About the competition
The Mixed Migration Review (MMR), the annual flagship report of the Mixed Migration Centre (MMC), aims to offer a platform for different voices in the migration debate. We are therefore inviting young researchers and writers on migration, from and based in Asia, Africa or Latin America to enter a short essay competition. The 5 winners will have their essays published in a section of the MMR2024 dedicated to “Alternative Perspectives” and receive a prize of USD 1,000 each.
The competition is open to writers from and based in Asian, African and Latin American countries who are 30 years of age or younger. The winning essays will need to offer your perspectives on our key themes: migration in politics and politics in migration, migration narratives and public perceptions on migration. The focus of your essay should be on your perceptions, ideas and opinions from the perspective of your country of origin about the situation in common destination countries, whether they be within your region, in the Global South or in the Global North. For example, what is the author’s perception of migration attitudes, migration policies and migration politics in destination countries? Are they welcomed or rejected, are they treated as equals or discriminated against? If so, how is this manifested and what impact does it have? What about any changes in recent times – has there been a change and how could this be characterised? What about any sense of injustice or anger or bewilderment about destination country politics around migration – how is it explained? How does it impact migration decisions from people around you? How do you see the role of migration in elections in destination countries? How about comparisons between how their own home country treat migrants and how migrants (including those from their country of origin) are treated in countries of destination?
Competition essays should explore these and related themes. The winning essays will offer original insights and address more unexplored aspects. Essay submissions can take the form of an opinion piece, a personal story or an article written in a reportage style. We are less keen on analytical, academic or conceptual pieces for this competition. We want to hear your well-written ideas and experiences, and we invite you to come up with original ideas for better migration policies.
Instructions
Submit a short abstract of your intended essay via this form before the 3rd of May 2024. Abstracts must be written in English and must not exceed 200 words. Only 1 abstract per applicant is accepted, but co-authorship (multiple authors on one essay) is accepted. However, the prize money is per essay and can only be transferred to 1 person.
Next steps after submission of the abstracts
The most interesting abstracts will be selected by the MMC review team and their authors will then be asked to compete for the essay prizes. Those invited to compete based on accepted abstracts will be informed by the 24th of May and have one month to complete their 1,500-word essay (note: this will be a strict word limit; essays exceeding 1,500 words will disqualify). All final essays need to be submitted by the 24th of June. The outcome of the competition will be announced by the 15th of July. No prizes are given for having an abstract accepted and being invited to join the competition. A maximum of 5 essays will be selected for publication in the MMR2024 and their five authors will be given the prize money.
Any questions?
Please contact alternative.perspectives@mixedmigration.org