2020 ArcGIS StoryMaps Competition
For the Sustainable Development Goals
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).
Join the movement to increase awareness of the SDGs and drive the necessary action towards their achievement by submitting a story that addresses one or more of the 17 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 on the SDGs
- Or shares stories of changemakers in your own community
The winners will be announced in February 2021 based on their innovative ideas, mapping and GIS skills, and storytelling abilities.
Objectives of the competition
"Today’s leaders in sustainable development require skills in the rapidly expanding range of geospatial data and GIS tools, as well as the ability to convey geographic information in stories and maps that advance the public understanding.” —Jeffrey Sachs, President, SDSN
To educate communities globally about the SDGs
The SDGs are a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. In an urgent call for action, all 193 United Nations (UN) member states have joined a global partnership to fight against the world’s pressing issues, including poverty, hunger, inequality, and climate change.
The 2020 ArcGIS StoryMaps Competition for the SDGs supports the Decade of Action to achieve these goals by 2030 and leave no one behind.
Learn more about the SDGs .
To promote the use of timely geospatial data and GIS tools for the SDGs
In partnership with Esri, SDSN manages a timely data portal at sdgstoday.org which provides a snapshot of sustainable development and the SDGs right now. Participants can utilize this data to gain insight on key SDG indicators and better understand the state of the world through the lens of the SDGs.
The SDGs Today portal also houses training and educational materials—including featured stories on the SDGs and lessons for SDG map making—to inform current and future global leaders.
To tell compelling, data-driven stories about the SDGs
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.
Measuring Success story built with ArcGIS StoryMaps. Learn more about ArcGIS StoryMaps and how to make your own interactive story.
Submit a story to this competition for a chance to be featured on the SDGs Today portal.
Competition details
The 2020 ArcGIS StoryMaps Competition for the SDGs is now open. Visit the ArcGIS StoryMaps competition website for more details about the competition requirements, judging criteria, prizes, and official terms and conditions.
Two options for story submission
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 Professionals or anyone with an ArcGIS user account, including students at any grade level.
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 on the ArcGIS StoryMaps competition website .
Competition timeline
Storytellers may submit stories through the ArcGIS StoryMaps website from August 6, 2020 to November 25, 2020.
Esri’s StoryMaps team will review all submissions and select the top 10 stories for each track, for a total of 20 finalists. Our guest judges will select first, second, and third-place winners from the finalists for each track.
Winning stories will be announced in February 2021.
Meet the guest judges
Our guest judges are leaders in the sustainable development space. Each, with varied skill sets and experience, has spent years contributing to the science, policy, and education that support sustainable local and global communities.
Jeffrey Sachs
President, Sustainable Development Solutions Network
Jeffrey D. Sachs is a world-renowned economist, bestselling author, innovative educator, and global leader in sustainable development. He is the President of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network and Director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University. He currently serves as an SDG Advocate under UN Secretary-General António Guterres. Sachs was twice named Time magazine’s 100 most influential world leaders, and was ranked by The Economist among the top three most influential living economists.
Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim
SDG Advocate and Environmental Activist
Environmental activist and member of Chad’s pastoralist Mbororo community, Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim began advocating for Indigenous rights and environmental protection at age 16, founding the Association for Indigenous Women and Peoples of Chad ( AFPAT ) to introduce new income revenue activities for women and collaborative tools such as 3D participatory mapping to build sustainable ecosystems management and reduction of nature-based resource conflicts. Her vision is to grow support for both traditional knowledge and science to improve resilience to climate change especially for rural communities.
She is a member of the Indigenous Peoples of Africa Coordinating Committee ( IPACC ) and served as co-chair of the International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate Change during the historic UN Climate Change Conference (COP21) in Paris. She is dedicated to the protection of all Indigenous peoples, from the Congo to the Arctic, and the value of their knowledge in the fight against climate change. She advances environmental protection for Indigenous peoples by participating in international policy dialogues held around the three Rio Conventions; Climate Change (UNFCCC), Biodiversity (CBD), and Desertification (UNCCD) pressuring governments to recognize land rights of Indigenous peoples and advance their solutions for climate adaptation and mitigation.
Ibrahim’s work with indigenous communities at the local and global level has achieved broad recognition and support including, the Pritzker Emerging Environmental Genius Award ;, the 2020 Refugee International’s Refugees International Holbrooke Award ; the Daniel Mitterrand Prize; appointment as a UN SDG Advocate , Conservation International Board Member and Lui-Walton Senior Fellow ; Member of the EAT Advisory Board; named Ambassador of the EDEN Project; and National Geographic Explorer . She was recognized by BBC as a top 100 women leader and by TIME's Women Leaders in Climate Change. Her TED talk on Indigenous knowledge meets science to solve climate change has surpassed more than 1 million views.
Alex Tait
The Geographer at National Geographic
Alex Tait leads geopolitical and cartographic direction for the National Geographic Society. Prior to that, he worked at International Mapping Associates, providing expertise for international boundary disputes before world courts.
Dawn Wright
Esri Chief Scientist
As Chief Scientist of Esri, Dawn Wright aids in strengthening the scientific foundation for Esri software and services, while also representing Esri to the scientific community. A specialist in marine geology, Dawn has authored and contributed to some of the most definitive literature on marine GIS and ocean conservation.
Get started today
Explore the SDGs Today portal to:
- Learn more about each sustainable development goal and engage with SDG stories
- Access and engage with real-time and timely datasets on the SDGs
- Find learning resources for getting started with ArcGIS StoryMaps and GIS
"Maps reveal patterns and trends that help us understand the world. Our goal with this competition is to inspire hundreds of professionals and students to combine insightful maps with rich multimedia to tell stories that help us envision a sustainable, just, and peaceful future." —Jack Dangermond, CEO, Esri
