Changing Behaviors in a Changing World: A Student Art & Writing Contest

[NO LONGER ACCEPTING ENTRIES]

School is back in session! As you start a new academic year, things might look a bit different than they did six months ago. Virtual classrooms, unfamiliar methods of teaching, and a new perspective on the future are shifting the way we live, learn, and work. During such a unique time, it is worth reflecting on how these events have impacted our personal lives, our communities, and our planet.

Similar to responses to COVID-19, behavior change is a central component to solving many of the environmental problems of our lifetime. We can harness these unique lessons and experiences related to human behavior to help steer our approach to other issues of collective action. In other words, how has this year shaped your perspective on behavior change for the environment?

We want to hear from you! Whether it be an essay, poem, painting, or video, we welcome you to submit a form of art or writing as a reflection of your experience with behavior change since the onset of the pandemic.

Choose one of our three submission prompts below and submit your work by November 25 @ 11:59 PM EST (no longer accepting entries). Winners will receive an exclusive virtual mentorship lunch with the BE.Center and a feature on our web platform. Students of all nationalities are encouraged to take part in the contest.

Need inspiration? Explore this platform for behavioral insights, case studies, research, and more.

Contest Details

Prompts:
(Select one of the following three prompts to respond to)

1. What have you learned in the past six months about human behavior? And how have these lessons influenced your understanding of behavior change for the environment?
2. Reflect on a behavior change experience you had or observed from the last six months related to the environment. Whose behavior was changing? What is the context for the behavior? What enabling factors or barriers were in place to aid or obstruct the change in behavior? What was the result?
3. What “bright spots” or potential opportunities have been revealed by COVID-19 that could help both people and nature thrive in the years to come?

Who is eligible:
Any student currently enrolled in high school, college, university, or a graduate program. Students of all nationalities are encouraged to submit their work.

What we’re looking for:
Submissions should include a key message or reflection and demonstrate a clear insight about human behavior. Any visual media should include a caption or a short description. Submissions can be in any language.

Prizes:
The top three submissions will receive –

• An exclusive mentorship lunch with BE.Center staff
• A feature on our interactive web platform behavior.rare.org 

The winners will be announced on December 1, 2020.

Reminders:

• Participants retain the rights to their submissions
• Submissions should be participants’ original work
• Participants grant us an allowance to share their work on our platform; however, we will not publish work without further approval
• Submissions must be in  PDF,  Word Doc., JPEG, PNG, MP3, or MP4 format (If you require a different method of submission, please reach out to us at our email below.)

For questions and comments, please reach out to us at behavior@rare.org