/PAFPNET and
e-Agriculture is pleased to launch the 2nd Edition of the Youth in Agriculture
Blog Competition (YoBloCo Awards).
This
contest is organised in the framework of the ARDYIS project, which aims to
raise youth
awareness and improve their capacity on agricultural and rural
development issues in ACP countries using Information and Communication
Technologies (ICTs).
The aims of the blog
competition are to:
Put
into limelight issues, successes and challenges faced by youth engaged in:
agriculture in urban and rural areas;
Encourage
the production of information and the use of new information and communication
technologies by young farmers’ groups and organisations interested in the
“youth in agriculture” question;
Promote
the sharing of information on the issues of agriculture and rural development
in African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries.
Who can participate?
The
YoBloCo Awards are open in two categories:
a.
Individual category
This
category is open to students in agricultural training courses, young farmers,
journalists or other young people interested in ICT or agriculture.
b.
Institutional category
This
category is open to local or national
young
farmers’ organisations;
young
members of farmers’ organisations;
young
members of any organisation interested in agriculture, rural development and
ICT.
For
this competition, an organisation is understood as any type of non-profit or
for-profit association, cooperative, forum, network or related grouping, excluding
government institutions. Organisations that receive funding from governments
but are not formal governmental institutions can be eligible if they fulfil all
criteria.
If the organisation or grouping submitting an entry is not officially registered in the country, it should be recommended, via a letter of recommendation, by a national partner organisation, which is officially registered.
When young members of an organisation are submitting an entry in the “Institutional category”, they should apply on behalf of their organisation. If the entry wins an award, it is the organisation, which will be declared winner and will receive the cash prize. The blog creator or a representative of blog creators (if it is a team) will be invited for the prize giving ceremony and receive a trophy on behalf of the winning organisation. When a team applies on behalf of their organisation, the person representing the team must be specified in the application process. The cash prize won would be sent to the organisation.
For both categories, the young people participating must be between 18 to 35 years old (by the time of submission) and be nationals of ACP countries signatories of the Cotonou Agreement (see Note 1 below).
If the organisation or grouping submitting an entry is not officially registered in the country, it should be recommended, via a letter of recommendation, by a national partner organisation, which is officially registered.
When young members of an organisation are submitting an entry in the “Institutional category”, they should apply on behalf of their organisation. If the entry wins an award, it is the organisation, which will be declared winner and will receive the cash prize. The blog creator or a representative of blog creators (if it is a team) will be invited for the prize giving ceremony and receive a trophy on behalf of the winning organisation. When a team applies on behalf of their organisation, the person representing the team must be specified in the application process. The cash prize won would be sent to the organisation.
For both categories, the young people participating must be between 18 to 35 years old (by the time of submission) and be nationals of ACP countries signatories of the Cotonou Agreement (see Note 1 below).
How to participate?
Individuals
or organisations who wish to submit a blog and take part in the competition
will have about 4 months to prepare or update their blogs with content related
to agriculture (see Section 3 below). Blogs and all required
information/documents will be submitted via an online form between
December and January 2014 (the link to the blog submission form will be
provided on this page as from 2 December 2013).
Prior to the blog submission, all people/organisation interested to be updated regularly on the competition can subscribe on this link: EEPURL
Prior to the blog submission, all people/organisation interested to be updated regularly on the competition can subscribe on this link: EEPURL
Content of eligible
blogs
The
blog submitted can be a newly created one, or an existing one but which has
been recently updated with content related to agriculture. However, mainly blog
posts from the commencement of the competition will be judged.
A blog that deals with, or contains posts/articles on subjects other than agriculture must include, consistently (see Note 3 below), new articles related to agriculture, in order to be considered eligible.
In the context of the YoBloCo Awards, “new articles” or “new posts” refer to texts published between the launch of competition until its closure (please check section 7 below for the deadline). Posts/articles considered for the competition must be in French or English and can be related to one or several ACP countries.
Articles on the blog should cover themes or issues such as:
A blog that deals with, or contains posts/articles on subjects other than agriculture must include, consistently (see Note 3 below), new articles related to agriculture, in order to be considered eligible.
