Esri and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) are pleased to announce the 2023 ArcGIS StoryMaps Competition.
A four-photo collage of a lizard, two chlidren laughing and playing in water, fish swimming underwater, and a map of rivers
The 2023 ArcGIS StoryMaps Competition invites storytellers worldwide to share stories about how they are contributing to the global effort to conserve at least thirty percent of the earth’s lands and waters in fair and effective ways by 2030.
This year, the annual ArcGIS StoryMaps Competition and Tribal ArcGIS StoryMaps Competition merged into one larger storytelling contest to recognize the critical role of Indigenous peoples and local communities, their traditional territories and knowledge systems in global area-based conservation, science, and sustainability efforts.
Storytellers may submit a competition entry from July 10 to October 27, 2023.
To get started on your story, scroll through our competition goals, submission themes and requirements, and competition timeline below. Plus meet this year's amazing guest judges.
The goals of the competition
Today, humanity finds itself in an odd position. We realize that, without intending to, humans are collectively causing massive environmental degradation and destruction of the natural world. At the same time, we hold in our hands the keys to halt and reverse these trends.
—Jack Dangermond, President, Esri
To support global restoration and conservation goals
As of 2021, about 17% of the earth's land surface and 8% of our oceans were protected or conserved. See the terrestrial and marine protected areas in the adjacent globe (created by Esri's StoryMaps team from the World Database on Protected Areas).
Adopted by leaders worldwide, the 30 x 30 effort aims to protect 30% of the planet by 2030. It will boost local economies, provide recreation opportunities, and help achieve equal access to nature's benefits. And it will protect the natural capital on which we all depend.
But it will take action from all of us—from local communities to global organizations. Learn more about 30 x 30.
To use a geographic approach and GIS tools to restore and conserve natural resources, equitably
Fresh tools—especially sophisticated interactive maps—are one of the key elements that make conservationists, policymakers and even businesspeople and farmers think that “30 by 30” might be possible.
—David Gadsen, Director of Conservation Solutions, Esri
From declining air quality to diminishing biodiversity, climate change affects us globally—what happens in one location happens everywhere.
A geographic approach puts our greatest challenges in context and drives solutions for a sustainable future. And user-friendly GIS tools, like the Land Cover Explorer app, provide universal access to critical conservation information.
Learn more about new GIS tools and the communities leveraging those tools for data-driven conservation:
An animated slideshow of screenshots from Esri’s Sentinel 2 Land Cover Explorer
To tell compelling, place-based stories
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.
A five photo collage of the Okavango area including an elephant in the water, a river guide, a flower on the water, a bird flying, and a red spotted frog hanging on a plant
Photos from Okavango Explore, the winning story in the Nature and Physical Science category of the 2022 ArcGIS StoryMaps Competition for Data Visualization.
What does it take to build a winning story? How can you get started? Read our interviews with the 2022 ArcGIS StoryMaps Competition winners.
A graphic of a computer screen displaying an ArcGIS StoryMaps story
Competition details
Get the details about the submission themes and tracks, eligibility, and timeline before you build your conservation story with ArcGIS StoryMaps.
Submission themes
Competition submissions should cover at least one of the following themes:
A four-photo collage of a rancher standing with cattle, a reindeer, a stream flowing through rocks and plants, and a satellite image of snowy landscapes
Locally led conservation initiatives
Conservation of fresh water and ocean habitats
Conservation of land, natural resources, and wildlife corridors
Data and innovative technology for management and monitoring
Conservation-related science and research, including Indigenous Knowledge or Traditional Ecological Knowledge in restoration and conservation efforts
Tourism, nature-based education, and outdoor opportunities particularly for nature-deprived communities
Current threats to the health of lands, waterways, and wildlife and the impacts on the communities in and around protected and conserved areas
Protected areas (with a special focus on equitable governance, shared decision making and Indigenous peoples’ protected areas)
Areas conserved, governed, and managed by Indigenous peoples
Areas that may be considered as “other effective area-based conservation measures” (OECMs) also with sustainable use areas such as fisheries, agriculture, forests and other locally relevant values
Two tracks for story submissions
Track 1: An ArcGIS StoryMap story or collection about an indigenous or community-led conservation project
Explore a few sample conservation success stories:
Each competition 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.
