Deadline: June 12, 2024
Applications are open for the Global Environmental Education Partnership (GEEP) Youth Innovation Challenge 2024. Are you 15–30 years old and have an idea to protect marine resources and solve related issues at the local, national, or regional level? They want to hear from you! They are looking for solutions that you could implement on your own or in partnership with other individuals or organizations. Your solution must align with one or more of the following key priority areas and should also include an environmental education (EE) component.
In partnership with the Taiwan Ocean Conservation Administration (OCA), GEEP invites you to apply for the 2024 Youth Innovation Challenge (YIC): Advancing Marine Conservation! The YIC provides an opportunity for young people ages 15–30 around the world to share their innovative solutions to protect marine resources. This year’s challenge explores how we can address marine issues, including loss of biodiversity, marine debris, lack of awareness, and other related issues, and support people of all ages to be engaged stewards to support marine environments. The YIC seeks solutions that are innovative, feasible, and informed by research.
About the Challenge
The Youth Innovation Challenge (YIC) is a program of the Global Environmental Education Partnership (GEEP), a vibrant and inclusive learning network designed to champion environmental education (EE) around the world, in partnership with the Taiwan Ocean Conservation Administration (OCA). GEEP is a partnership between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Taiwan Ministry of Environment, and the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE), which serves as the secretariat.
Benefits
A total of 15 YIC finalists will be selected and will receive the following benefits:
- An official YIC finalist certificate.
- Recognition through GEEP, NAAEE, and other global partners’ websites and social media pages.
- They will select 3 winners from the 15 YIC finalists. Each winner will receive a $1,000 USD prize, in addition to all the benefits listed above, and will be invited to attend the YIC award ceremony at the Taiwan Ocean Conservation Administration’s marine debris conference in Taiwan in September 2024 (all travel expenses covered).
Eligibility
The Youth Innovation Challenge is intended for young leaders and innovators aged 15–30. Your innovative solutions must provide a solution to one of the following key areas, using environmental education as a key component:
- Marine biodiversity and conservation: Managing, protecting, and/or restoring marine biodiversity for its ecological, cultural, economic, and other values.
- Marine debris: Reducing and/or mitigating the effects of marine debris, including the monitoring, clean-up, and recycling of marine debris, and educating communities about how to address these issues.
- Public-private collaboration: Collaborating between the private sector, governments, and the public to protect marine environments. This might include ideas for cooperation between government and corporations to fulfill corporate social responsibility (CSR) goals, civic engagement opportunities for the public to engage with government programs, and other initiatives that foster collaboration between public and private sectors.
- Solutions must be submitted online through Submittable (only one proposal per person or team will be accepted).
- Proposals will only be accepted in English at this time. Your video pitch and written responses will not be scored based on your English proficiency, but rather the strength of your solution and your ability to communicate your ideas and vision to the judges.
Application
Applications must be submitted online through Submittable by Wednesday, June 12, 2024 at 11:59 PM U.S. Eastern Time. Winners will be notified by September 2024.
For more information, visit GEEP Youth Innovation Challenge.