In the context of the YoBloCo Awards, “new articles” or “new posts” refer to texts published between the launch of competition until its closure (please check section 7 below for the deadline). Posts/articles considered for the competition must be in French or English and can be related to one or several ACP countries.
Articles on the blog should cover themes or issues such as:
Challenges,
success and issues faced by Youth in agriculture and related activities;
Climate
change, environmental conservation, natural resource management;
Agri-business
(marketing, commercialization, processing, etc.);
Agricultural
production and Food security;
Agriculture
value chains and agricultural policy;
Actions,
policies and strategies related to youth involvement in agriculture;
ICT
use in the agricultural sector (how can ICTs promote agriculture or how can ICT
support innovation in agricultural value chains, ICT and agriculture policies,
ICT and extension services etc.);
How
are ICTs improving (or can improve) youth opportunities in rural areas;
Agro-tourism;
Contribution
of Diaspora in ACP Agriculture;
The
role and importance of Family Farming and Smallholder Farming in alleviating
hunger and poverty, providing food security and nutrition, improving
livelihoods, managing natural resources, protecting the environment, and
achieving sustainable development, in particular in rural areas. (see Note 4
below);
Any
other agriculture related theme or issue.
Selection process
There
are two different processes for the two blog categories.
a)
Individual Category
The
eligible individual blogs submitted will first go through a public evaluation
process, whereby the online audience will vote for, and comment on the blog
that they like the most. Following the public evaluation, 15 finalists will be
selected based on the number of votes they will receive, and they will finally
be evaluated by an independent jury composed of expert in the field of ICTs and
Agriculture. The first prize for this category is 1500 Euros and other prizes
will be awarded!
b)
Institutional Category
Blogs
in the institutional category will also go through the public evaluation
process, whereby the online audience will be required to leave comments on the
blogs that they like the most (there is no limit on the number of blogs to
comment). The jury will then choose the best blogs per region for this category
and will take into account comments made by the public. The prize for this
category is 3,000 Euros per winning organisation. In addition, some of the most
appreciated blogs by the public may receive special rewards from organisers if
the jury does not select them.
Updates on the whole voting process and results will be shared regularly on the YoBloCo Blog and entrants who are subscribed and submitted a blog will also be informed by email.
Votes and comments on blogs will end in March, 2014.
Updates on the whole voting process and results will be shared regularly on the YoBloCo Blog and entrants who are subscribed and submitted a blog will also be informed by email.
Votes and comments on blogs will end in March, 2014.
Selection criteria
The
main selection criteria are the following:
Quality
of language in posts
Originality
of posts/articles (most posts should be written by the entrant)
Quality
of analysis in the posts
Frequency/Consistency
of blogging
Animation
of the blog
Presence
of agriculture related content (especially since the launch of the contest for
existing blogs)
Overall
technical quality of the blog
For
the institutional category, additional criteria are:
Presence
of information on the organisation’s activities
Presence
of information in youth in agriculture issues
Prizes
A. Individual category
1st
Prize: 1,500 Euros
2nd
Prize: 1,000 Euros
3rd
Prize: 800 Euros
B. Institutional
category
3000
Euros per region (West Africa, Central Africa, Southern Africa, East Africa,
Caribbean and Pacific)
C.
Special Prizes
Best
female blogger: 1000 Euros (only individual blogs will be eligible for this
prize)
Best
blog on Family Farming (see Note 4 below): 1000 Euros (an individual or
institutional blog may be eligible for this prize)
Best
blogs with business potential: at least two blogs will be selected, out of the
best finalist individual blogs selected by the public, to receive mentorship
and incubation opportunities (See Note 5 below)
D.
Runners-up
A
number of runners-up in will receive a certificate of participation
Winning
blogs and other best blogs will be promoted by CTA and its partners’ various
channels. In addition, authors of winning blog or other best blogs will
have the opportunity to be involved in future activities of CTA or its
partners.
Deadline and key dates
Launch
of the competition: 8 October 2013
Submission
of Blogs: 2 December 2013 - 31 January 2014
Online
Evaluation (public): February - March 2014
Jury
Evaluation: April - May 2014
Winners
Announced: June 2014
The
date of the prize giving ceremony will be announced subsequently.
For more information, follow this link to visit ARDYIS Website
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