The ECHO Soil Challenge – Soil Stories aims to raise awareness among students, teachers, educators and citizens about the value of soil as a vital resource for ecosystems, food security and climate. It promotes creativity, scientific experimentation, and science communication, while also contributing to the dissemination of the ECHO SoiLab for Teens kit as an educational tool for hands-on school activities.
The contest has four categories:
For each category, 3 winners will be selected.
For Categories 1-3, submissions must be presented by teachers, professors, or educators on behalf of children or young people aged 6–19. Projects may be developed by classes or groups, under the guidance of the submitting teacher or educator. The teacher or educator acts as the official applicant and contact person, and is responsible for submitting the project, communicating with the ECHO team, and ensuring compliance with the contest rules.
Category 4 is open to people who are involved in the ECHO project as ECHO Soil Ambassador.
Participation in the ECHO Soil Challenge – Soil Stories contest is open to applicants based in the following eligible countries: Italy, Poland, Spain, Scotland, Greece, Romania, Germany, Portugal, Finland.
We welcome creative, scientific or educational works developed by classes or groups, under the guidance of the submitting teacher or educator.
Examples of eligible submissions include: drawings, collages, photos, infographics, experiments, educational projects, videos, reels, musical content and podcasts focused on soil.
Submissions should be inspired by the ECHO sampling kit or the SoiLab für Teenager but may be freely reinterpreted using different creative approaches and languages.
Only one submission per application is allowed. For Categories 1-3, teachers, professors and educators may submit up to three projects as long as they involve different classes or groups; in this case, the submission form must be completed separately and in full for each project.
Submissions in Categories 1-4 must not include identifiable personal data of minors, including: photos, video recordings, audio recordings, full names or other information that may directly or indirectly identify a minor.
For groups or classes composed exclusively of participants aged 18 or over, audiovisual content (e.g., video recording, reels, audio recording, etc.) is permitted. In such cases, each adult participant will receive and must provide a signed consent form. Consent must be specific and cover: (1) participation in the contest and evaluation process, (2) authorisation for the publication of identifiable content (e.g., images, audio or video recordings) on ECHO digital platforms in the event of selection.
Submissions may be presented in the language of the participating country or in English. For videos, reels, podcasts and musical content produced in the national language, English subtitles or an English translation of the script are required. A brief English summary will also be requested for the submissions.
All submissions must be submitted in digital format and comply with the following guidelines:
Submissions must be made through the online form below.
For additional inspiration and support, you can consult the following materials:
Submissions will be evaluated by a jury composed of members of the ECHO consortium with expertise in education, science communication, soil science, and creative communication.
Each project will be assessed using a common evaluation grid (scale 1–5):
For each category, 3 winners will be selected.
For Categories 1-3, only the name of the school or organisation will be published. No personal data of minors or any other identifying information will be disclosed.
For Category 3 submissions involving exclusively participants aged 18 or over, audiovisual content may be published only upon receipt of explicit and documented consent from each adult participant. Such consent must specifically cover both participation in the contest and evaluation process, and authorisation for the publication of identifiable content on ECHO digital platforms in the event of selection. A specific consent form will be shared with the applicants when submitting the project.
For Category 4, which is intended for adults ECHO Soil Ambassadors, identifiable information (such as name, organisational affiliation, image, audio or video recordings) may be published only on the basis of explicit and documented consent covering both participation and publication purposes, from each adult participant.
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