By Admin. Updated 12:00 p.m., Wednesday, August 7, 2024, Atlantic Standard Time (GMT-4).
WIN $500! REGISTER BY FRIDAY, AUGUST 9, 2024:
Hurricane Beryl adversely affected our ability to start the One News Youth Summer Challenge in July. Due to sustained interest by some applicants, however, we will host the program in August beginning on Monday, August 12 to Friday, August 15 (Online). After the first week, we will host the final week face-to-face from Monday, August 18 to Friday, August 22, 2024.
Participants will get to present a news report on a topic they will have investigated during the programme.
Details
The application period is now open to individuals ages 15-19 who wish to take part in the inaugural One News SVG Investigative Journalism Summer Challenge.
One News SVG is hosting the challenge through its Young Reporters Academy which began in June 2020.
The focus of the challenge is on environmental stories, but other entries are welcome. The challenge is slated to take place from August 12 to August 22, 2024.
If you are under 18, please put a contact number on the form for your parent or guardian.
Apply here. There is no registration fee. The programme is free of charge.
The reason for the Challenge:
Founder and Head of One News SVG – Mr. Demion McTair said: “Environment was chosen as the theme because there are many environmental issues to be highlighted in St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG), and we must ensure that people understand the environmental impacts of our actions and the appropriate responses needed to respond to such impacts. One News SVG is of the view that since SVG has a large youthful population, it will be suitable to have young people telling these stories through their lens to help raise awareness among other youth”.
Mr. McTair said: “Additionally, several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) address the protection of the environment. This journalism challenge is an opportunity for our youth to raise awareness on some key environmental issues in line with SDGs”.
“For instance, SDG Goals 14 and 15 challenge nations to try to better protect marine life and life on land by 2030. SDG 6 challenges nations to work towards achieving clean water and sanitation, and SDG 3 challenges nations to work towards achieving health and wellbeing for all,” McTair said.
“Having participants conduct research on environmental issues such as littering, coastal erosion, water pollution, marine biodiversity threats, and the like, will ensure they tell these stories in meaningful and impactful ways to help inspire change within their communities and the country as a whole, in line with several UN Sustainable Development Goals,” McTair added.
Mr. McTair said that participants who wish to do research on topics other than environmental ones can do so within the same time constraints.
From training to final production:
Participants will be trained (at a venue to be announced) in basic journalism, storyboarding, scripting, interviewing techniques, and presentation skills. They will also be exposed to mobile editing software and techniques.
They will then be given broad topics from which they will each choose one topic and narrow it to suit their interests.
One News SVG will provide trained journalists as facilitators. We will also provide mentors, equipment, and personnel to help each participant produce his/her story.
The winner of the challenge will be the individual with the best investigative piece, and that person will win $500 and other prizes.
The broad topics are Sargassum Seaweed, Plastic Bottles, Vetiver Grass, Coastal Defense, Hydroponics and Aquaponics, Desertification, Noise pollution, Water Quality, Soil Erosion, Drought, Pufferfish, Deforestation, Natural disasters, Water Pollution, Marine life, Agriculture, Plant Diseases, and Sexually Transmitted Infections.
Through the face-to-face training in storyboarding, participants will create a plan where, among other things, they will state who they will interview to get information for their chosen topic and why.
Final pieces should be no longer than five minutes in duration. The final submissions will be judged by industry professionals who will select a winner.
All of the stories produced will be featured on One News SVG’s Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp platforms.
Signing up
The registration deadline is Friday, August 9, 2024.
There is no registration fee.
Persons who join One News SVG’s Young Reporters Academy before signing up for the challenge will pay only $50 for registration.
Interested students/potential participants can register for the challenge by filling out the form below.
Interested persons who might not be able to afford the registration fee are asked to still apply.
Interested individuals and persons in the Corporate sector who wish to partner with us on this initiative can contact us at 1 784 455-1800 or via email at Onenewsstvincent@gmail.com.
One News SVG 
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