CIPESA commentaries

CIPESA commentaries are short informative articles or essays on current issues affecting East and Southern African stakeholders. They focus specifically on international policy-making processes related to information and communications technology (ICT), and the use of ICT for poverty reduction. Commentaries present basic facts, explain points of tension, and highlight areas of concern, and they stir discussion by presenting strong views and raising provocative questions. The objective is to spark thinking and dialogue around the topic, rather than just to present expert opinions in an authoritative way. Commentaries are disseminated via the CIPESA website and our Stakeholders email list, and readers are encouraged to respond to the points raised by submitting comments that are also published.

The commentary writing competition

We are holding this writing competition to spur writers from the East and Southern African region to share their perspectives on the issues and initiate discussion and debate.

• Eligible participants must be from countries that fall within the CIPESA mandate (see list below).
• Participants are invited to submit 2-3 page articles on one of the themes listed below.
• Our panel of judges will select 5 winners.
• The winners' article will be edited by a CIPESA staff member who will work with the author to fine-tune the piece, and the final commentary will be published on the CIPESA website and newslist by the end of the year.
• In addition to publication, the 5 winners will receive a $100 cash prize.

Deadline for submissions is 15 October 2005.
Winners will be announced 30 October 2005.

Parameters for submissions

Themes to choose from:

• Interconnection costs for telecommunications and Internet
• Intellectual property rights
• Harmonization of e-government strategies in view of regional blocks (such as the East African Community or Southern Africa Development Cooperation)
• Trade agreements and ICT in the context of the World Trade Organization

The following tips can greatly increase your article's chances of winning:

• Use a catchy title that frames the main point or question of your article
• Make the first paragraph a good summary of the rest of the article
• Explain the background to the issues before launching into opinions on them
• Include appropriate references to the work or opinions of others that have informed your views
• Describe points of controversy or disagreement
• Raise unresolved questions
• Try not to write in the first-person voice using "I" or "we"

The criteria we will use for judging winners:

• Issue has a direct impact on East and Southern Africa stakeholders
• Issue is relevant to the field of information and communications technology policy
• Issue is timely and falls within the context of the designated themes
• Article has an international dimension
• Argument is presented well with flow from one point to the next
• Grammar and writing style is appropriate to a commentary format

CIPESA countries include:

Angola
Namibia
South Africa
Mozambique
Botswana
Zambia
Zimbabwe
Mauritius
Seychelles
Madagascar
Malawi
Tanzania
Lesotho
Swaziland
Uganda
Kenya
Rwanda
Ethiopia
Djibouti
Somalia

To submit commentaries or for more information contact: Vincent Waiswa Bagiire