Environmental Justice Video Challenge for Students

On this page:
View the Phase 1 Winners of the EJ Video Challenge for Students.
View the Phase 2 Winners of the EJ Video Challenge for Students.
View the EPA Science Matters article on the Environmental Justice Video Challenge for Students.
Challenge Description
Background
Many communities face greater environmental exposures and public health risks due to a history of inequitable environmental policies and access to the decision-making process. Environmental justice (EJ) is the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income, with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.
EPA and co-sponsors launched the Environmental Justice (EJ) Video Challenge for Students to enhance communities’ capacity to address environmental inequities using data and tools. The goals of the challenge are to:
- Inspire students at accredited colleges and universities in the United States and its territories to work directly with communities in the identification and characterization of EJ challenges using data and publicly available tools, and
- Help communities (including residents and other stakeholders) address EJ challenges and/or vulnerabilities to environmental and public health hazards using data and publicly available tools.
The Challenge
The EJ Video Challenge for Students is structured in two separate phases, each with their own timelines. A brief description of each phase is noted below.
Phase 1 - Innovative Approaches to Identify EJ Concerns - Complete
The goal of Phase 1 was for students to create a video that demonstrated innovative approaches to identify and characterize an EJ issue(s) in a select community using data and publicly available tools. Phase I has been completed. View the Phase 1 Winners of the EJ Video Challenge for Students.
Phase 2 - Enhancing Community Capacity - Complete
The focus for Phase 2 was enhancing communities’ capacity to address the EJ issue identified in Phase 1 of the challenge. Students worked collaboratively with community-based organizations to develop a proposed strategy that demonstrates effective community engagement and advocacy to address the previously identified EJ issue. Phase 2 submissions included a community capacity building strategy and a brief video summarizing the proposed ideas as well as any use of data/tools to track or measure the success of strategy implementation.
Students were strongly encouraged to work in teams and identify and collaborate with at least one community organization that will bring important understanding and perspective to the EJ challenge(s) the community is facing, as well as the Phase 2 community capacity building strategy. View the Phase 2 Winners of the EJ Video Challenge for Students.
Challenge Co-Sponsors
The below organizations are co-sponsoring this challenge.
- American Public Health Association (APHA)
- Educational Partnerships for Innovation in Communities – Network (EPIC-N)
- Environmental Defense Fund (EDF)
- Environmental Justice (peer-reviewed journal)
-
Groundwork USA
Eligibility
The eligibility criteria for Phase 2 of the EJ Video Challenge are noted below.
- All participating students must be college/university undergraduate or graduate students (18 years old and older) enrolled in an accredited institution of higher education (including community colleges) across the United States and its territories.
- Note: International college students meeting the above criteria are also eligible under the authority of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) 102(2)(F).
- Students who submitted eligible videos in Phase 1 are invited to participate in Phase 2 of the challenge.
- For continuity between the two phases of the challenge, there must be at least one (1) student on each Phase 2 team who also participated in Phase 1 of the Challenge.
- Note: Students do not need to have a winning entry in Phase 1 to participate in Phase 2.
- Students are strongly encouraged to work in teams.
- At least one (1) faculty advisor is required to serve as a mentor to student(s) participating in the Challenge.
- At least one (1) community-based organization is required to be a part of the student team.
Prizes - Phase 2
The winning student(s) and associated community organization(s) will receive monetary prizes from a prize package totaling $175,000 for Phase 2! All the winning videos will also receive public recognition from EPA and challenge co-sponsors.
Prize Distribution for Phase 2 Winners
- First Place Prize of $60,000 [$10,000 Student(s) + $50,000 Community Organization(s)]
- Second Place Prize of $50,000 [$8,000 Student(s) + $42,000 Community Organization(s)]
- Third Place Prize of $40,000 [$6,000 Student(s) + $34,000 Community Organization(s)]
- Up to (5) Honorable Mentions of $5,000 each [$1,000 Student(s) + $4,000 Community Organization(s)]
Note: Prize amounts shown are a minimum amount to be awarded, and the amounts may be adjusted based on the number of submissions received.
Additional Benefits for Phase 2 Winners
Winning teams will also receive the following benefits:
- The winning videos will be posted on EPA’s EJ Video Challenge for Students webpage. Additionally, winning videos will be shared on EPA social media channels and other communications channels.
- If an EPA tool developed by the Office of Research and Development was used in the Phase 2 submission, winners and their community organization partner(s) will have the opportunity to speak with an EPA employee who works on the tool used for Phase 2.
Additional Information on Phase 2 Prizes:
- All prize awards are subject to EPA verification of the winners’ identity, eligibility, and participation in the Challenge.
- Prizes will be distributed evenly among student team members and community organizations if more than one student or community organization participates in one team.
- Prizes will be distributed via electronic funds transfer and may be subject to federal income taxes.
- EPA will comply with the IRS 1099 withholding and reporting requirements, where applicable.
