What is your plan for our planet?
Our World is changing. The big geographical issues of today need to be addressed now to protect the future of our planet and the people who live on it.
The Society invites you to create your own blueprint for the future. We are looking for innovative ideas to address problems in areas such as food production and supply, energy and sustainability, water security, resources, population growth, economic crisis, transport, travel, urbanisation, risk management, trade, environmental management, biodiversity and more.
Your ideas and recommendations should be forward-thinking, taking into consideration the depth of the problems and the reasons behind them, as well as what can be done to mitigate them. Your blueprint for the future could be a design for an eco-city, or a plan to produce and distribute enough food to feed the world. It could be a look at the future of energy and how we can produce enough energy sustainably without harming the environment, or a plan to revolutionise travel and transport in your country or beyond. Your plan must be realistic, but we welcome ideas for futuristic strategies and new technologies.
Using your blueprint for the future, we want to see the problems of today solved by the geographers of tomorrow.
Entering the competition
The competition has four categories.
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Key Stage 2 (pupils aged 7-11)
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Key Stage 3 (pupils aged 11-14)
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Key Stage 4 or GCSE (pupils aged 14-16)
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Key Stage 5 or A Level (pupils aged 16-18)
Students should enter the Key Stage category they will be in on 30 June 2023. For example, if you are/were in Year 9 in June 2023, you should submit as a KS3 entry. Entries should be individual - we will not accept entries from groups or pairs of students.
We welcome entries from students from around the world; this is an international competition.
The 2023 Young Geographer of the Year competition is now closed. Late entries will not be accepted under any circumstances.
Winners will be notified by the end of October. If you have not heard from us by then, please assume that you are not a finalist.
General entry criteria
KS2, KS3 and KS4 students should produce an A3 size poster entry. This can be handmade (then submitted electronically using a scanned copy or photograph) or using PowerPoint, Word, Publisher or PDF, etc. KS5 students should produce an Esri Story Map or write an essay – both of which should contain no more than 1,500 words.
Key Stage 2 criteria: Provide your plan for at least one geographical issue, using annotated images, maps or diagrams.
Key Stage 3 criteria: Provide your plan for at least two or more geographical issues, using annotated images, maps or diagrams.
Key Stage 4 criteria: Provide your plan for at least three or more geographical issues, using annotated images, maps, diagrams and data.
Key Stage 5 criteria: Provide your plan for multiple geographical issues, using annotated images, maps, diagrams and data.
All entries should address this year’s theme and must meet the following criteria:
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A well-annotated and informative geographical overview which demonstrates understanding of the issues addressed and shows innovation and connected thinking.
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Good use of images, maps, data and other sources of information.
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Excellent attention to spelling, punctuation and grammar.
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Use of accurate geographical terminology.
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Original and independently produced - class sets of identical entries or entries which have copied information from other sources, such as the internet, will not be accepted.
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If produced electronically, please use a minimum font size of point 10. Entries must be written in English.
We do not have a preferred style for submissions. We are looking for eye-catching, innovative, informative and accurate submissions which provide a blueprint (plan) for the future which focusses on a number of geographical and contemporary problems and how we might solve them.