For students only: When submitting to each track, a student may select the “student” box to be judged against only student competition submissions. To qualify as a student, an applicant must be 18 years and older and a degree-seeking student at a two or four-year institution of higher education.
Competition entries—a new or existing story created with ArcGIS StoryMaps—must be submitted during the contest period through the entry form on the ArcGIS StoryMaps Competition website.
The iconic “Wave” in Arizona with water reflecting in between two red rock walls
Two people and their dog watch the sun set over Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument in Montana
Four colorful vegetables stacked side by side in trays
A rivers flows between rock walls and green vegetation
A close up of honey bees in a hive
Competition timeline
Storytellers may submit competition stories fromJuly 10 to October 27, 2023.
July 10
Competition opens to story submissions
October 27
Competition closes to story submissions
November 15
Competition finalists announced on GIS Day
December 14
Competition winners recognized
Judging process
All eligible submissions will be evaluated through two methods.
Esri's StoryMaps team will select up to fifteen finalists for each track.
Our guest judges will review the finalists and vote for a winner, runner-up, and best student story in each track.
All winners and runners up will receive a Storyteller of the Year certificate and social media badge, and will be featured on the Esri website and Esri and IUCN social media platforms. All winners also will be featured in an interview and will receive a Special Achievement in GIS Award at Esri’s 2024 International User Conference.
All eligible submissions also will be considered for the following special awards by the sponsoring organizations.
Our Towns Community Mapping Award by Our Towns Civic Organization
Given in recognition of a story that explains, engages, and energizes community members in local efforts for environmental sustainability and resilience, or for related projects that expand economic and civic opportunity. Special preference will be given to stories presenting approaches that could create a model for other communities around the world. The Our Towns Foundation will use its resources to publicize and highlight the winner's maps and insights.
Esri Native Nations Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) Award by the Esri Tribal Governments Program
The Esri Native Nations TEK Award 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. It acknowledges their commitment to fostering ecological resilience, safeguarding natural resources, and promoting community well-being through the application of traditional knowledge in the modern world. The Esri Tribal Governments Program will use its resources to publicize and highlight the winner’s story.
IUCN Indigenous Peoples Governance and Rights Award by the IUCN Protected and Conserved Areas Team
The IUCN Indigenous Peoples Governance and Rights Award recognizes the critical and long-standing role of Indigenous peoples’ and their governance systems and customary laws in conserving nature. These governance institutions and customary laws are often rooted in spiritual and cultural values, and have conserved nature effectively for millennia. It is only by recognizing and supporting the rights of Indigenous peoples, that they can continue to protect the planet and its precious biodiversity for years to come. 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. The IUCN Protected and Conserved Areas Team will use its resources to publicize and highlight the winner’s story.
Meet the guest judges
Our esteemed judges bring expertise in storytelling and GIS, science and research, and public service. Get inspired by these talented leaders and your guest judges.
Dr. Kelsey Leonard
Water Scientist
Dr. Kelsey Leonard is a water scientist whose work focuses on Indigenous water justice. She is also a legal scholar, writer, and enrolled citizen of the Shinnecock Nation.
Associate Program Coordinator and Deputy Director, USGS Science Analytics and Synthesis
Mike Frame is Associate Program Coordinator and Deputy Director, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Science Analytics and Synthesis. He is responsible for leading several enterprise scientific efforts focused on data management, computational capabilities, foundational datasets, and libraries. His applied research has focused on enabling better use and application of scientific data, tools, cyberinfrastructure, and services.
Mike has served as Principal Investigator on several U.S. National Science Foundation large scale cyberinfrastructure projects, international councils, and initiatives. Before joining USGS, Mike worked at the U.S. Department of Energy.
Satellite imagery of autumn leaves in the Adirondack Mountains in northeast New York
Jennifer Kelleher
Lead, Governance, Equity and Rights & Global Focal Point, “Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures”, Protected and Conserved Areas Team, IUCN
Jennifer Kelleher is a lawyer from Ireland with a specialisation in protected and conserved areas and human rights.