- Winners are responsible for reporting and paying all applicable taxes in their jurisdiction of residence (federal, state/provincial/territorial and local).
- Winners will be required to provide information to facilitate receipt of the award, including completing and submitting any tax or other forms necessary for compliance with applicable withholding and reporting requirements.
Terms and Conditions
Intellectual Property
- Winning videos for Phase 2 will be posted on an EPA webpage and announced in Spring 2023.
- Video entries may be used by EPA (e.g., on EPA social media accounts and webpages) in connection with this video challenge and the production, distribution, promotion, broadcast at public meetings/conferences, and online posting thereof.
- Student(s) will need to provide their video file to EPA in the file format specified under the Video Specifications section above.
- All video entries must be accompanied with a signed License Agreement as well as Consent Form(s) (see Helpful Resources).
- Note: Each individual appearing and/or speaking on the video must sign a Consent Form.
- Use of music within each video entry must follow EPA Music Licensing Guidance (see Helpful Resources).
- Student(s) are responsible for complying with applicable copyright and intellectual property laws for any materials used in their video entries including giving credit for work as needed. “Fair use” rules may allow the use of copyrighted material in certain circumstances (e.g., see the fair use guidelines on YouTube). Participants should seek legal guidance if they have questions about using copyrighted materials.
Non-Endorsement
EPA does not endorse any product, service, or enterprise that may appear in submitted videos. Furthermore, by recognizing winning videos, EPA is not endorsing any products, services, or enterprises that may appear in those videos.
Prohibited Use of Funding
Participants cannot use funding from the federal government (either through grants or contracts) to compete in the Challenge.
Judging - Phase 2
Judging Panel
Submissions will be judged by a panel of EPA and non-EPA judges with expertise in environmental justice and community capacity building. The judges will evaluate, score, and rank submissions based on the criteria listed below. The resulting judge’s scores will be provided to the EPA Office of Research and Development (ORD) leadership who will make the final determination for all prize winners.
Phase 2 Judging Criteria
The judging panel will use a 5-point scale for each category to evaluate the challenge submissions. The scale will rank the extent to which the submission meets the following criteria, and an emphasis will be placed on each category through the weighting of those categories as noted by the percentages listed below.
- Creativity/Innovation (5%) – The degree to which the community capacity building strategy and video shows an innovative approach to address the identified EJ issue(s) from Phase 1 in a select community.
- Clarity/Completeness (10%) – The degree to which the community capacity building strategy and video has a clear message and includes the minimum content requirements described above.
- Community Engagement (15%) – The degree to which student(s) clearly engaged with the community and/or community organizations (in their effort to develop strategies that demonstrate effective community engagement/advocacy on the EJ issue) is evident in both the summary video and community capacity building strategy.
- Summary Video (20%) – The degree to which the video fulfills all of the expected video content requirements noted above.
- Community Capacity Building Strategy (50%) – The degree to which the strategy fulfills all of the expected community capacity building strategy content requirements.
Helpful Resources
Example Tools and Data Resources
Challenge Submission Documents
- EJ Video Challenge for Students – Phase 2 Online Entry Form
- EJ Video Challenge for Students Phase 2 Signatures Form (pdf)
- Community Capacity Building Strategy Template (docx)
- EJ Video Challenge Video-Audio-Photo License Agreement – Only one completed license agreement form is needed for your entry.
- EPA Multimedia Consent Form for use with Video, Photo(s), or Voice Recording(s) – You must submit a completed consent form for each individual who appears or speaks in your video submission.
- EPA Music Licensing Guidance
Environmental Justice
- What is Environmental Justice?
- Environmental Justice in Your Community
- Groundwork USA Learners To Leaders: Environmental Justice Literacy Curriculum
Capacity Building & Community Engagement
- EPA Capacity Development Resources for States and Small Systems
- EPA Capacity-Building Resources for the Watershed Approach
- Ohio State University - Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity - Six Principles for Equitable and Inclusive Engagement
- Local Initiatives Support Corporation - The Art of the Invitation: Inclusive and Equitable Community Engagement Practices
- CitizenLab - Inclusive community engagement examples: 6 good practices
- C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group - Inclusive Community Engagement Playbook
- Case Western Reserve University - Center for Civic Engagement & Learning - Best Practices for Responsible Community Engagement
- North American Assoc. for Environmental Education - Community Engagement: Guidelines for Excellence
- Penn State – Center for Economic & Community Development - Core Principles of Community Engagement
- Harvard Catalyst - Community Engagement Program
- UC-Davis – Center for Regional Change - Tools and Resources for Remote Community Engagement
-
- To access examples of community projects facilitated in partnership with university students, consider visiting the EPIC-N Member Commons, creating a free account, and viewing the over 1,800 projects in its Project Library that vary across disciplines and serve as great examples for the EJ Video Challenge.
- OECD/Noya A. Clarence E., Community capacity building: fostering economic and social resilience. Project outline and proposed methodology, 26-27 November 2009, working document, CFE/LEED, OECD