The deadline for the submission of entries has been slated for December 31, 2011.

The second edition of the national competition to select the best essays for the production of an encyclopaedia for Cameroon’s past and future has been launched in Yaounde. The theme for this edition is “The history of Cameroon as told by old people”. The competition is being organised within the framework of the celebration of the 50^th anniversary of reunification of Cameroon and the 21^st edition of the International Day for Old People on the theme “Launch of Madrid Plus 10: The Growing Opportunities and Challenges of Global Ageing”.

The main objective of the competition is to promote the knowledge, experiences and know-how of old people as key elements for sustainable social development. The competition is open to all Cameroonian youths from 35 years and old people above 60 years. To this effect, the youths are expected to meet old people of 60 years and above; be they friends, relatives or neighbours among others in order to produce write-ups on the theme chosen for the second edition. Apart from the written text, every write-up is expected to contain illustrations as the need may be as well as descriptions to facilitate understanding. Proposals are not expected to go beyond 50 pages. The deadline for the submission of entries is December 31, 2011 at 3:30 p.m. Candidates are expected to hand in their works either at the Ministry of Social Affairs (Room X38) or in Regional Delegations of social affairs which will then be forwarded to the ministry within ten days.

All works are expected to have the following information: the names and surnames of the authors and sources of information, dates and places of birth, full addresses, telephone or electronic contacts, names and address of old people contacted. The title of the work should be “Grand Encyclopaedia for the Past and the Future.” The ten best works will be rewarded and published. The winners as well as the sources will be informed of the date of award of prices. The competition is expected to reinforce inter-generational dialogue through the publication of the encyclopaedia.