16th Casa África Essay Prizes Call for Entries

Casa África announces for the 16th consecutive year its Essay Prize on African themes with which it aims to recognise, encourage and disseminate original and unpublished essays that contribute to a better knowledge of the African continent.

The essays must deal with the theme chosen for this edition, which is none other than Decolonisation.

The debate on decolonisation should be incorporated into Spanish foreign policy, as it encompasses everything from what is known as the second decolonisation on the African continent and the global institutional structure to anti-racism and the construction of democratic civil societies, as well as the deconstruction of academia and knowledge on a global level.

Its most visible part is probably the contextualisation and reinvention of museums, coupled with the restitution of plundered cultural artefacts, but it goes much further. It implies a change in the hierarchies that govern our relations, in favour of a fairer and more egalitarian international landscape, where all voices are equally respected and heard, and where unbalanced and abusive power relations are avoided. Colonisation goes beyond the territorial and affects the economy, culture, laws and religion that shape the world we know. Decolonial thinking is, beyond the fashions that point to an apparent diversity, a compass to understand the link between past and present and to be able to redraw possible futures.

Decoloniality must therefore also be applied to the way we conceive geopolitics or security: its lens becomes a perspective that must necessarily be integrated into Casa África's work, discourses and proposals in all areas. African voices must form part of this effort, and listening to these voices must be a priority and obligatory.

The Casa África Essay Prize wishes to broaden knowledge about this reality and seeks, in its new edition, to deepen the analysis of everything mentioned in the previous paragraphs.

Casa África is once again looking for rigorous works, on this occasion on decolonisation, that are well-founded, that go beyond the cliché and that explore diverse realities from a critical and original point of view.

For all of these reasons, this year the Casa África Essay Prize has decided to focus on this subject and invites academics and experts to submit their proposals.

This call is open to any natural person over the age of 18 of any nationality and resident in any country who has no work and/or professional relationship with Casa África, nor any of the institutions that make it up (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation, Government of the Canary Islands and the City Council of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria). The winners of previous calls for proposals are also not eligible to participate. 

As in previous editions, only one essay per author will be accepted, although the same essay may be signed by several authors.

The winning work will be published in our Essay Prize Collection and a prize of 2,000 euros will also be awarded, subject to Spanish tax legislation in force at the time of payment, regardless of the country of tax residence of the winning author(s).

Conditions that essays must meet:

• Essays must be original, unpublished and they must not have won any prizes or be pending the fi nal ruling in other events or competitions. Participants must guarantee that there are no third-party rights over the essays presented, and they shall be liable for all and any claims that may arise in this respect.
• The essays may be presented in any of the following languages: Spanish, English, French or Portuguese.
• The essay cannot be less than 15,000 or more than 20,000 words, (including footnotes, but excluding bibliography at the end of the essay), and they must be written in Word Arial 12 Format and double spaced.
• Essays must be presented unsigned and they will only be identifi ed by the title of the work and whatever pseudonym each author may decide to use. Both the title of the essay and the pseudonym must appear on every page of the essay and pages must be numbered. Any signed essays will not be accepted for the competition.

To participate, it is essential to fill in this application form.

The submission of the essays may be made in any of the places established in article 16.4 of Law 39/2015, of 1 October, on the Common Administrative Procedure of Public Administrations, that is to say:

1. In the electronic register of any Public Administration. Here is the link to the General Electronic Register of the General State Administration (Explorer navigator recommended).
2. At post offices.
3. At Spanish diplomatic representations or consular offices abroad.
4. At registry assistance offices.

The deadline for participation is 2 February to 2 May 2025 at 2 p.m. (GMT+0).

For further information:

• Regulatory terms