National Geographic Society Slingshot Challenge

In the Slingshot Challenge, students research, create, and share one-minute videos focused on solving important environmental challenges in their communities. Students can use the Slingshot Challenge Participant Toolkit to support their work and join live support sessions with National Geographic Explorers. Student submissions will be considered for funding and may be shared with global audiences at events and on social media.

The Slingshot Challenge is an innovative youth challenge from the National Geographic Society and the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation.

Focus Areas

• National Geographic Explorers are exceptional individuals in their fields who receive funding and support from the Society to illuminate and protect the world through their work in science, exploration, education, and storytelling. Your students are the next generation of problem-solvers, risktakers, and decision-makers. They will shape the future of the planet. In their Slingshot Challenge videos, your students will propose their ideas to address at least one of the following five topic areas:
  • Clean the air
  • Restore the ocean
  • Protect nature
  • Reduce waste
  • Address climate change

Why use slingshot challenge with your students?

• Competing curriculum priorities and limits on time and resources are challenging. That’s why the Slingshot Challenge is flexible. Students can engage online or in person, in teams or individually, across a variety of traditional school disciplines or as part of a club or after-school activity. Students can participate using basic equipment, such as a single smartphone and free video editing app. It can be curriculum-aligned and delivered as a unit of work or as a stand-alone activity. This Educator Toolkit provides some background on the challenge and contains suggestions for using the challenge in your classroom. It’s designed to be used your way.

Award Information

• Slingshot Challenge Award Recipients may receive up to $10,000 in funding. Teams will split the award funding.
• Award recipients will receive an invitation (either virtually or in-person) to the iconic Explorers Festival in June 2024
• All submitters will receive a digital award and be invited to a virtual celebration

Requirements

• A Slingshot Challenge video addresses one or more of the topic areas and meets the following requirements:
  • Student teams and projects:
    • Students can work alone or in a team of up to six members.
    • Everyone in each team must be 13-18 years old at the time of submission, must be registered at Videos for Change, and must have parent or legal guardian consent at Videos for Change.
    • The project needs to focus on an environmental issue in your community related to the Slingshot Challenge topic areas.
  • Requirements for submitted videos:
    • Each video must be no longer than one minute, must be in either English or Spanish, and files must be no larger than 200MB.
    • Students can film on any equipment, including their phones, and videos can be filmed in either horizontal (landscape) or vertical (portrait) format. All content must be original or copyright-free.

Slingshot Challenge Criteria

• These criteria will be used to select submissions for awards. Share these guiding questions with your students as they create their videos.
  • Issue Communicated Effectively
    • Does the video and solution address an environmental issue related to one of the five topic areas?
    • Does the video make a compelling, evidence-based case for why the issue matters?
  • Emotional Impact
    • Does the video build empathy, giving the audience a reason to care and take action?
    • Does the participant(s) demonstrate a sincere personal connection to the topic?
  • Unique/Creative
    • Does the solution present a creative and/or original approach to address the issue?
  • Effective Use of Video-Making Techniques
    • Does the video meet the technical entry requirements: one minute, created from original or copyright-free material?
    • Can the video and audio be clearly understood by the audience?
    • Does the video use unique storytelling techniques (i.e., styles, shot types) that provide a compelling message?
  • Clear, Achievable Call to Action
    • Is the solution clear, achievable, and realistic?
    • Would the solution result in a relevant and measurable impact?
  • Explorer Connection
    • Does the video reference inspiration or ideas from a National Geographic Explorer?
  • Community Connection
    • Does the solution clearly address a specific issue in the community and involve community members as collaborators?

For more information, visit National Geographic Society.