G l o b a l   C a r t o o n   C o n t e s t   I n v i t a t i o n

 

Africa: No Opportunities, Continent of Crises or Renaissance

 

Africa’s image largely depends on the extent to which news and background are covered in the media in a diligent and differentiated manner. Africa mainly continues to be perceived as a continent ravaged by disasters, crises and failing states, including extremes such as genocide, civil war and escalating violence (also in every day life), increasing poverty, widespread hunger and malnutrition and exploitation of resources and destruction of nature. The economic deprivation of many Africans has motivated people – among them many celebrities – in the rich industrialised nations to support and donate for development and charitable projects. At the same time, the African „welfare cases“ and neo-patrimonial systems have deterred foreign investors. These conditions are not suitable for a partnership based on equality.

Recently, however, a surprising change of perspective has been offered by development experts: „Africa on the rise“. It has been welcomed that most of the civil wars have been brought to an end, that a growing number of countries are now governed democratically and by the rule of law, that governance is improving and that the economic conditions in most African countries have become more favourable – from macroeconomic policies to increased efforts in the fields of education, health and utilities (e.g. water supply). African projects such as the "New Partnership for Africa‘s Development" (NEPAD) and the Peer Reviews are being acknowledged and appreciated. There has also been a fundamental shift in the conditions for private business activities in Africa. China is not the only new country increasingly investing in Africa. India, Korea and Malaysia are in the process of starting and expanding their activities. This, in turn, has challenged Western governments to strengthen their efforts in order not to be left behind by the emerging powers. In Africa, this has given rise to a new self-confidence.

The cartoon contest under the title „Africa: No Opportunities, Continent of Crises or Renaissance“ is meant to contribute to a critical discussion of these ambiguous images which partly date back as far as the early years of colonialism and the times of the slave trade. We therefore invite you to contribute your highly appreciated creative ideas to overcome prejudices and clichés about the African continent.

It is safe to assume that many of the cartoons sent in will find their way into the print media, especially into daily newspapers, since Africa is increasingly being covered. The image of Africa is also an important subject in development education.

We would like to ask you to kindly submit cartoons for the contest by 26th August to:

 

info@cartoon-competition.org and dwjn@cartoon-competition.org

 

The cartoon contest is being supported by the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Novartis Foundation for Sustainable Development (Switzerland), the protestant development agencies Bread For All (Switzerland) and German Church Development Service, the Swiss Catholic Lenten Fund and Misereor (Germany) as well as Dritte Welt Journalist/innen Netz (Third World Journalists’ Network, Germany). We are seeking cooperation with one of the influential daily newspapers. The contest builds on the experiences from previous contests in 2000, 2003 and 2005.

 

 

 

If you participate in the contest…

After 26^th August 2007 (deadline for submissions), the cartoons will be screened by an international jury.

We are happy to welcome prominent members to our expert jury this year, such as Nobel Peace Prize laureate Prof. Wangari Maathai (Kenya) and Erich Stather, Minister of State, German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.

The awards are to be handed over to the winners of the contest at a ceremony planned as highlight of an event to be organised in Berlin.

The organisers of the contest will encourage the reprinting of cartoons in print and online media. We will bring out a special publication and will present the cartoons in the contest website www.cartoon-competition.org and other relevant websites.

 

C o n d i t i o n s  of  P a r t i c i p a t i o n

 

The theme of the contest is

 

Africa: No Opportunities, Continent of Crises or Renaissance

 

Terms and Conditions of Entry

Members of the jury or the organisers/promoters (and their families) may not enter the competition.

Entrants may submit one cartoon each. No strip cartoons.

 

Technical details and format of entries

The cartoons must be in b/n for PC and suitable for reproduction. As a selection of cartoons will be enlarged to A1 size (594mm x 841mm), the following file formats and resolution must be strictly observed.

Size: A4 (max 294 mm)
Resolution: 300 dpi
File format: jpg

The entries must be without any previous award history. The cartoons should be understood by people in all parts of the world. Therefore, please avoid text and words in the cartoons. If you need to use words, they must be in English. Please submit the title of the cartoon as well as your personal details (cartoonist’s name and address) along with the cartoon.

 

Rights of use and fees

All entries submitted are offered to the organisers of the contest for publication. If they are published, the cartoonist will be paid according to the standards applicable. The copyright owners of the winning cartoons grant the organisers the right to publish their cartoons free of charge within the context of the contest. All entrants agree to their works being featured on the contest website and being published in the magazine “eins Entwicklungspolitik”.

Furthermore, all entrants agree to their works becoming part of an exhibition free of charge, provided that their works are considered suitable. The cartoons selected will be used in the field of development education. The exhibition will be shown at the award ceremony and on other occasions. If applicable, we might contact entrants with requests for the temporary use of copies in preparation of the exhibition.

 

The jury’s decisions are final and non-contestable.

With the cartoons and the results of the contest being publicised, the media will be interested in using and especially in reprinting the cartoons. Cartoonist should therefore provide their bank details and conditions for reprinting, so that those interested can be informed accordingly.

 

Awards

The three winners will be awarded as follows:

1st prize           =   Euro 3,000.00
2nd prize          =   Euro 2,000.00
3rd prize          =   Euro 1.000.00

 

How to Submit Entries:

The cartoons are to be sent to info@cartoon-competition.org, and, to be safe, to be copied to dwjn@cartoon-competition.org

by 26th August 2007 !!!

 

No Legal Recourse

The jury’s decision is final. The organisers assume no responsibility for any loss of entries. Costs of dispatch are to be borne by the sender.

 

Please address further inquiries to: Juergen Weber at dwjn_jw@rediffmail.com