Competition Structure

The Young Reporters for the Environment International Competition is for winners of the YRE National Competition in countries running the YRE programme. Students who are participating in the YRE programme in each country and students from International Schools* in countries where Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) has no member have a right to participate in the competition. Students must compete and be selected as the 1st place national winner before being submitted to the to the International Competition by National Operators. 

*Specific information about how International Schools submit entries to the competition is found in the Handbook on Podio: https://podio.com/feeinternationalorg/international-schools-yre/apps/files-library/items/30 

There are three ways to participate in the YRE International Competition.

1. General YRE International Competition

The International Competition is open to all countries that are part of the YRE network, and all environmental themes as described above (check if your country is eligible here). Countries participating in the Litter Less Campaign should follow the rules below.

2. Litter Less Campaign Competition

The Litter Less Campaign (LLC) category is only open to the countries participating in the LLC (Australia, New Zealand, China, India, Wales, Spain, Northern Ireland, Malta, France, Brazil and Ireland). Any submissions related to the topics of litter, waste or pollution from the LLC countries must be submitted to the Litter Less Campaign category. Submissions from LLC countries that are NOT related to litter, waste or pollution may be entered into the general International Competition. 

*Please note that the submissions to the Litter Less Campaign category will be evaluated separately, and the winners will receive recognition with a certificate and a small incentive. 

3. International Collaboration

The International Collaboration category is open to all countries with three recommended themes: environmental pollution, biodiversity loss and climate change, and must be linked to chosen SDG(s). The submission must fulfil the criteria for its category “Article”, ”Photo Reportage of 3-5 photos”, or ”Video” and show significant collaborative work between two or more countries. It is open to the age categories 11-14, 15-18, and 19-25 years.

SUBMISSION CATEGORIES

The YRE International Competition accepts submissions from three different media categories; articles, photographs, and videos.

Number of Competition Submissions 

National Operators are allowed to submit the following number of entries to the International Competition: 

• Article – max 3 entries (1 for each age group: 11-14 years, 15-18 years, 19-25 years).  

• Single Reportage Photo – 1 entry, regardless of the age.  

• Single Environmental Campaign Photo – 1 entry, regardless of the age.  

• Photo Story of 3-5 Photos – 1 entry, regardless of the age. 

• Video – 3 entries (1 for each age group: 11-14 years, 15-18 years, 19-25 years), regardless of the type of video. 

• International Collaboration – all entries are welcome – simply make sure that only one country uploads the submission. 

YRE COMPETITION AND THE SDGS

YRE is working closely with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to promote them and present case stories of initiatives that are developed by local communities and emphasize a holistic approach to achieving sustainable development for all. Therefore, we encourage participants to reflect on the link between their entry and one or more SDGs when choosing a topic to report on. Remember that an environmental lens is always required, which is also the case when a social or economic SDG is chosen as a topic of investigation.

Following alarming news about the need to take urgent action to save humans and the Earth, YRE suggests three priority topics for this year:

• Climate change

• Loss of biodiversity

• Environmental Pollution

that has to be linked to chosen SDG(s).

These 3 themes represent the pillars of the new FEE strategy for the ten next year, called GAIA20:30. However, the highlight of this year’s competition is environmental pollution. During this year we will be sharing additional educational resources, opportunities to participate in mini-campaigns, webinars and courses on FEE Academy related to the theme of environmental pollution.