Category: Awards

BE OPEN Designing Futures 2050 for Creatives (Win Up to €5,000 Prize)

DESIGNING FUTURES 2050 is an international design competition, developed and held by BE OPEN and our partners. It is open to students and recent graduates/young professionals internationally.

The competition hopes to reach a number of goals:

• To raise awareness about the Sustainable Development Goals and the necessity of urgent action among the young and upcoming professionals
• To involve younger creatives into adjusting and updating the SDG agenda in the light of the realities of today, and encourage them to take a larger part in the actualization and implementation of the realistic sustainable actions plan
• To encourage and reward creation of innovative solutions by younger creatives, for a more prosperous and sustainable future
• To contribute to the implementation of the SDGs through identifying, showcasing and promoting creative ideas that support global shift to a sustainable and efficient future.

Design-thinking has a crucial role to play as an instrument or vehicle for the implementation of a more sustainable future.

BE OPEN and all of the stakeholders involved in this international competition program strongly believe that creativity is integral in the shift to sustainable existence.

Categories of the BE OPEN Designing Futures 2050

DESIGNING FUTURES 2050 has three categories for the submissions to relate to, to help contestants choose their approach to the challenge:

• Battling the Problems of Today
• Creating the Visions of Tomorrow
• Adjusting the Sustainable Development Goals

Thus, the major question that the competition poses against students and graduates all over the world is: “What changes, adjustments, and introductions can be done to help achieve the well-being of all mankind formulated by the sustainable development goals by 2050?”

Summary of the BE OPEN Designing Futures 2050

• Type: Contest, Award
• Sponsor: BE OPEN Designing Futures
• Eligible Countries: All
• Benefits: Win Up to €5,000 Prize
• Deadline January 31, 2025

Requirements for the BE OPEN Designing Futures 2050

BE OPEN strives to make the competition programme more beneficial for students and graduates:

• The participants can expand their knowledge in sustainability matters and futures studies
• The participants can compete for money prizes ranging from €2,000 to €5,000
• The participants can get international publicity as talented creatives and innovators
• The winners will go on a trip to a major international UNSDG-related event and pitch their ideas to international audiences

Benefits of the BE OPEN Designing Futures 2050

BE OPEN will reward the best work with the following monetary prizes as well as with honorary mentions.

• First prize — €5,000
• Second prize — €3,000
• Third prize — €2,000
• BE OPEN Founder’s Choice prize — €3,000
• Public Vote prize — €2,000

Timelines:

• Open for submissions: September 15, 2024
• Deadline for submissions: January 31st, 2025
• Announcement of winners: March to April 2025
• Celebration of winners: TBC

Deadline: 31st January, 2025

Apply Here – BE OPEN Designing Futures 2050

 

More opportunities on Dixcoverhub:

• EMINENT Scholarship 2025/27 by Erasmus Mundus (Fully Funded)
• University of Paris-Saclay Sophie Germain Scholarship in France 2025 | Fully Funded

2025 Community Report Award by Ikeja Record (Win Up to #500,000)

The Ikeja Record, a community-focused publication, is proud to announce the launch of the Ikeja Record Community Report Award, a new initiative aimed at spotlighting untold stories from Lagos communities.

“We believe that powerful storytelling can inspire action and foster understanding,” Ikeja Record editor, Solomon Elusoji, said. “Through this award, we aim to support journalists dedicated to uncovering the opportunities and challenges within Lagos communities.”

2025 Community Report Award by Ikeja Record Summary 

• Type: Award/Contest
• Sponsor: Ikeja Record
• Eligible Country: Nigeria
• Benefits: N500,000
• Deadline: December 10, 2024

Eligibility Requirements 

• The award is open to freelance journalists and those affiliated with media organizations who are passionate about telling stories that drive meaningful community engagement.

Benefits 

• This prestigious award provides mid-career journalists with an opportunity to receive  N500,000 to research, develop, and publish impactful stories that bring underrepresented narratives to light.

Selection Process/Criterias for the 2025 Community Report Award by Ikeja Record

The judging panel includes two distinguished Nigerian journalists:

• Festus Iyorah, a widely-published journalist, media consultant and filmmaker. Mr. Iyorah’s work has appeared in publications around the world, including Al Jazeera, The Guardian (UK), and Stanford Social Innovation Review.
• Njideka Agbo, a media consultant, trainer and former editor of Guardian Life Magazine. She has more than a decade of experience telling stories and crafting engaging narratives. Her work has also appeared in Pan African Review.

Entries will be evaluated on originality, relevance, feasibility, and the potential to amplify the voices of Lagos communities.

The award reflects Ikeja Record’s commitment to development-driven journalism and its mission to tell stories that matter.

Method of Application for the 2025 Community Report Award by Ikeja Record

Deadline: December 10, 2024

Apply Here – 2025 Community Report Award by Ikeja Record

 

 

Cisco/Global Citizen Prize Youth Leadership Award 2025

The Global Citizen Prize: Cisco Youth Leadership Award was established by Cisco and Global Citizen to recognize and lift up a young person positively impacting the world, demonstrate the impact that young people are having on achieving the United Nation’s Global Goals, and accelerate global problem solving.

Summary of the Cisco/Global Citizen Prize Youth Leadership Award 2025

• Type: Contest, Awards
• Sponsor: Cisco
• Eligible Countries: All Countries
• Benefits: $250,000 prize, Awards
• Deadline: December 18, 2024

Requirements for the Cisco/Global Citizen Prize Youth Leadership Award 2025

We are looking for a young person who is making extraordinary progress towards one or more of the Global Goals.

applicants must meet the following requirements:

• Age: Between 18 and 30 at the time of application.
• Organization: Actively involved with an organization or initiative using technology to address poverty and social inequality issues.
• Purpose: Proven commitment to positively impacting economic development, health, education, or other efforts aligned with the UN Global Goals.

