UNESCO Regional Youth Contest for Human Rights in Eastern Africa 2026

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About UNESCO Regional Youth Contest for Human Rights in Eastern Africa

Through essays or poems, videos or animations and creative art, participants are encouraged to promote UNESCO’s five core human rights education; freedom of expression, information and privacy; scientific progress; cultural participation; and access to water and sanitation using innovative, ethical, and context-relevant approaches, including digital tools and AI. 

 

• Sponsor Organisation: UNESCO

Benefits of UNESCO Regional Youth Contest for Human Rights in Eastern Africa

Awards: 

i)  Prizes for the best Essay/Poem/Video/Animation: A round trip (for each category) from the home country of the applicant to participate in a conference organized by UNESCO or a partner (in 2026 or 2027), including accommodation; a UNESCO Certificate; opportunity to make a presentation of the Essay/Poem during a dedicated session; publication of the Essay on the UNESCO Website.

ii)  Prizes for the 2nd and 3rd best Essays/Poems/Videos/Animation:  Cash awards of respectively 1000 USD (2nd) and 500 USD (3rd); a UNESCO Certificate of participation; Opportunity to participate in and contribute to an online event organized by UNESCO; publication of the Essays/Poems/Videos on the UNESCO Website.

iii) From 4th to 30th selected Essays/ Poems/Videos/Animation, a UNESCO Certificate of participation; publication of the Essays/Poems/Videos on the UNESCO Website.

UNESCO Regional Youth Contest for Human Rights in Eastern Africa Requirements

• Be a youth aged between 18 – 35
• Be a national from any of the 13 Member States covered by the UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern Africa (Comoros, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Rwanda, Seychelles, Tanzania, Somalia, South Sudan and Uganda).
• Language: English or French (for Essay/Poem); English, French or Swahili (for video). If you use Swahili kindly add caption in English   
• Novelty/Innovation: Essays/Poems must be original, innovative and unpublished. Already published works as well as plagiarized entries will be disqualified. If you use quotations, please include the reference at the bottom of the essay/poem (references are not included in the word count).

Application Date and Process

ALL submissions MUST be uploaded on this form by the 21 March 2026 at 23:59 p.m. EAT, coinciding with the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, and the World Poetry Day.

Application Deadline

21 March, 2026

Scholarship Application Portal

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