Write your best climate change story and get an opportunity to join and cover COP21
While climate change is a global phenomenon, it is hitting the world’s poorest regions – and most marginalized communities – the hardest. These changing conditions are impacting human health, economic activity, and are threatening basic human rights including access to water and food security. Climate change is already affecting local communities in low and middle income countries but stories on the negative impacts as well as on the solutions that governments, communities and individuals are implementing often get lost in the global climate change debate.
UNDP story telling contest on climate change aims to contribute to raising public awareness on the negative impacts of climate change on people and communities as well as on the opportunities and solutions seen in actions by individuals and governments in vulnerable developing countries.
The contest provides young journalists in developing countries a unique opportunity to contribute to the global debate on climate change in the run-up to COP21, while building their capacity, and providing recognition for excellence. Authors of the top two stories will be funded to attend and cover COP21.
Target Group
We target journalists 35 years of age and under from developing countries vulnerable to the impact of climate change who:
- Are already engaged in public writing through an official media outlet
- Have a strong interest in reporting on climate change as a contribution – locally and internationally – towards greater public awareness on this critical global topic
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Are eager to seize an opportunity to build their journalistic capacity and contribute to COP21
Timeline of the Campaign
The contest was launched on August 27th. The deadline to submit an entry is October 11th 2015, with early submission encouraged. Following selection, different stories will be published every day from 2nd to 29th November. The two winning journalists will cover the climate conference in Paris.
Dissemination
Stories, once screened, scored and published on UNDP’s website, will be disseminated through partners’ channels to ensure maximum outreach and exposure. A common hashtag – #Voices2Paris – will facilitate social media integration by all partners, helping to amplify the dissemination. All materials are creative commons, encouraging further media outlets and people everywhere to make maximum use of the stories told and photos gathered.
First step: Indicate your interest
Applicants should send an email to media4climate@undp.org indicating their intention to participate as soon as they can so that we can share relevant information on climate change that could help their coverage.
How to enter?
Journalists need to submit a story featuring the impact of climate change in their country and/or solution(s) that are implemented to reduce emissions or adapt to climate change. We encourage journalists to submit both their published and unpublished stories. We expect stories to be 600/1000 words long and include at least 5 pictures embedded in the text.
Journalists need also to fill and submit an application form. A high standard of working English is a requirement for all applicants and the application form should be filled out in English.
Journalists will have to provide a scanned copy of the published story in a print media certified by their editor or a link to the online media to attest of the effective publication of the story between August 24th and October 11th. If the story is not published by October 11th, they will have to submit a letter from their editor confirming the interest and tentative date of publication.
Journalists can submit the form and the story in word document as attachments. Any supporting documents (published article, letter from editors) can be shared in PDF format. If necessary, they can use a file-transfer application such asWeTransfer for large files. In addition, we also need a picture and a short biography of the journalists.
Entries can be submitted in English. Entries in French, Spanish, Arabic and Chinese are also accepted but should be accompanied by an English-language translation.
No entry will be accepted if incomplete and/or after the closure of the contest on October11th 2015 midnight CET.
Checks will be made for plagiarism and any entrant found to have submitted work which is not their own will be automatically disqualified.
Check list
- Application form
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Story including five pictures
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Scanned copy of print article certified by editor or link to the online media page attesting of the effective publication of the story
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Letter from editor confirming the interest and tentative date of publication (if the story is not published by October 11th)
Deadline to submit an entry
Journalists can submit their entry on a rolling basis between August 27h and October 11th 2015. We strongly encourage early submission. No entries will be accepted after October 11th 2015, Midnight CET.
