The Student Essay Contest on
South Africa-Sweden Relations
- Deadline for submissions: 20 May 2022.
The Faculty of Humanities (via the Department of Politics and International Relations) at the University of Johannesburg (UJ), the Embassy of Sweden in Pretoria and the South Africa-Sweden University Forum (SASUF) cordially invite 3rd and 4th year undergraduate Social Science/Humanities students from SASUF member institutions to participate in the Student Essay Contest on South Africa-Sweden Relations (the Essay Contest).
Sweden and South Africa share strong bilateral relations both in a historical and contemporary context. The Essay Contest has been introduced with the following objectives in mind:
To help establish and foster long-lasting relationships between Swedish and South African students and academics.
To help promote awareness and dialogue on the special relationship Sweden and South Africa share.
To glean new insights on how to take the relationship between Sweden and South Africa forward.
Students are invited to submit an essay of no more than 3, 000 words (inclusive in-text references, but excluding a bibliography) to one of the following categories, namely:
Cultural diplomacy/issues
Science and technology diplomacy/issues
Academic/knowledge diplomacy
Environmental diplomacy/ issues
Gender issues
While students need not be studying Political Science and/or International Relations to participate, their submission should be framed within the context of the bilateral relationship that South Africa and Sweden share. Essay should focus on the current nature of the South Africa-Sweden relationship, and it pertains to their chosen category. Attention should also be given to how bilateral relations be strengthened within the participant’s chosen category.
Submission categories
Cultural diplomacy: is a form of public diplomacy which refers to the exchange of language, arts, and other aspects which help to promote the cultures of between states. Both South Africa and Sweden are rich in culture. This category welcomes submissions which highlight how both Sweden and South Africa use cultural elements (language, movies, literature, food etc) within their bilateral relations.
Science and technology diplomacy: refers to how scientific and technological advancements are incorporated into foreign policy decision-making and diplomatic practice. The incorporation of science and technology into diplomatic practice is used to help states to find solutions to the ever-growing list of challenges that the world faces at present. Both South Africa and Sweden are hubs on innovation in their own rights. What projects could both countries work in future to address common challenges?
Academic/knowledge diplomacy: refers to the exchange of educational practices between countries. These kinds of exchanges may refer to joint degrees offered between South African and Swedish institutions of higher education, student exchange programmes and staff exchanges between South African and Swedish institutions of higher education. With educational exchange at its forefront, what progress has been made in this regard, what are the intended and unintended consequences of these exchanges, how can these exchanges bring South Africa and Sweden closer together?
Environmental diplomacy: refers to actions that are taken within the realm of diplomatic practice to address the boarder-line issue of climate change with the aim of maintaining environmental security. How have Sweden and South Africa experienced climate change experienced and confronted climate change? Are there areas of convergence that both countries could cooperate on?
Gender issues: refer to mass gender inequality and gender-based violence on a global scale. How can both South Africa and Sweden advance gender equality and gender responsiveness?
Formatting guidelines
Essays should not be longer than 3, 000 words
Essays should include in-text references as per the Harvard Style Guide
All text should be justified
All submissions should include a cover page with the name and surname of the author, the name of the author’s home institution, the author’s email address and the name of the category for which the essay is being submitted.
Eligibility to participate
All students wishing to participate in the Essay Contest must meet the following criteria:
All participants must be a 3rd of 4th year undergraduate student
All participants must be a registered student at a university that has SASUF membership (click here to view the list of universities holding SASUF membership).
Students not studying Political Science and or International Relations are allowed to participate.
Rules
Students from universities outside of the SASUF network are not allowed to participate.
Students in their 1st and 2nd year of their undergraduate degree are not allowed to participate
Students from within the same university may co-author an essay.
Students from across different SASUF member institutions may co-author an essay.
No more than two (2) students may co-author an essay.
A student may only make one submission.
Students and academics (lecturers) may not co-author an essay.
Submission instructions
All submissions should include the following:
A proof of registration from the author’s home institution
A copy of the essay in MS Word format
Prizes
All submissions will be assessed by an independent panel of judges consisting of academics from both South Africa and Sweden. The author(s) of top essay (as determined by the judges) from each of the five categories will be invited to publish their essay in a special issue of The Thinker (an academic journal published by the UJ Press) which will focus on South Africa-Sweden relations.
Additional prizes will be announced in due course.
Do you have any questions?
Any questions can be directed to the organisers of the essay contest via email: sase@uj.ac.za Submissions should be made via email to: sase@uj.ac.za on or before Midnight (South African Time) on the 20th of May 2022.
Any questions can be directed to the organisers of the essay contest via email: sase@uj.ac.za
