We are pleased to publicly announce the result of the essay writing competition held among 136 students of grade 9-12 of five English-medium schools of the capital city on the issue of budget transparency and accountability. In the essay writing competition organized by Freedom Forum on the topics of "Government Budget and My Future" in support of the US-based International Budget Partnership (IBP) on February 7, Bidushi Pokharel of Graded English Medium School (GEMS), Dhapakhel stood first while Prarthana Bhattarai of Budhanilakantha and SIma Chand of DON BOSCO, Kathmandu secured second and third position, respectively. 

The initiative was taken in a bid to increase understanding about budgetary transparency among people and increase their concern and participation in budget issues thereby engaging citizens in ensuring transparency."The idea to engage school children in the essay competition on how budget transparency and accountability affects their futures and future development of the country is quite relevant since there is very nominal discussion in Nepal while developing budget", said Freedom Forum Chairperson Tara Nath Dahal.

We are also pleased to announce that the top scorer of the competition will be awarded an attractive cash prize of US$ 500 while others will be provided with certificate of participation and reading materials on budget transparency, amid a function to take place soon. The competition was also held in five countries in South Asia, namely Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, on the same theme. The IBP is all set to publish an attractive booklet of the essays and post the winning essays on the IBP website.