GWDebate

Planet Forward and The George Washington University Debate & Literary Society invite GW undergraduate students to submit papers or speech outlines on the theme of "Communicating Climate Change in the 21st Century: Challenges & Opportunities.” Up to 10 winners will receive $100 scholarships to attend a speech workshop in January 2020, at which they will receive coaching and support while converting their outlines or papers into short speeches. The top 3-5 students from the workshop will be invited to present their speeches at an on-campus speech competition sponsored by Planet Forward. The top speakers at the competition will receive scholarships ranging up to $1000 and the top overall speaker will be invited to speak at GW's annual Planet Forward Summit on April 3rd!

Click here to submit your speech

General Information

Round1- Due Monday, Dec. 15th at 5pm

To enter, submit a paper, written speech, or detailed speech outline that addresses the theme “Communicating Climate Change in the 21st Century: Challenges & Opportunities.”
Please note the competition theme focuses on the ways in which climate change is communicated. Any papers or speech outlines within this broad theme will be considered topical.
An example of a paper subject: The Climate Town Hall. How did CNN cover the town hall? How did candidates address climate change? How can candidates more effectively communicate ideas about the environment to engage their audience? How can candidates engage individuals who are not part of their audience base?
All submissions must be original student work, but students may submit papers from past or current GW classes.
Each speech will be anonymously reviewed by a panel of judges who will select the speeches that best fit the criteria described below and the students submitting the selected papers or outlines will advance to the second round of the competition.
Please contact us with any questions regarding Round 1 of the competition.

Round 2 - Speech Workshop

All students whose Round 1 papers or speeches are selected will receive $100 scholarships to attend a speech writing workshop in January 2020.
The workshop will include assistance from the The George Washington University Debate & Literary Society turning papers or outlines into 5-minute speeches.
Students will be asked to adapt their submission to emphasize in their speech a solution to a problem they have identified in the field of climate change communication.
The speech workshop will be held on Saturday, January 25th at 10 a.m.
The top 3-5 students from the speech workshop will be selected to move onto round 3 provided that, as announced to all Round 2 participants before the beginning of the Round 2 Workshop, the top speeches are also graded as high quality student work product.

Round 3 - Public Speaking Competition

The top 3-5 speakers from round 2 will be invited to present their completed speeches in a speech competition to be held in the Jack Morton Auditorium. The event is open to the public and will be judged by topic experts on climate change and public communication.
Prizes will be awarded to the top speakers as follows:
- Top Prize: A $1,000 scholarship and invitation to present the winning speech at the Planet Forward Summit on April 3-4, 2020.
- Second Prize: A $500 scholarship.
- Third Prize: A $250 scholarship.

Rules & Regulations

Eligibility

To be eligible to compete in the Speech Competition, an individual must:

Be an undergraduate student at The George Washington University.
Submit their paper or detailed speech outline no later than Monday, December 15th at 5 p.m. EST.
Scholarship awards are conditioned on students' capacity to receive additional GWU scholarship funds and the competition receiving at least twenty Round 1 submissions. Students already receiving full tuition scholarships, for example, may be ineligible to receive additional funding. Please contact us if you have questions regarding your eligibility.

Plagiarism

All work must be original and completed by the competitor.
Submission of past student work is encouraged, but students can also write new material for the competition.
Sources are cited clearly and are distinct from the individual’s own work.

Round 1 Rubric

When judging the first round of submissions, judges will consider whether:

The submission answers the theme "Communicating Climate Change in the 21st Century: Challenges & Opportunities" as described above.
The quality of student scholarship. This includes:
- Does the submission present a unique and creative viewpoint with the potential to contribute to improving understanding of climate change communication?
- Does the submission appropriately cite supporting research as necessary?
- Does the submission clearly identify and express a central thesis appropriate for adapting the submission into a public speech?