SUBMISSION PROCESS

• Read the guidelines on this page. Submissions that don’t adhere risk being rejected.

• Prepare your submission ahead of filling in the form. To help you prepare, you can find downloadable PDF versions of the form and the full (in more detail!) guidelines above.

• Following submission, you will receive a receipt confirmation email within 5 working days (Mon-Fri).

• Allow up to 15 working days for your story to be reviewed. During this time period, make sure to regularly check your contact email.

• Once we finish the review process, we will get in touch with you with the outcome of your submission and any necessary next steps.

WHAT WE ARE (AND ARE NOT) LOOKING FOR

• THEME: Biodiversity, climate and/or wider environmental issues, focusing on the key role of nature (i.e. people, flora, fauna, fungi, water, soil, minerals etc).

  • Ideally seek stories engaging in the “climate-nature” nexus, simultaneously addressing climate change, biodiversity loss and social well-being/justice issues.

  • Welcome and highly encourage stories that also touch on wider human well-being challenges and social topics such as health, poverty, agriculture, food, migration, education, conflict and peace, gender, inequality, livelihoods, enterprise, culture and tradition…

• STYLE: Reflections, artwork and/or projects in a story-based style.

  • By story-based, it means the submission should have a central issue and solution/action within a clear setting and with identified characters, and a message/learning for the audience to understand or receive.

  • Accepted mediums (how the story is told) include text/prose, short films, photography, audio, photo-essays, illustrations, oral storytelling and (other) forms of art like poetry, spoken word, theatre, dance etc. Submission formats (how the story is digitally captured) can be text, audio, image and/or video.

• AUTHORSHIP: Personal and original stories with/from youth voices that are specific to communities and regions.

  • Stories should be locally-based, and the storyteller should demonstrate their direct connection with their local lands and waters.

  • Stories should be non-fiction, based on real experiences and events. However, it is possible to use fiction (e.g. fantasy, satire…) elements as a metaphor or allegory for real events and experiences.

• MESSAGE: How young people are solutions-oriented, thinking and working with nature, and not against it, at a local level to tackle climate change, biodiversity loss and wider social/global challenges.

  • Ideally, stories should cover ideas or applications of climate-nature solutions from concepts such as traditional ecological knowledge, nature-based solutions, ecosystem-based approaches (to adaptation [EbA] and/or disaster risk reduction [eco-DRR]), biomimicry and green/blue infrastructure.

At present, we can confirm that we are NOT looking for:

• Scholarly essays, theoretical pieces, or academic research papers.

• Opinion, persuasive, suggestive or critical pieces without a personal angle.

• Stories about people or actions/initiatives that the author has no direct connection to.

• Stories that promote greenwashing or contribute to land/green/blue grabbing. 

  • Certain activities under concepts like “natural climate solutions” and “nature-based solutions” are, for many at the frontlines and on the grassroots, synonymous with actions Y4N stands firmly against: the loss of land rights for indigenous and local communities, climate delayism, and the continued exploitation of people, lands, and waters by fossil fuels and the people who profit from them.

our CRITERIA & ELIGIBILITY

• Participants should be between 18 and 35 years old.

• If under the age of 18, please have your parent or guardian fill out the Media Release agreement. Submissions from those under 18 will not be accepted without the completed form: *EN* Media Release Form - Y4N Storytelling Programme.

• Submissions can be made by both individuals or groups/organisations.

  • In the case of groups, we accept groups in which 1) all members are youth, or 2) at least half of the members are youth AND the focus is on youth-led or (intergenerational) community-led action.

• All story submissions must include a clear title and a short written description.

  • For non-anonymous stories, you will also be asked to submit a short biography and a picture of the author(s) (if possible).

• All submissions must be the original work of the author(s). If submitting a story that has previously been published, the story must be updated in some way.

• The current working languages of our campaign are English, French, Arabic, Swahili, Spanish and Portuguese, thus we accept stories in all these.

  • Highly encourage to provide an English translation if possible (i.e. text, audio, captions) to prevent any misunderstandings in translation.

  • Other languages not listed are welcome if they come with a translation and/or a granted request for translation to any of the languages above. To know more, email storytelling@youth4nature.org.

FILE FORMATTING tips

• All uploaded files must be clearly, appropriately and uniquely labelled with the authors’ SURNAME and NAME and brief content description/title.

• If submitting a combination of text and images, you must upload them as separate files, even if the pictures are embedded in the document (for example, both a .docx file with text and a .jpg image).

• Files in PDF format will not be accepted. If there are any reasons why you are only able to make your submission through a PDF file, do get in touch at storytelling@youth4nature.org.

According to format, submissions should adhere to the following standards:

• Audio submissions: Up to 10 minutes per audio with a transcript for each file.

• Video submissions: Up to 10 minutes in length per video file.

  • For accessibility reasons, add captions and send a transcript with the video if possible.

• Image submissions: Up to 15 images with written descriptions/captions for each photograph submitted.

  • Image files must be clearly and adequately labelled and matched with their relevant text.

• Text submissions: Up to 1500 words in length, with references clearly and appropriately cited.

TERMS & CONDITIONS

Licensing and Media Release:

When submitting a story, you are consenting to submit under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International licence (CC BY-NC 4.0). This means that Youth4Nature, and others, are free to share and adapt your submission, in non-commercial settings, as long as proper attribution is provided.

All participants in the Youth4Nature Storytelling Campaign must also consent to the linked Media Release agreement: *EN* Media Release Form - Y4N Storytelling Programme.

Participants have the option to submit stories semi-anonymously. You will still share personal details with us, but your stories will be anonymous when made public, with no identifying information. Stories will still be submitted under the CC BY-NC 4.0 license.

Privacy Policy:

All data received through Youth4Nature, including from the Storytelling Campaign, is bound by Youth4Nature Foundation’s Privacy Policy. By submitting an application, you are confirming that you have read and agree with this Policy. 

Youth4Nature will never sell your personal data. See the policy for more information.

CONTACT INFO

If you have any questions about the Storytelling Campaign, do not hesitate to reach out at storytelling@youth4nature.org.