Thank you to everyone who participated in our Voices of Regeneration creative call. The submission period is now closed. We are thrilled by the incredible diversity of ideas, experiences, and perspectives shared. Stay tuned for updates as we move forward with reviewing submissions and announcing the winners.
The Voices of Regeneration call for creative entries dares you to dream of a more just, equitable and inclusive world where nature, including people, thrives together. Whatever your practice – writing, art, video, design, sound – we welcome digital submissions that imagine a journey towards a renewed, flourishing planet for all.
With our open call, we invite you to join us in creating a regenerative tapestry that embraces multiple, diverse worldviews that look beyond sustainability. Together your ideas and stories will create a picture of thriving and reimagined relationships among all living things.
We invite you to enter one or both of the following categories. Please note, you can only enter each category once i.e. one written piece and one artwork.
Category 1: Writing*
We welcome submissions under 2000 words in English in response to one or more of the prompts below. Submissions could be original essays, narrative journalism, experimental non-fiction, speculative fiction, lyric essays and personal essays. Poetry submissions are also welcome and must be under 500 words. Please include a written summary (max 250 words) with English translation describing the work.
Category 2: Artwork*
We welcome a wide range of creative forms in response to one or more of the prompts below. Submissions could be visual art, photo essays, videos, auditory pieces or multimedia artwork that can be shared on our digital platform. Formats may include illustration, photography, video, sculpture, paintings, collages, and music or sound. Please include an artist’s statement with English translation (written, audio or video, max 250 words or 2 min) describing the work.
*We welcome multimedia work. When submitting, please select the category (Writing or Artwork) most suited to your submission.
Let our collective wisdom be heard.
Submissions will be accepted from 2 July to 6 August 2024.
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See the FAQs below for more details. For any other questions, please contact regenerativefutures@unearthodox.org.
At Unearthodox, we champion systemic change for nature through innovative strategies combining futures and systems thinking. We ask the hard questions and create solutions that regenerate nature and transform society by bringing people together to explore and reimagine new, equitable futures.
In March 2024, we launched Regenerative Futures, in which we are exploring the roots and the expressions of the concept of regeneration. Our intention is to better understand its potential and limitations in evolving our collective journey towards societies that value and actively regenerate nature.
Through this call for entries, we would like to give a multitude of voices the opportunity to reframe and reflect on the concept of regeneration and its possible role in creating a more just future where all nature, including humans, thrives. We hope to spark conversations, inspire change-makers and identify diverse opinions and lived experiences.
We see your submission as part of the greater kaleidoscope of regeneration and would like to exhibit your work on our online platform.
While you do not need to include these values explicitly in your submission, they serve as points for reflecting on regeneration.
Written submissions other than poems must be no more than 2000 words (not including references). Entrants may submit poems with a total word count of no more than 500 words.
Entries must be:
A jury of experts will use the following criteria that assess the entry’s response to the call’s theme and prompts, as well as the impact and creativity on display:
Written submissions must be uploaded as PDFs.
Artworks must be submitted as:
Regrettably, we cannot accept entries that are not accompanied by an English translation.
We welcome submissions in their original language(s) accompanied by a translation in English. Entries will not be penalised for errors in grammar or vocabulary. We encourage entries from a diverse range of backgrounds, cultures and experiences. Films and videos should have English subtitles, and audio submissions should be accompanied by a written English transcript.
The call opens on 2 July 2024 and closes on 6 August 2024 at 23h59 (CEST).
We are excited to include a wide range of practices in the Artwork category. Below are some examples based on the permissible submission formats, and they are by no means the only options.
Images (JPEG/JPG/PNG/PDF up to 2MB):
Videos (submitted via link to YouTube/Vimeo or similar, up to 5 mins)
Audio (MP3)
We welcome multimedia work. When submitting, please select the category that is most suited to your submission - Writing or Artwork.
Unfortunately, we cannot receive entries that are not submitted through our online submission portal. We welcome digital images of physical artwork or processes, which will be assessed on their own against the same criteria as other entries.
Copyright of all content submitted remains with the entrant. Entrants agree to grant Unearthodox a worldwide, irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive licence. This allows Unearthodox to feature any or all of the submitted content in our publications, websites and promotional materials, including social media, related to the Regenerative Futures programme. The author's name will always be attributed to their work, and Unearthodox will provide prior notification to the author in all cases.
Previously published works are permissible only if the creator holds the copyright to the work and can grant Unearthodox a non-exclusive, perpetual licence for its use. If you are unsure about the copyright owner, please check with the previous publisher of the work.
We value submissions with human ingenuity at their heart and therefore this call for entries is not open to generative AI as part or whole of any submission.
We have developed release form templates to support your submission process. Please click on the links below to download the template(s) you need. Once you have completed the form(s) you can upload them as PDF documents in the relevant section of the submission platform.
Submissions that are considered pornographic, violent, obscene, that incite hatred in any variant (racism, sexism, religion, etc.) as well as any that could be considered offensive by the organisation will be disqualified. Entries must not contain any infringing, threatening, false, misleading, abusive, harassing, libelous, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, scandalous, inflammatory, pornographic or profane content. Entries must not contain any material that could constitute or encourage conduct that would be considered a criminal offence, give rise to civil liability, or otherwise violate any law. Unearthodox reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to disqualify and remove any entry before or after its submission, that it considers inappropriate, as well as to exclude participants who do not comply with these rules if future editions of the call for entries are held.
Personal data provided by participants will be used solely for the purposes of administering this call for creative entries and will not be shared with third parties. Participants' information will be handled in accordance with our Privacy Statement.
Selected participants will also have the chance to engage with inspirational and visionary individuals from diverse backgrounds who are at the forefront of current thinking on regeneration and conservation. These opportunities may include being featured in publications, such as the Regenerative Futures State of Knowledge report or joining an Unearthodox regenerative retreat, where we will critically and creatively reflect on regeneration and co-imagine new possibilities for our future.
Find out more about our Regenerative Futures programme here.