The Cross River State Carnival Commission, under the leadership of its Chairman, Sir Gabe Onah, has unveiled the 2026 Carnival Calabar Essay and Creative Writing Competition as part of efforts to revive the culture of reading and writing among students and young people across the State.
The initiative, which is part of the Commission’s human capital development agenda, is designed to provide young Cross Riverians with a platform to showcase their intellectual abilities, creativity and writing skills while rekindling interest in reading and learning.
The Commission said the competition reflects its determination to use the Carnival Calabar platform to create opportunities that extend beyond entertainment and tourism, particularly in education, youth empowerment, creativity and human capital development.
The 2026 edition will be conducted under standardised examination conditions across six centres strategically distributed across the three senatorial districts of the State. The centres are Obudu and Ogoja in the Northern Senatorial District; Ikom and Ugep in the Central Senatorial District; and Akamkpa and Calabar in the Southern Senatorial District.
The competition will feature two categories, with Category A open to secondary school students and Category B for students of tertiary institutions.
To ensure credibility, fairness and transparency, the Commission said entries would be independently evaluated by the Department of Theatre and Media Studies, University of Calabar, after the examination.
Under the secondary school category, the overall best contestant will receive a scholarship, while the top three winners will be rewarded with laptops. Their respective schools will also receive laptops to strengthen digital learning and support teaching and learning.
The programme will further provide textbooks to the top 10 schools, alongside branded exercise books and other learning materials, including school bags, pens and mathematical sets.
Similarly, in the tertiary institution category, the overall best writer will receive a scholarship, while the top three contestants will receive laptops. The top five departments will also receive branded hardcover books to support academic activities.
Sir Gabe Onah, Chairman of the Carnival Commission, said the initiative underscores the Commission’s commitment to making Carnival Calabar a platform for meaningful investment in the intellectual development of young Cross Riverians.
The Commission explained that the competition was expected to stimulate renewed interest in reading and creative writing while providing practical educational resources to schools and tertiary institutions across the State.
It noted that the initiative would further reinforce the vision of positioning Carnival Calabar beyond its traditional cultural and tourism identity by creating opportunities that contribute to the intellectual and socio-economic development of Cross River youths.
With scholarships, laptops, textbooks, exercise books and other learning materials incorporated into the programme, the competition is expected to contribute significantly to nurturing the next generation of Cross River writers, thinkers and creative talents.
The Commission therefore called on students and educational institutions across the State to embrace the opportunity and become part of a new generation of young people empowered through knowledge, creativity and the written word.
