Speak Up
Tell world leaders what you think needs to happen to save the environment.
Prizes
- Grand prize:
- $2,500
- Second place:
- $1,000
- Third place:
- $500
- 350.org, NRDC, or Environmental Defense Fund350.org, NRDC, or Environmental Defense Fund350.org, NRDC, or Environmental Defense Fund350.org, NRDC, or Environmental Defense Fund350.org, NRDC, or Environmental Defense Fund
Matching total prize donations to benefit 350.org, NRDC, or Environmental Defense Fund.
Status
CompletedTimeline
Submissions opened
Feb 17, 2020
Submissions closed
Mar 13, 2020 3:59 AM CUT
Results
Mar 20, 2020
Prizes
- Grand prize:
- $2,500
- Second place:
- $1,000
- Third place:
- $500
- 350.org, NRDC, or Environmental Defense Fund350.org, NRDC, or Environmental Defense Fund350.org, NRDC, or Environmental Defense Fund350.org, NRDC, or Environmental Defense Fund350.org, NRDC, or Environmental Defense Fund
Matching total prize donations to benefit 350.org, NRDC, or Environmental Defense Fund.
Status
CompletedTimeline
Submissions opened
Feb 17, 2020
Submissions closed
Mar 13, 2020 3:59 AM CUT
Results
Mar 20, 2020
About this challenge
Australia is burning, Antarctica is 70 degrees Fahrenheit, and politicians are mocking the young activists speaking out. It’s time for something to change.
Enter the Speak Up challenge to tell world leaders what you stand for and what you think needs to happen to save the environment.
How to enter
- Get inspired to make a change and start creating your story—here’s how: https://vocal.media/resources/step-4-create-your-first-story.
- When submitting your story for review, select “Submit to a Challenge” and select “Speak Up.”
- When your story has been approved, it will appear under Submissions on this page.
- BONUS: Share your published story on Instagram and tag us (@vocal_creators) so we don’t miss it! Encourage your friends and fans to read it and give it a like on Vocal—it could give your story a leg up in judging.
About this Challenge
We want to hear what you have to say. We’re asking creators to write an open letter to a political figure or world leader about the environment—ask them to take a stand for the planet, share the steps you think we should all be taking to be more eco-friendly, or even write to a leader you admire telling them something you feel that they’re doing right for the climate.
Enter the Speak Up Challenge for a chance to win prizes of $500, $1,000, or $2,500. Plus, we’ll match all three prize amounts and donate to each winner's choice of 350.org, NRDC, or Environmental Defense Fund.
How to enter
For your story to be eligible, it must be between 600 and 5,000 words, and adhere to our Community Guidelines. Stories published on Vocal and entered into the contest up until March 12, 11:59 PM EST will be entered for consideration.
To be eligible to win the grand prize, second place, or third place prizes, you must be over the age of 13 and residing in a country where Stripe is available at time of entry. A complete list of countries where Stripe is available can be found here—winners will need to have a Stripe account created and connected in order to receive the prizes. For this reason, entrants located outside of any of these 35 countries will not be eligible to win.
You can find the Official Rules for this Challenge here.
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Challenge resources
Just a Minute Challenge Winners
Thanks again to Vocal Creator, Breezy, for suggesting the Just a Minute Challenge — one which you all interpreted in a wonderful variety of ways. Sometimes a minute can feel like an eternity, sometimes it can pass in the blink of an eye… to describe the passing of sixty seconds is no simple matter.
Vocal Curation TeamPublished 11 days ago in ResourcesIn Eclipse Challenge Winners
Creator Dane BH is one of our Vocal stalwarts. We’re so grateful to all of your in our Vocal community, and so thrilled by your achievements. This is the third time Dane has won one of our challenges, and she appears too on our Vocal podcast, Write Here, Write Now — take a listen if you haven’t already. But she’s not our winner because we know her: the subtlety and simplicity of we watched the world go dark. together. is what made it our winner of the In Eclipse challenge, with the grace and ease of its lines and observation. As it happens it also expresses the community spirit that means so much to us.
Vocal Curation TeamPublished 16 days ago in ResourcesWhispering Woods Challenge Winners
Congratulations to Morgan Christy Rickards for their winning Whispering Woods story, Guardian at the Gate. Morgan has been a Vocal creator since February 2021, and this is their first time placing in Challenge — well done, starting with a win! Guardian at the Gate draws evocatively from Welsh tales of the Cantre'r Gwaelod, a lost sunken kingdom between the forest and the sea. Heledd’s dangerous adventure pulls her towards the water but her spirit is anchored in the woods: Morgan’s writing is atmospheric and exciting.
Vocal Curation TeamPublished about a month ago in Resources