UNDP launches storytelling contest to amplify climate coverage in developing countries

The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) on Thursday launched a global storytelling contest to help raise public awareness on the negative impacts of climate change as well as on the opportunities and solutions seen in actions by individuals and governments alike across developing countries.

The contest, named "voices to Paris", will target journalists 35 years of age and under from developing countries who are already engaged in public writing and want to contribute towards greater public awareness on climate change.

"We want to provide young journalists in developing countries a unique opportunity to contribute to the global debate on climate change," noted Neil Buhne, UNDP Geneva Director.

According to UNDP, the best stories will be published every day on UNDP's website and the authors of the top two prize-winning stories will be invited to attend and cover the 21th Conference of Parties (COP21) , also known as the 2015 Paris Climate Conference, in Paris this December.

Stories can be submitted by young journalists from developing countries in English, and in Arabic, Chinese, French and Spanish with an English translation, on a rolling basis until Oct. 11 of this year.

UNDP said that a team of senior journalists reporting on climate change from top-tier international media outlets, regional media associations, and representatives from major international organizations, will review the entries and mentor the participants. Endit