At International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), she leads the programme on ‘Governance, equity and rights’ in the Protected and Conserved Areas Team. In her work, she focuses on promoting equity, good governance and rights-based approaches in protected areas, confronting issues related to fortress conservation and also recognising good practices. She also acts as global focal point for “other effective area-based conservation measures” (OECMs). These are areas outside of but complementary to protected areas, that conserve nature effectively and therefore are critical to recognise and support.
Jennifer also works to recognise and support the rights and governance systems of Indigenous peoples, including over their traditional territories, in strong partnership with IUCN’s Indigenous peoples’ partners and networks. Jennifer is passionate about bringing together diverse knowledge and value systems for transformative change and co-learning to take action to address social justice issues in nature conservation.
John Duane Goes in Center
GIS leader, teacher, and speaker
Born in 1949 in “Indian Camp” along Rapid Creek near Rapid City, South Dakota, Goes In Center is of the Pute’ Tio’spaye—a collective of extended family relatives within the Oglala Lakota Nation. Goes In Center is of the third generation of Lakota to live on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and is the Great Grandson of Chief Pute’, his Maternal Grandmother’s Father and progressive Traditionalist who advocated for education.
Honorably discharged from military service, Goes In Center graduated from the University Colorado in 1974 with a degree in Museum Studies. He worked 17 years for the International Business Machines Corporation or IBM before founding his own GIS consulting firm Innovative—GIS Solutions Incorporated in Ft. Collins, Colorado. The majority of his work entailed mapping applications with First Nations in Canada in their pursuit of Treaty and Land Claims negotiations.
Familiar to the world of art in several settings, Goes In Center is considered one of the early silversmiths in the transitional modern era of Lakota metal work. He served 9 years on the Board of Trustees for the Denver Art Museum as the first Native American Indian Trustee and was instrumental in the implementation of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation policies at the Denver Art Museum. Goes In Center has served on the faculty for the Aboriginal Leadership and Self-governance Programs at the Banff Centre of Management in Banff, Alberta, Canada as well as serving on their Aboriginal Advisory Council. He served in an advisory capacity within his own Nation as a member of the Oglala Lakota Tribal Historic Preservation Advisory Council.
Goes In Center endeavors to assist Native American organizations and emerging professionals with a belief in ancestral ideals that keep alive the entrepreneurial spirit needed for success. A dynamic experienced teacher and speaker, Goes In Center utilizes the ideals of his ancestry to encourage the next generation of leaders.
Sandra Mechelle Turner
National Geographic Certified Education and Emerging Explorer
Sandra Turner is a global climate and ocean educator who integrates scientific modeling, STEAM focused-projects, geography, ArcGIS mapping applications, and digital storytelling to cultivate curiosity about the world in new generations of explorers. She partners with marine protected areas on coral reef and mangrove restoration projects to help build stronger biodiversity and coastal resiliency on small developing islands.
Sandra is a 2020 recipient of the National Geographic Society’s COVID-19 Remote Learning Emergency Fund to advance climate and ocean literacy globally through online instruction. She received additional funding in 2022 to study how the science of awe and wonder shapes students' curiosity, inquiry, and emotional well-being.
Deborah Fallows is a linguist and writer for many national publications. With her husband, James Fallows, she co-authored the best-selling book Our Towns, a 100,000-Mile Journey Into the Heart of America, now an HBO Documentary. They launched the Our Towns Civic Foundation to continue the focus on community and citizen activism in all aspects of civic life, including environment and sustainability.
ArcGIS Storymaps, as the story here, has been part of their journalistic work. More of her works can be found here
Deborah is the co-founder of and writer for Our Towns Civic Foundation, a journalistic platform and publication that focuses on community and citizen activism in all aspects of civic life, including the environment and sustainability.
Joshua Stevens is an expert in cartography, data visualization, and Earth science communication. He was previously the lead cartographer of NASA's Earth Observatory where led the design and UI/UX for digital storytelling.
A four-photo collage of a farmer standing with a dog and red tractor, two sandhill cranes, the iconic Wave in Arizona, and satellite imagery of land
Get started
Follow @ArcGISStoryMaps Twitter for competition updates! We'll share inspirational community stories, storytelling resources like webinars and tutorials, and helpful reminders about the competition.
Explore the following resources to get started on your story today:
Photos from Okavango Explore, the winning story in the Nature and Physical Science category of the 2022 ArcGIS StoryMaps Competition for Data Visualization.
