Category Archives: competition

WASCAL’S INNOVATIVE IDEAS COMPETITION FOR SUSTAINABLE ENERGY (WISE) 

Application Deadline: 31st December 2025

LOCATION: Ghana

The West African Science Service Centre on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use (WASCAL) is a large-scale research-focused and capacity-building Climate Service Centre designed to help tackle the climate change challenge by enhancing the resilience of human and environmental systems to climate change and increasing variability. This call aims to foster and support the implementation of innovative projects and development & research ideas regarding renewable energy (RE) and green hydrogen (GH2) in West Africa.

ELIGIBILITY:

This call is addressed to:

Young West Africans. Any individual or group of young people (Students, academics, practitioners, scientists, technologists, entrepreneurs, associations…) from a West African country (Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Cote d’Ivoire, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo). Having a bank account is necessary.

Associations/organisations, being legally registered in a West African Country and having a local bank account in the name of the association/organisation.

Proposal requirements:

The project ideas/initiatives should be focused on the development of renewable energy and green hydrogen with possible links to the following non-exhaustive thematics: 

Renewable energy solutions 

Green Hydrogen technologies 

Green mobility 

Energy access and services through renewables 

Biomass/waste recovery and energy 

Energy-Water-Food Nexus Solutions 

Productive uses of renewable energy in rural areas 

Thematic Trainings/Conferences/Workshops/Raising awareness  

Energy efficiency solutions 

Women’s and girls’ empowerment in the renewable energies sector 

Renewable energy in Socio-economic development and increasing the added value in rural areas 

Innovative business plan models for energy technologies and services 

The focus in the proposals can be on developing a product or process, a service, a business model, or a scientific study, etc. 

BENEFIT:

Value: Maximum grant Amount is 20,000 Euro Per Project

APPLY

WERGLE FLOMP HUMOR POETRY CONTEST (NO FEE)

Application Deadline: April 1, 2026

LOCATION: USA

Now in its 25th year, the Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry contest seeks today’s best humor poems. No fee to enter. Submit published or unpublished work. 

ELIGIBILITY:

No fee to enter. Judge: Jendi Reiter, assisted by Lauren Singer. One poem only, please. Length limit: 250 lines maximum.

No restriction on age of author. Both unpublished and previously published work accepted. Authors from all countries eligible except Iran, North Korea, Crimea, Russia, and Belarus (due to US government restrictions).

This is a contest for humor poems, not serious poems. Serious poems will not be judged. The poem you submit should be in English. Inspired gibberish is also accepted (example).

In general, poems written with the aid of a text-generating AI such as ChatGPT are not eligible. However, if you have employed an AI in a way that gets really funny results, please email info@winningwriters.com for a ruling on the eligibility of your entry. You must get pre-approval from us before submitting work that employs an AI in any way. They are looking for signs of human ingenuity.

BENEFIT:

First Prize: $2,000 plus a two-year gift certificate from Duotrope (a $100 value) and five years of Chill Subs‘ Best plan (a $1,000 value)

Second Prize: $500 plus two years of Chill Subs’ Best plan (a $400 value)

Third Prize: $250 plus two years of Chill Subs’ Best plan (a $400 value)

Honorable Mentions: 10 awards of $100 each plus one year of Chill Subs’ Best plan (a $200 value)

Top 13 entries published online

APPLY