Youth Creatives Shaping Africa’s Economic Future 1. Background and Justification Africa’s economic trajectory and sustainable development hinge significantly on effective domestic resource mobilization, prudent debt management, strategic trade integration through the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), climate finance, and robust public finance management. Youth and creative artists possess unparalleled potential to articulate innovative solutions and communicate complex issues to the public, thus shaping informed dialogue and policy outcomes. Recognizing this, Youth for Tax Justice Network (YTJN) proposes the Pan African Creative Arts Youth Competition. This initiative seeks to harness the creativity of African youth to foster innovative ideas and grassroots awareness around critical economic governance topics, including sovereign debt, the AfCFTA, climate finance, asset recovery, and the UN Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation. 2. Objective To empower and inspire African youth across different age groups to creatively explore and propose innovative solutions to Africa’s key economic and governance challenges through artistic expressions. 3. Competition Themes Participants can choose one or more themes below, demonstrating how they relate to resource mobilization, allocation, utilization, and the impactful role of African youth: Sovereign Debt Justice: Imagine you are the President/Minister of Finance of your country. What practical, creative and radical solution would you implement to solve the public debt crisis in your country? African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA): Imagine you are the Secretary General of the AfCFTA Secretariat. What bold, inventive and practical solution would you implement to eliminate tarrif barriers to unlock new opportunities for young entrepreneurs across the continent? Climate Finance and the Green Transition: As a young climate activist, design imaginative and actionable solutions to finance Africa’s just energy transition. Asset Recovery and Anti-Corruption: How can your creative vision transform the recovery of assets/money lost to corruption into a tangible reality for the current and future generations? UN Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation: If you could re-write the rules of global finance, what bold, innovative and practical idea would you put in the UN Tax Convention to ensure Africa’s wealth benefits Africans? 4. Eligibility and Age Categories Entries will be evaluated within three age categories to ensure fair competition and targeted engagement: 15-18 Years (1 st Prize: USD 100. 2 nd Prize: 50) 19-25 Years (1 st Prize: USD 150. 2 nd Prize 100) 26-35 Years (1 st Prize: USD 300. 2 nd Prize: 200) 5. Artistic Expression Formats Participants can submit entries in one or more of the following creative formats: Visual arts (Paintings, Digital illustrations, Infographics) Performing arts (Short videos, Music, Spoken word) Literary arts (Poetry, Short stories, Essays) Multimedia presentations and animations Certificates will be awarded to all participants. 6. Judging Criteria Entries will be assessed based on: Creativity and Originality: 30% Relevance to Chosen Theme(s): 25% Clarity of Message and Impact: 25% Innovation in Proposed Solutions: 20% 7. Submission Send your submissions to info@ytjn.org and copy in lewis@ytjn.org . Remember to attach a copy of your National Identity card of Passport for identity verification. 8. Contact Information: For inquiries, partnerships, or further information, contact: Youth for Tax Justice Network (YTJN) Email : info@ytjn.org Website : www.ytjn.org Social Media : Youth For Tax Justice Network (X, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Tiktok and YouTube). NOTE: YTJN and partners reserve the right to use the submitted content in advocacy efforts under the specified themes. Join us in shaping Africa’s future – Creatively, Inclusively, and Sustainably!
