Planet Forward, a project of the George Washington University’s School of Media and Public Affairs, announced six winners for its annual student storytelling contest, Storyfest.
The winners included three students from GW Deepti Bansal-Gage, a doctor of law candidate; Sarah Sem, a senior political communication major; and Cate Twining-Ward, a sophomore geography and environmental studies major.
The Planet Forward Storyfest competition highlights and celebrates the best in student-generated environmental stories. Students submitted up to three stories in any medium-based category of their choice. Categories included article, multimedia, podcast, photo essay, short or shareable video and video. In addition, one student with the entry tallying the most upvotes on PlanetForward.org could win the sixth and final category, the fan favorite.
In announcing the grand-prize winners, Frank Sesno, director of SMPA and chief executive at Planet Forward, said that using the power of storytelling “to convey hope and to inspire” is more important than ever.
“In these unprecedented times,” Mr. Sesno said, “our Storyfest grand-prize winners rose to the occasion. This competition has only further elevated their voices as powerful communicators for the planet.”
Winners in the sixth annual Storyfest were selected by a panel of judges not affiliated with Planet Forward. Judges included current and former journalists and expert communicators from organizations like The Nature Conservancy, Island Press, Climate Nexus and Earth Day Network. The 2020 Storyfest competition was made possible by the continued support of Lindblad Expeditions, which has taken winners on storytelling expeditions to some of the world’s most remote places.
“We are committed to using the Lindblad Expeditions fleet as a platform for exploration, storytelling, and inspiring curiosity and wonder among people of all ages,” said Sven Lindblad, CEO of Lindblad Expeditions. “We are especially keen to bring college-aged students aboard, as they are poised to become the future leaders, decision-makers and advocates for the planet. If we can inspire them through a firsthand field experience and help shape the lens through which they see the world, we will have played an important role for future generations.”
The 2020 Storyfest grand prize winners are:
Best-Written Article: Greta Hardy-Mittell, Carleton College. “A Society for the Birds”
Best Multimedia / Podcast: Avery Van Etten, Northwestern University. “Sea-level rise threatens the Florida Keys” (3-part series)
Best Photo Essay: Cate Twining-Ward, George Washington University. “Clinging onto chimps: Why you should think of chimpanzees during the climate crisis”
Best Short or Shareable Video: Jake Meyers, University of Arizona. “Can urban farming feed the future?”
Best Video: Sarah Sem, George Washington University. “What’s the beef with meatless burgers?”
Fan Favorite Award: Deepti Bansal Gage, George Washington University. “Wait! Before you squish that bug…”
Grand prize-winning stories can be found at PlanetForward.org.