The Youthس Storytelling Challenge 2026 is now officially open for young people across Egypt who want to share their voices, experiences, and creative ideas on climate change and environmental solutions.

This exciting youth competition invites participants to explore how climate change affects their daily lives and how local communities are responding with innovative and practical solutions. Through short videos, reels, vlogs, audio stories, digital art, and visual storytelling, Youthس creates a platform where young people can lead important conversations around sustainability, environmental awareness, and climate action.

Organized under the Danish-Egyptian Dialogue Initiative (DEDI), and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme Egypt (UNDP Egypt) in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, this challenge offers young creators a rare opportunity to showcase their ideas, receive professional storytelling support, and gain visibility for their work.

Applications are open until 7 May 2026, making this one of the most exciting youth competitions in Egypt for climate-focused innovation and digital storytelling.

What is Youthس?

“Youthس” is a creative storytelling challenge designed by youth, for youth.

The name combines the English word “Youth” with the Arabic letter “س”, symbolizing being seen, heard, and represented. It reflects the challenge’s cross-cultural spirit and its mission to amplify youth voices across Egypt.

Youthس creates a space where personal stories are connected to broader climate realities and where local experiences become part of larger conversations about environmental change and sustainable futures.

Rather than simply discussing climate change academically, the challenge encourages participants to show how it appears in everyday life—through agriculture, food systems, waste management, and community action.

This initiative is built on the belief that young people are not only affected by climate change, but also hold powerful lived experiences and practical ideas that deserve recognition.

Why Youthس Matters

The challenge aims to:

Amplify youth voices and lived experiences
Connect personal stories to wider climate challenges
Highlight local solutions and innovative community ideas
Create a safe and visible space where youth feel seen, heard, and represented
Encourage youth-to-youth dialogue and awareness around environmental issues
Strengthen youth leadership in climate action and sustainability

Youthس is not just a competition—it is a platform for visibility, empowerment, and youth-led environmental change.

Focus Areas

Participants must submit ideas connected to one of the following three focus areas:

Food and Agriculture

Stories may focus on food systems, farming challenges, water scarcity, food security, agricultural sustainability, or how climate change impacts local food production.

Waste and Circular Economy

Participants can explore waste management challenges, recycling systems, plastic reduction, community waste solutions, sustainable consumption, and circular economy innovations.

Climate Change

This broader category includes environmental challenges, climate resilience, community adaptation, green innovation, and local responses to climate-related issues.

Accepted Creative Formats

Youthس encourages creative freedom and welcomes multiple digital storytelling formats, including:

Short videos
Reels
Vlogs
Photo stories
Digital artwork
Audio stories
Podcasts

Participants are encouraged to choose the format that best represents their story and message.

What Applicants Need to Submit

At this stage, applicants do not need to submit final completed content.

Only an idea and creative vision are required.

Applicants must submit:

1. Microsoft Form Application

Participants must complete the official Microsoft Form and explain:

Their story idea
The chosen focus area
Preferred creative format
The message they want to communicate

2. Short Video Submission

Applicants must record a 40–60 second video answering:

“Which focus area did you choose, and why did you join Youthس?”

The video must be uploaded through the application form and also shared on social media while tagging DEDI and UNDP Egypt.

This helps demonstrate motivation, originality, and engagement with the challenge.

Selection Criteria

Applications will be evaluated based on:

Relevance to the challenge themes and focus areas
Clarity, originality, and strength of the story idea
Ability to communicate the message clearly and engage the audience
Understanding of the environmental or climate issue being addressed
Inclusion of practical solutions, local initiatives, or innovative responses
Educational value and audience awareness-building potential
Ethical storytelling that respects individuals and communities and avoids harmful or misleading portrayls

Strong applications combine creativity, relevance, and practical impact.

What Selected Participants Receive

Successful participants will gain access to:

Professional storytelling capacity-building support
Training and mentorship sessions
Time and guidance to produce final content
Opportunities to showcase their work publicly
Possibility to participate in future DEDI and UNDP activities
Official certificates of participation upon successful completion

This makes Youthس both a competition and a youth development opportunity.

Timeline

Challenge Launch: 15 April 2026

Application Deadline: 7 May 2026

Selected Participants Announced: 19 May 2026

Capacity Building: May – June 2026

Content Production: June 2026

Final Announcements: July 2026

Early application is strongly recommended.

About DEDI

The Danish-Egyptian Dialogue Initiative (DEDI) 2025–2028 is a youth-driven platform for innovation, green transition, climate dialogue, peace, and sustainability.

Implemented by UNDP Egypt in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, DEDI serves as a living laboratory for climate action and cross-cultural dialogue between Denmark and Egypt.

It focuses on empowering youth to lead conversations and solutions around the future of sustainability, peace, and environmental justice.