Tracka Commemorates 10th Anniversary, Hosts National Essay Competition
Tracka, BudgIT’s service delivery promotion platform, which allows citizens to collaborate, track, and give feedback on public projects in their communities, is set to commemorate its 10th anniversary on September 14, 2024, at the Landmark Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos.
In the last decade, Tracka has facilitated the completion of over 11,800 projects worth N5.3 trillion in the education, health, and infrastructural sectors in 3,500+ communities, currently serving over 10 million Nigerians.
To commemorate this milestone, Tracka is staging the Active Citizens Festival, an entertainment event themed ‘Building People, Moulding Nations’. The festival will comprise activities designed for active citizens and serve as the intersection between the intricate work of governance and accountability with fun and entertainment for young Nigerians.
The anniversary is expected to host a series of signature activities, including a National Essay Competition for students in secondary schools across Nigeria, with N500,000 up for grabs for the winners, panel discussions to assess Tracka’s findings concerning suspicious allocations worth N624 billion in the 2024 Federal Government and how young Nigerians can be active participants in tackling corruption in Nigeria’s budgetary process.
According to the Country Director of BudgIT, Gabriel Okeowo, despite the hurdles, Tracka has achieved significant milestones in ensuring the proper implementation of public projects, citizens’ participation in governance, and advocating for community development. “Through social advocacy, innovation, and active citizen mobilisation, we have facilitated improved service delivery for citizens. The Active Citizens Festival is a unique opportunity to celebrate these achievements and inspire the next generation of Nigerians to engage actively in governance. While we are excited about this milestone, it is also a call to action for all citizens to continue building a transparent, equitable, and accountable society, Ayomide Ladipo – Tracka’s Head added.”
Essay Competition Application guidelines are as follows:
Participant must be a current secondary school student in Nigeria.
The essay would be a 500-word piece on ‘The Nigerian Utopia.’
Submissions should be emailed to festival@budgit.org
The subject of the entry email should be ‘Essay Submission for Tracka@10.’
The email submission must include a letter of approval from the school authorities.
The essay must be submitted in PDF format, and the following details must be in the email body – First and Last Name, School’s Name and Address, and school’s contact details (Email and a valid phone number)
The finalists will be announced in August 2024. To learn more about the Active Citizens Festival and line up of events for the celebration, visit the official website: https://www.festival.tracka.
