2023 ArcGIS StoryMaps Competition Winners Gallery

Meet the competition winners

Visit the ArcGIS StoryMaps blog to learn more about the winning stories.

Read the blog

An image of Earth from space showing blue ocean and brown land masses

What is the ArcGIS StoryMaps Competition?

Esri and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) cohosted the 2023 ArcGIS StoryMaps Competition, which invited storytellers worldwide to create place-based stories about conserving the earth’s lands and waters.

Storytellers submitted entries through one of two tracks. Each track offered a category for students enrolled in a college, university, or other institution of higher education.

Track 1: An ArcGIS StoryMaps story or collection about an Indigenous or community-led conservation project.

Track 2: A place-based research project, scientific study, or scholarly article built with ArcGIS StoryMaps.

Our guest judges selected a winner, runner-up, and student winner from the finalists in each track. IUCN, Esri, and the Our Towns Civic Foundation each selected one winner for a special award.

Congratulations to our inspiring storytellers.

Track 1

See the winner, runner-up, and student winner in the more traditional storytelling track.

Track 2

See the winner, runner-up, and student winner in the research and science-focused track.

Special awards

See the special award winners selected by IUCN, Esri, and the Our Towns Civic Foundation.

IUCN Indigenous Peoples Governance and Rights Award

The IUCN Indigenous Peoples Governance and Rights Award presented by the IUCN Protected and Conserved Areas Team recognizes the critical and long-standing role of Indigenous peoples’ governance systems and customary laws in conserving nature. The award seeks to shine a light on innovative approaches and pathways led by Indigenous peoples towards achieving the recognition of their rights and governance that can lead to transformative change.

WINNER
Living Territories: Stories of Territorial Justice by the Amazon Conservation Team

Explore the story

A group of people sitting in a long canoe on a river with a large green tree in the background

Esri Native Nations Traditional Ecological Knowledge Award

The Esri Native Nations Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) Award presented by the Esri Tribal Governments Program celebrates the invaluable wisdom and cultural heritage of Indigenous communities in their deep understanding of the natural world. This award honors Native Nations' remarkable dedication to the preservation of TEK, ensuring the continued vitality of their cultural identity and ancestral wisdom.

WINNER
CSKT Climate Strategic Plan: Explore Climate Actions on the Flathead Reservation by the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes

Browse the collection

Several large brown buffaloes roaming in a vast green field with white snowcapped mountains in the background

Our Towns Community Mapping Award

The Our Towns Civic Foundation presents the Our Towns Community Mapping Award to recognize stories that explain, engage, and energize community members in local efforts for environmental sustainability and resilience or related projects that expand economic and civic opportunity.

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