The Bertha Centre for Social Innovation & Entrepreneurship at the University of Cape Town, along with Douglas Knowledge Partners, are thrilled to announce the third annual Youth Innovation Essay Prize.
Young people between the ages of 18 and 30 are invited to write a 1,500–2,000 word essay about a great idea they have for South Africa’s future. This year, our theme is “Innovations for Planetary Health”. We want to hear your thoughts on how we can promote human health and social justice, while preserving the environment that allows us to thrive. Planetary health highlights the interdependence of human health and wellbeing, equity, and environmental sustainability; including issues of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution.
You might describe a new business that stewards our natural resources or biodiversity to safeguard health, or a non-profit or public sector innovation that addresses local climate risks to health and social wellbeing, or creative and artistic endeavours that could enrich our understanding of South Africa’s living heritage of connectedness to nature.
We’d love to read about your great idea that would enable South Africans, including young people, to flourish, while bringing benefit to people elsewhere in the world. Be creative, even surprise us—but also be pragmatic, showing us in detail the interconnection of health and the environment, and how the idea could really work in the South African context and beyond.
This is more than a competition: it’s a development opportunity. Entrants with the most promising essays will receive coaching and mentorship from our writing and social innovation experts, who work with leading organisations in Africa and across the world to shape and communicate ideas on the issues that matter most for humanity. This support will help you to take your essay, and your writing and thinking skills, to the next level.
Shortlisted entrants will also gain exposure to the Bertha Centre for Social Innovation & Entrepreneurship at UCT, Douglas Knowledge Partners, and other organisations in our network, all of which are interested in engaging with talented people. This exposure could open the door to job opportunities, freelance roles, or further study.
There is up to R20,000 in prizes available.
Our environment is changing—from rising global temperatures, pandemics and natural disasters, to biodiversity loss and wide scale pollution.
We are now in an era characterized by human impacts on Earth’s conditions. The African continent is among the most severely affected, putting public health and development gains at risk.
Everything is connected. Environmental changes affect the quality of the air we breathe, the availability of water and food resources, our exposure to infectious diseases, and even the habitability of the places where we live.
In South Africa, these changes are already impacting our health and wellbeing, and worsening social inequities. Understanding and acting upon these challenges calls for collaboration across sectors to safeguard our future, with a particular focus on vulnerable groups.
You need to be between
the ages of 18 and 30.
Your essay must be
between 1,500
and 2,000 words.
Please read the
“advice to entrants”
carefully before you
submit your essay.
Finalists from previous
Youth Innovation Prize
competitions cannot
enter this year
Entrants are invited to submit their essays. The most promising essays will then be selected for the next stage of the competition.
The top entrants will be given practical tips and coaching on how to improve their essay.
The shortlisted participants will submit their final essays by 26 September 2023.
A diverse, high-powered judging panel will review the entries and select the winners and commended entries.
At a glittering awards ceremony, R20 000 in prizes will be awarded to the top three winners.
Send us an essay outlining an innovative and implementable idea for how to tackle the environmental changes and improve planetary health. It should go into detail with a single innovation, mentioning concrete and relevant examples, and how it can help both in South Africa and across the globe.
Click on the icons below to review our 12 helpful tips for writing your essay.
Previous years Youth Innovation Essay Prize winners
PLEASE EMAIL a copy of your ID AND YOUR ESSAY to youth.innovation@douglas.partners