The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification calls applicants to be Land Heroes 2020.

This year, Desertification and Drought Day focuses on changing public attitudes to the leading driver of desertification and land degradation: humanity’s relentless production and consumption. This year’s slogan is “Food. Feed. Fibre.”

Prizes 

A USD500 cash price will be awarded to one of participating UNCCD Land Heroes for an outstanding project with significant outreach capacity; to invest in the impactful and scalable action to be implemented by the end of 2021.

The winner will be selected by the UNCCD secretariat, and the project widely promoted on social media and shared with UNCCD Land Ambassadors for them to support through their channels. Furthermore, the winning project will also be showcased at UNCCD major events, such as Desertification and Drought Day global observance event.

Who can participate?

The campaign “Become #UNCCDLandHeroes” appeals to the youth (15-30 years old) worldwide. Basically, it is a social media campaign “by the youth for the youth” that will trend under #UNCCDLandHeroes and #FoodFeedFibre. By entering the contest, the candidates will automatically be considered a UNCCD Land Hero. Due to the current COVID-19 situation, large gatherings are no longer permitted on the streets and in public spaces. But there is still a possibility, the will and power to create a large virtual crowd standing for land.

Entries 

Basically, participants can submit a short text with a photo or video where they propose a specific solution; to limit the footprint that the production and consumption of food, feed, and fiber left on the land.

If candidates submit a video

• Horizontal
• Formats : 16:9 / 720p / 1080p / 1440p

If candidates submit a photo

• Horizontal or vertical
• Ideally 300 dpi

Eligibilities 

• Participation for United Nations Land Heros Progam is free.
• Participants have to be between 15 and 30 years old on the day of their participation. Proof of age could be asked to the finalists in May. Moreover, only entries with #UNCCDLandHeroes AND #FoodFeedFibre will be considered.
  Current and former staff, consultants, and interns of the United Nations, as well as first degree relatives of the aforementioned individuals, can participate but are not eligible to receive the monetary prize.
• The participants grant the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), its partners and other UN agencies as well as other persons or entities authorized by the UNCCD, the right to publish the photos, videos, and texts, and to promote the projects and initiatives shared through this context, mentioning the name of the participant.
• The UNCCD reserves the right to modify the videos and photos to include the corporative elements of the UNCCD, such as, but not limited to, the UNCCD Logo.
• Also, competition submissions must not include any endorsements of products or services, or any obscene, violent, racist, religious intolerance or defamatory content. Entries that do not comply with the formal specifications will be automatically disqualified.
• Furthermore, submissions may also not be accepted into the contest if the image in the entry features an identifiable individual who has not given their consent to appear or if the image, advertising or trademarks which would otherwise require the UNCCD to obtain permission to use.