SEVEN Fund Essay Competitions 2012-2013

Award Amount
$20,000 Deadline Date
Dec 07 Awards Available
2

Scholarship Description

Call for SEVEN Fund Student Essay Competition

The SEVEN Fund has announced its Student Essay Competition. The competition will award one (1) undergraduate student prize of US$10,000 and one (1) graduate student prize of US$20,000. The submission deadline is December 7, 2008 at midnight Eastern Standard Time (EST). Winners will be announced on February 7.

Essay Question

Great leaders require great followers. They create a vision imbued with moral purpose, tension, insight; and they open hearts and minds to that vision by embodying the personal values consistent with that vision, and by being eloquent.

Please review the videos called, “The Entrepreneur President, Paul Kagame of Rwanda,” Parts One and Two (available at www.sevenfund.org/essayresources). For purposes of this essay, assume the role of policy advisor to President Kagame, and consider these videos your personal briefing on his top priorities. In response, write a 2000 word essay with policy recommendations that put President Kagame’s vision into practice. The essay should use the first person, and be persuasive. The introductory sentence might even begin, “Your Excellency, I understand your vision and here are my policy recommendations.”

As further background to inform this essay on policy you may review Michael Fairbanks’ chapter in the book Culture Matters , called “Changing the Mind of a Nation”(also available at www.sevenfund.org/essayresources), though that is not necessary. The essay need not be comprehensive, but should focus on key policies. Your recommendations should not be purely ideological nor a regurgitation of conventional wisdom. Rather, we encourage you to formulate an original, practical and integrated set of policies for Rwanda that focus on Enterprise Solutions to Poverty. The essay should address specific policy recommendations in some or all of the following areas :

- Monetary policy
- Fiscal Policy
- Direct Foreign Investment policy
- Trade policy
- Sectoral Policy
- Wage Policy

The winners will be announced on February 7. We intend to personally present the winning paper(s) to His Excellency, President Paul Kagame, and his cabinet for their review. The winning essays may be published in selected magazines and publications. SEVEN intends to publish a selection of all submitted essays on its website and in an essay book. By entering the essay competition, students are understood to give their permission for their essay to be used in that fashion.

SEVEN intends to run a version of this competition annually.

SEVEN (The Social Equity Venture Fund) is an independent nonprofit organization supported by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation. We provide monetary, organizational, and intellectual support for the research of enterprise based solutions to poverty, in accord with the SEVEN Fund Bylaws. The SEVEN Board provides the leadership, and a variety of qualified jurors make funding decisions.

The Fund’s activities are enhanced by the active participation of its SEVEN Fund Members. SEVEN Fund Membership consists of all researchers funded by the Fund, as well as researchers with membership granted by the SEVEN principals via invitation or application.

The aim of SEVEN Fund programs is to challenge the prevailing mindset in the fight against poverty. We want to stimulate discussion around the questions of whether wealth-creation may be the most effective solution to alleviate poverty. We invest our efforts and resources to discuss, find, research, and document examples where entrepreneurial success is shown to have led to poverty alleviation. In the process, we support entrepreneurs in developing countries with case studies, mentorship programs and publicity and services that help them succeed at what they do.

Questions & Answers

What is the essay question?
The question for both the undergraduate and the graduate student essay competition is: “View the videos ‘The Entrepreneur President, Paul Kagame of Rwanda’ and write a 2000 word policy paper that puts President Kagame’s vision into practice.”

How do I submit my essay?
- Submit your essay electronically in a MS Word or PDF format only using the submission form on SEVEN’s website. All information requested, including contact information, abstract, and essay should be included in a single document.
- For undergraduate student competition: www.sevenfund.org/ugessaysubmission
- For graduate student competition: www.sevenfund.org/geessaysubmission


Website Address

http://www.sevenfund.org