My Story–Girl Rising Storytelling Challenge 2020 ($500 USD Prize)

Application Deadline: September 1st 2020

In the last few months, the COVID19 pandemic has revealed deep-seated racial,  gender and economic inequities. The social impacts are being felt most deeply by people of color, women and girls who are already historically disadvantaged. At the same time, every day extraordinary people across the globe are courageously working towards equity, justice, and a better future.

Now is an important time to listen and learn from each other. We want to highlight the powerful work that you are doing to create a more just and equal world. Whether you are a teenager in Texas organizing dialogues between local police and students; a team of educators in Guatemala delivering learning materials to girls in rural areas; a group of young women in Nairobi distributing health and menstrual hygiene supplies; or an organization in Thailand teaching film-making to young people —   we want to hear your stories and amplify your voice.

Benefits

All stories will be part of our online collection. 15 stories will receive a financial award of $500 USD & will be showcased at the Girl Rising International Day of the Girl celebration in October 2020. Select stories will be featured on Girl Rising’s Social Media channels.

How to Enter:

Girl Rising is looking for diverse stories of how individuals, groups and organizations are working to support racial justice, gender justice, access to education or simply helping their communities in this challenging time. Tell us one of the following:

1. A story about yourself – Share a story that demonstrates what you have been doing to advance gender equity and/or racial justice, or to meet a need in your community.
2. A story from your community – Share a story that demonstrates what a person/people have been doing to advance gender equity and/or racial justice, or to meet a need in the community.
3. A story about a group or organization – Share a story about how a group or organization that you know is taking action to advance gender equity and/or racial justice or to meet a need in the community.

The deadline for entries in My Story: The 2020 Girl Rising Storytelling Challenge is September 1st, 2020. Once you’ve read the full challenge Terms and Conditions, there is a simple process to submit your story. If you are under 18, have your parent or legal guardian sign this consent form and send it to [email protected].  

Anyone over the age of 14 can submit a story  in a variety of formats.  

Formats accepted:

• Video/Audio (2 minutes maximum)
• Writing (Essay, poem, song, etc.) (500 words maximum)
• Photos (Up to 3 photos)
• Artwork (Up to 3 digital images)

Language:

We accept stories from anywhere in the world and in all languages. Instruction translations can be found in Spanish, Urdu, Bahasa, Vietnamese and Thai. If you submit a story in a local language, we encourage you, when possible, to include a translation or English subtitles.  For essays, this translation will not count towards the word limit. 

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the My Story–Girl Rising Storytelling Challenge 2020