Description

The National Geographic Society’s 2027 Slingshot Challenge is an international youth environmental-innovation competition, open to participants aged 13–18 from ANY country, including India. Individuals or teams of up to six young people submit an original one-minute video explaining an achievable solution to a local environmental problem. Eligible themes include protecting nature, reducing waste, addressing climate change, cleaning the air and restoring the ocean. The competition is NOT a general NGO grant or an award for adult applicants.

Timeline: Official 2027 challenge opened 9 September 2026. Submission deadline: 5 February 2027 at 11:59 PM US Eastern Standard Time (6 February 2027 at 10:29 AM India Standard Time). Selected awardees will be announced in May 2027. A small number of winners may receive up to US$10,000 as an unrestricted cash award, not guaranteed funding; teams share awards equally. Every eligible completed submission may receive a digital certificate.

Submission rules: Register through the official National Geographic Society-linked Videos for Change portal, then upload an original/copyright-free video in ENGLISH OR SPANISH, no longer than 60 seconds and no larger than 200 MB. Participants under 18 require parent/guardian or educator consent; each team member must register and accept the team submission. No general grant proposal or NGO funding application is accepted through this challenge. The public registration page was accessible on 28 October 2026, but completion of the account-gated final video upload was not independently tested; status remains review_required pending final workflow verification.

Official sources: https://www.nationalgeographic.org/explore/programs/slingshot | https://www.nationalgeographic.org/explore/programs/slingshot/challenge-materials | https://slingshot.videosforchange.org/ . Programme-specific enquiries: slingshot@ngs.org. National Geographic Society official public LinkedIn confirms the 2027 challenge.

Disclaimer: This opportunity has been curated by Development Chapter for informational purposes. Applicants and guardians must verify eligibility, deadlines, language requirements, privacy/consent rules and final submission details directly with the organiser. Development Chapter is not responsible for competition decisions or subsequent changes.

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BACKLOG VERIFIED 2026-10-28 02:32 IST: Distinct from existing National Geographic Society GRT-0011 The Human Thread RFP and Canada-only Trebek call; official 2027 Slingshot Challenge is global, explicitly any country (India eligible), for youth ages 13–18. Final account-gated video submission not tested. Do not relabel as an NGO grant.