Deadline: March 11th 2022
Entries must be submitted by email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. The submission email should have at least two attachments: 1) the blogpost and supporting information, using the template; and 2) the main picture. Please put “WFCKorea blog competition” in the subject line. All eligible blogposts will be published on the World Forest Voices blog.
Find the template here on the second page.
THE COMPETITION
The XV World Forestry Congress (“WFC”; “the Congress”) will be held from 2 to 6 May 2022 in Seoul, Republic of Korea. The Congress will bring together the global forestry community to review and analyse key challenges facing the sector and ways to address these. The WFC Secretariat is organizing a blog competition (the “Competition”) as part of the outreach and engagement activities taking place in the lead-up to the Congress.
The Competition aims to give participants the opportunity to blog about their forest-related activities that are relevant to at least one of the six Congress sub-themes. The Competition is open to all with an interest in boosting awareness, engagement, and investments in forestry, such as: students, to describe their project and field experience; researchers, to illustrate their findings; farmers, to submit stories on how they translated research to practice; policymakers and advocacy groups, to showcase projects they implement.
Entrants to the Competition are asked to submit a blogpost following these specifications:
Each individual can submit up to three blogposts in the Competition.
If the blogpost is authored as a team by more than one person, all participants must be credited.
Blogposts should be original work which was not previously published on another site.
Blogpost should be between 500 and 800 words.
It can be written in English, French or Spanish.
It must be related to the WFC theme and sub-themes.
Your post should address one or more of the following questions: o From your experience in environment and sustainable development, what do you think should be done to build a green, healthy, resilient future with forest? What challenges should be addressed with priority? What are some of the solutions and approaches that work? What actions should be taken that can lead to positive and transformative change?
The blogpost will be scanned for obvious grammar and syntax errors, and the layout edited for better reading. It will not be edited for content.
Once published, no corrections or amendments may be made to the blogpost.
The blogpost needs to be submitted in a MS Word document or compatible text editor, using the template provided.
The main blogpost file submitted should be text only and should not contain any tables, figures, pictures or images within the text.
One main picture should be attached to the blogpost submission, as a separate file. This picture will be displayed at the top of the blogpost. The main picture should be of good quality, and at least 1280 px wide. Up to two additional pictures to be embedded within the blogpost can also be submitted.
At the bottom of the blogpost document, the following information should be included:
o The caption for the picture(s).
o The credits for the picture(s). Please do not use pictures with a copyright, unless you have permission to use the picture from the copyright holder.
o The Congress sub-theme you select for your post.
o Your name, email address, city and country (and if applicable, the name of your company/institute/organization and your function).
If a main picture is not included, a generic picture from a photo library will be selected by the WFC Secretariat and used.
It is advised to embed links in the blogpost, to illustrate “further reading” or reference material.
It is also advised to structure and present your blog with headings and sub-headings, to facilitate reading.
RULES
The Competition is only open to individuals (“Entrants”). Entrants must submit original works to the Competition, of which they must be the sole creator and own the copyright. The WFC Secretariat will not be responsible for any claim or complaints alleging violation of the rights of third parties. By entering the Competition, the Entrant indicates that the blogpost submitted does not infringe upon the rights of any other third party. The Entrant agrees to grant an irrevocable, perpetual worldwide non-exclusive license to the WFC Secretariat to reproduce, distribute, display, share and create derivative works of the entries in connection with the Competition and the promotion of the Congress.
The entries may be used for:
display on the WFC website (www.wfc2021korea.org) and social media channels;
display in other media for non-commercial use to promote the Congress;
publications including posters, postcards and calendars to promote the Congress;
editing, as necessary, to fit pre-defined formats to promote the work of the Congress.
The WFC Secretariat will not pay any fees for, nor pay any costs relating to, the entry of the blogpost(s) into the Competition or for their use as described above. Where possible and to the extent feasible, the WFC Secretariat will credit the producer as follows when publishing: © First and last name of writer.
The WFC Secretariat reserves the right to verify the eligibility of any entry and/or Entrant and to disqualify any Entrant who submits an entry that is not in accordance with these rules or who tampers with the entry process.
By submitting entries to the Competition, Entrants agree that their personal data, especially name and address, may be processed, shared and otherwise used for the purposes outlined in these Rules and in accordance with relevant WFC Secretariat rules and policies. Personal data may also be used by the WFC Secretariat in order to verify the Entrant’s identity, postal address and telephone number or to otherwise verify the Entrant’s eligibility to participate in the Competition. The WFC Secretariat is not responsible for any entries not received due to internet or software failures.
PROCESS AND SELECTION CRITERIA
The Competition opens at 12:00:00 Central European Time (CET) on 07 February 2022 and closes at 12:00:00 CET on 11 March 2022. Entries received after the deadline will not be considered.
The first selection of the top ten posts will be based on the appreciation by the online public, based on:
number of “Likes” each blogpost receives on the #Worldforestvoices blog: Number of people that clicked on the “Like” button below the post;
number of comments each blogpost receives: Every blogpost gives an opportunity for the online public to exchange views and feedback about the project or initiative described in the blogpost;
number of views each blogpost receives.
The “First selection” score will be calculated with the formula:
First selection score = (5 * #comments) + (2 * #likes) + (#views)
Note: Submitted comments are not published immediately: to avoid spam, comments will be manually screened before being published at least once a day. Some delay should be expected between the moment a comment is entered and when it appears on the blogpost.
The top ten blogposts from the first selection will be submitted to a Jury of members from around the world comprising: scientists, communications specialists and experts in sustainable development. Each jury member will individually score each blog entry based on the way it is presented and against originality, writing quality, clarity of concepts covered, ideas/solutions presented. The individual scores of jury members will be tallied to make the final score for each blogpost.
The authors of the top three blogposts will be notified by email using the contact details provided with the entry. In the event that any of the selected winners is ineligible, cannot be traced or does not respond within ten days to a winner notification as required by these Rules, or refuses the prize, the prize will be forfeited, and it will be at the sole discretion of the Jury to choose whether to award the prize to another eligible entry.
The winners of the Competition will be publicly announced by the end of March 2022.
PRIZES
Prizes will be awarded as follows:
The authors of the top 10 blogposts will receive a framed certificate from the WFC Secretariat, and their blog post will be showcased through official WFC social media channels, and an article on the WFC blog.
The authors of the top three blogposts will win a trip (flights, accommodation, living expenses) to the WFC from 29 April 2022 to 7 May 2022 to participate in the Pre-Congress Digital Media Training workshop and to become a member of the social media reporting team throughout the Congress. If travel to the Congress is not possible, the winners will be invited to be part of the social reporting team of the Congress and will receive guidance and coaching, and a tablet.
Prizes for the Competition may not be substituted, replaced or otherwise modified, unless as stated in the Competition Terms and Conditions.
ACCEPTANCE
By submitting entries to the Competition, the Entrant confirms to have read, understood, and agreed to the Rules for this Competition as set out above, and to the present Terms and Conditions. In the event of any dispute regarding the Rules for this Competition or the present Terms and Conditions, or the conduct or the results of the competition, the WFC Secretariat’s decision shall be final.
Find more here.