Benefits

• The Global Citizen Prize: Cisco Youth Leadership Award honors an individual aged 18-30 who has contributed meaningfully to global problem solving.
• The award includes a US$250,000 prize paid to the organization to which the individual contributes.

Selection Process for the Cisco/Global Citizen Prize Youth Leadership Award 2025

• Candidates will be judged against criteria by a group of Global Citizen, Cisco, and independent experts.
• Up to five (5) finalists will be selected on or around February 2nd, 2025 and will be required to submit three (3) letters of recommendation.
• If applying for the Prize, you should have your letters of recommendation ready for submission.
• Additional supplemental information might also be requested of finalists.
• If selected as one of the 5 finalists, you will be judged by a panel of representatives from Global Citizen, Cisco, and esteemed activists and leaders in the international development field.

Required Documents for the Cisco/Global Citizen Prize Youth Leadership Award 2025

If you are selected as one of the 5 finalists you will be contacted on or around February 3rd, 2025 to submit 3 letters of recommendation:

3 Letters of endorsement / recommendation

• A Colleague
• A Funder or Operational Partner
• Person you’ve impacted

Once you apply for the Prize, you should have your letters of recommendation ready for submission. Supplemental information might also be requested of finalists.

Finalists who are contacted and cannot provide letters of recommendation and supplemental information by the deadline may be removed from further consideration.

If selected as a finalist, you will be provided with instructions on how to submit your letters of recommendation and supplemental information.

Application Guidelines for Cisco/Global Citizen Prize Youth Leadership Award 2025

The application consists of four parts:

• About You: Personal and Organization Information,
• Pitch
• Description of how your work aligns with the Judging Criteria
• Supplemental Organizational Details.

For the first part, you will be required to submit basic information about you and your organization and a scanned copy of your passport.

For the second part, you must explain why you deserve this award and provide us with a 1-2 minute video of your pitch.

For the third part, you will be required to answer 5 short answer questions about your work and you will describe in 250 words or less, how you have achieved each one of the Prize’s criteria.

And for the fourth part, you will submit proof of your organization’s registration details including the certificate of registration, incorporation or tax exemption and other supplemental information.

Deadline: 18th December, 2024

Apply Here for Cisco/Global Citizen Prize Youth Leadership Award 2025

 

About the New Media Writing Prize 2024 For Media Writers

The NMWP encourages and promotes the best in new-media writing and is leading the way toward the future of the ‘written’ word and interactive storytelling.

The Competition is organised by the New Media Writing Prize CIC, with facilitation and sponsorship from the Bournemouth University Higher Education Corporation (“BU”) Faculty of Media and Communication, the University of Birmingham, One-toOne Development, Wonderbox Digital, and FIPP Media, with a generous donation from if:book UK/Chris Meade.

Summary of the New Media Writing Prize 2024

• Type: Contest, Awards
• Sponsor: New Media Writing Prize
• Eligible Countries: All Countries
• Benefits: Money prizes, Membership
• Deadline: February 1, 2025

Requirements

• Whether you’re a student, a professional, an artist, a writer, a developer, a designer or an enthusiast, the competition is open to all. It’s also an international competition, open to all outside the UK. Entries do need to be in English.
• New Media Writing Prize is looking for good storytelling (fiction or non-fiction) written specifically for delivery and reading/viewing on a PC or Mac, the web, or a hand-held device such as an iPad or mobile phone.
• It could be a short story, novel, poem, narrative game, documentary, or transmedia work using words, images, film or animation with audience interaction.
• Interactivity is a key element of new-media storytelling.
• New Media Writing Prize is looking for creativity, so try to be imaginative to create an engaging story i.e. combining any number of media elements, such as words on a screen combined with images and video clips.
• New media writing can be created using a variety of tools i.e. a word processor, DV camera, social networking tools (i.e. Twitter), mobile phone/s, a scanner, Augmented Reality software – anything goes!
• Criteria for all the categories:

Innovative use of new (digital) media/transmedia to create an engaging, satisfying fictional or non-fictional narrative, poem, or other story form.

Required Documents

Each entry should contain the following information within the text of the online form:

• title of the work.
• Entrant’s contact details: name, email address, telephone number, city, and country. For joint entries, all entrants’ contact details must be provided with identification of the main entrant for contact purposes.
• Access details, e.g. URL. If an app, we will need 6 free access codes for the judges. If sharing from cloud storage (e.g. Google Drive), you must ensure sharing permissions are set to “public” or “anyone with a link” or equivalent; we will not follow-up for access permissions.
• If we cannot access the work, we will not judge it.
• Entrant’s short biography (50-100 words). For joint entries, all entrants must provide their biographies.
• Student entrants must provide a proof of identity which should be copied into the entry form, in the short biography section, e.g. a scan copy of entrant’s Student Union ID card or university enrolment number, which will be authenticated at the organiser’s discretion.
• No attachments will be accepted.

Benefits

• The Chris Meade Memorial UK New Media Writing Prize: £1000 donated by if:book UK/Chris Meade, where the winner may also be a student, i.e., satisfies point d. of clause 7.
• The Student Award: One year’s membership to Writers Online
• The Opening Up Award: £500
• The Digital Journalism Award: £500 and a year’s FIPP membership

Deadline: February 1, 2025

Apply Here

 

Also Apply:

• FCMB Fempreneur Accelerator Program 2024
• MainOne Internship Program 2024 for Nigerian Graduates
• Freelance Writers at NaijaEyes Digital Media