The competition is open to any African student currently enrolled in any undergraduate or graduate program at any accredited university worldwide. They are invited to write on the topic: Pathways to Protecting Free Speech in Africa: Opportunities for New Approaches to an Old Problem.
African Liberty was founded in 2007 as a project of the Cato Institute and IMANI Africa, thereafter the Atlas Network. It is a platform for advancing individual freedom, peace, and prosperity in Africa by promoting civil discussion and debate about social, legal, economic, and world issues affecting Africans. They identify and train young promising African freedom advocates in professional critical writing and help them kick-start careers in journalism and public policy by working with Africa-focused think tanks and partner media outlets.