Deadline: October 9, 2026
Applications are open for the Demographics & Planetary Health Story Prize 2026. The Demographic & Planetary Health Story Prize contest is designed to recognize original published journalism that connects demographic change to planetary health, whether through population dynamics, reproductive health, migration, climate, or the economic and geopolitical forces tying them together.
Hosted by the Johns Hopkins Institute for Planetary Health and the Planetary Health Alliance, the Hopkins Population Center, and the William H. Gates Sr. Institute for Population and Reproductive Health at Johns Hopkins University, this prize takes a wider lens and seeks to honor all types of reporting, journalism, and content creation that reaches outside a typical sector audience.
Categories
- Print, Podcast, Digital News, & Newsletters: This category is for journalists or reporters who take a more traditional approach to journalism, whether self-publishing or publishing for a recognized media outlet.
- Social Media, Blogs, & Video: This category is for content creators who utilize social networks or personally-driven content outlets to engage their audiences.
Prize
- An award of $500 will be given in each category.
Eligibility
- Open to journalists, freelancers, community reporters, and student journalists reporting for a digital, print or social outlet.
- Submissions from NGO or organizational blogs are not eligible.
Submissions to the Demographic & Planetary Health Story Prize should engage substantively with the intersection of demographics and planetary health.
Examples might include (but not limited to):
- Population trends and their environmental or health consequences
- Migration driven by climate or resource pressure
- Reproductive health access in the context of environmental change
- Solutions and innovations to mitigate forced migration
- Energy/urbanization, designing cities that meet demographic trends
- Impacts of rising heat levels and increased pollution on maternal health
- Climate impacts on marginalized populations and gender disparities
Evaluation Criteria
- Originality and rigor: Is the reporting sourced beyond press releases and does it bring new information or framing to the topic?
- Clarity of the demographics–planetary health connection: Does the story make that link legible to a general audience, not just specialists?
- Craft: Is the writing well structured, and does it use data or visual storytelling effectively?
- Potential for impact: Is the piece likely to reach and inform readers who wouldn’t otherwise encounter this topic?
- Substantive power of the piece: Does the reporting surface something that moves the conversation forward?
Application
The Demographic & Planetary Health Story Prize accepts submissions in multiple formats, including:
- Published or broadcast news stories
- Features or op-eds
- Explanatory pieces
- Short-form documentary or audio pieces
For more information, visit Demographics & Planetary Health Story Prize.
