2020 ArcGIS StoryMaps Competition

For Sustainable Development Goals

The competition is now open.

Competition Announcement

Esri and the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) are pleased to announce the 2020 ArcGIS StoryMaps Competition for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

About Sustainable Development Goals

The United Nations’ 17 SDGs are a blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all and ensure that no one is left behind. They address a multitude of global challenges, including poverty, hunger, inequality, and climate change.

About SDSN and Esri

SDSN connects the global community to address economic, social, and environmental challenges. Esri delivers geospatial solutions for gathering, integrating, and analyzing the underlying data. Their networks, tools, and resources mobilize action for the SDGs.

Stories Inform Outcomes

In partnership with Esri, the SDSN manages a timely data portal, which provides a snapshot of sustainable development and the SDGs right now. It also houses GIS training and educational materials, including stories on SDGs, to inform current and future global leaders.

Join storytellers worldwide in our competition for positive change.

A story can effect change, influence opinion, and create awareness—and maps are an integral part of storytelling. ArcGIS StoryMaps allows you to integrate maps, data, and other multimedia content with text to tell a narrative about the world's greatest challenges and highlight or inspire solutions.

Help encourage more awareness of the SDGs and drive the necessary action towards achieving them by submitting an original story that addresses one or more global goals.

You might create an original story that...

Presents ideas for addressing hunger, poverty, climate change, or other global goals
Creates unique visualizations of existing data of the SDGs
Or shares stories of changemakers in your own community

Find story inspiration and SDG data, maps, and learning resources on the SDGs Today portal.

Key Dates and Submission Deadlines

SUBMISSION DEADLINE

November 25, 2020
Contest ends at 5:00 p.m. (PDT)

WINNERS ANNOUNCED

February 2021

Three winners will be announced for each track.

Prizes

All winners will:

Receive a 2020 Storyteller of the Year certificate
Be featured on the SDGs Today global hub
Be featured on the ArcGIS StoryMaps website

The first and second-place winners also will be included in an ArcGIS Learn Lesson about the SDGs.

The first-place winners will have the opportunity to present alongside Esri’s StoryMaps team and SDSN during a technical session, workshop, or Special Interest Group at the 2021 Esri User Conference.

Requirements

The ArcGIS StoryMaps competition invites story submissions through two tracks.

Track 1: Students enrolled in or accepted to a two or four-year institution of higher education.

Track 2: Professionals or anyone with an ArcGIS user account, including students.

Each participant may submit a single story to only one track. A participant can be defined as an individual (or) a group of individuals submitting one story together.

Competition entries must be submitted during the contest period through the entry form.

Judging Criteria

Esri’s StoryMaps team will select 10 finalists for each track. Our guest judges will select first, second, and third-place winners from the finalists for each track.

Story submissions must be new, original, and address one or more SDGs.

Judges will evaluate each story based on: