Call for entries
Deadline: 31st March 2026
Winners announced by 2nd June 2026
Please email your entry, with the subject line “Sustainable Poetry Submission,” to geraldine@humanrightsartmovement.org
The Internation Human Rights Art Movement’s (IHRAM) African Secretariat is elated to announce the African Human Rights Sustainability Poetry Competition, dedicated to inspiring creative expression and critical thinking about environmental issues and sustainability.
This contest invites poets to explore the urgent challenges facing our planet and envision a more sustainable future through the power of words. This competition draws inspiration from the intersection of poetry and environmental advocacy. We encourage works that reflect, but are not limited to: environmental justice, reciprocality with nature, sustainable living, climate action, personal connection with the environment, etc.
The poem submitted should be the sole work of the entrant and must not have been perviously published.
Any AI generated pieces will be automatically disqualified.
Prizes:
First Place: $100 and publication on our website and social media channels.
Second Place: $75 and publication on our website.
Third Place: $50 and publication on our website.
Honorable Mention: Up to five Honorable Mention winners will be published on our website
Other benefits
All entrants will receive a certificate of participation.
Honorable Mentions will receive a certificate of excellence.
Submission Guidelines:
Eligibility: The competition is open to poets of African descent resident within the continent.
Poem Length: Each poem should not exceed 40 lines, excluding title and blank lines.
Anonymity: Please ensure your name does not appear on the poem itself.
Submission Limit: Each poet should submit only one poem.
Format: Poems should be typed, single-spaced, in a standard 12-point font Times New Roman.
How to Submit:
Please email your entries, with the subject line “Sustainable Poetry Submission,” to geraldine@humanrightsartmovement.org
Include your name, date of birth, country of origin, contact details, a 50 word bio and the title of your submitted poem in the body of the email. The poem should be sent as a word doc attachment via email. Failure to abide by the instructions stated here will disqualify the entrant.
Deadline: 31st March 2026
30th April: Long List Published
10th May: Short List of 15
2nd June: Winners Announced
For further enquiries, please email sinyuyg@gmail.com
Geraldine Sinyuy
Dr. Sinyuy Geraldine is a distinguished creative writer based in the North West Region of Cameroon. She holds a Ph.D. in Commonwealth Literature from the University of Yaoundé I. Her literary journey began in her teens, with her poems and folktales frequently featured on CRTV Bamenda’s “Literary Workshop: A Programme for Creative Writing and Literary Criticism.” She is a UNESCO-RIELA Affiliate artist, Cameroon Coordinator of the International Writers Association (July 2025-Present), a 2023 International Human Rights Arts Movement (IHRAM) fellow, Director of the International Human Rights Arts Movement, African Secretariate Cameroon (2024-present), advocate for organic gardening and proper waste management; a World Pulse Digital Ambassador and much more. She was chief judge for the Writing Ukraine International Poetry Competition in 2023; one of the judges for the 2023 Creative Writing Competition for Secondary Schools within the North West Region organized by the North West /West Branch of the Anglophone Cameroon Writers Association (ACWA) and in July 2025, she was nominated as one of the judges for the African Human Rights Inter-University Essay Competition in 2025. She served as a critical book review editor at Word City Literary Journal and is the founder of The Rising Sun Editing Company Ltd, established in 2022; editor for ASA (Journal of Education, Learning and Research) since 2024; Editorial Adviser, The Journal of Cameroonian and Nigerian Writers League (2025-). Her dedication to literature, social change, human rights activism and environmental advocacy underpins her raison d’etre. She is the author of Music in the Wood and Other Folktales, Agonies of the Displaced (2024), co-editor of Her Rights, Our Stories (2024); Poetry in Times of Conflict (2020) and contributing poet of A Poetry Anthology Dedicated to the Most Venerated African Patriarch His Excellency Chief Olusegun Obasanjo for his Luminous Legacy of Peace, Patriotism, Diplomacy, Entrepreneurship and Humaness (2025), Love Letters to Water (2022). Her poems and academic papers appear on many platforms. She is a member of the Anglophone Cameroon Writers Association, Academia Edu, and Research Gate.
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