Google Cloud, the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data, and Partners Launch Inaugural Data Storytelling Contest for Students

A contest aimed at supporting the next generation of Sustainable Development Goal advocates has been launched by Google Cloud, the United Nations Foundation, the World Bank, and the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data. Visualize 2030 is a global data storytelling contest offering five winners a $10K cash prize each, plus publication by Google Cloud and the announcement of their data story during the UN World Data Forum.

Launched today at the Google Cloud Next ’18 conference in San Francisco, the Visualize 2030 contest focuses on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development — an ambitious agenda adopted by global leaders to achieve 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including ending extreme poverty, reducing inequality, addressing climate change, and others, by 2030.

Visualize 2030 is open to students at the college and graduate level, aged 18 and above, and aims to encourage budding data scientists, journalists, policymakers, and data artists to drive real-world impact through storytelling and design.

“Today’s students are tomorrow’s policymakers and business leaders. They’re fluent in technology, and we want to empower them to use their skills and expertise to tell powerful data stories that can truly inspire action,” said Kathy Calvin, President and Chief Executive Officer of the United Nations Foundation.

The contest challenges applicants to submit a data-driven story that reveals how at least two SDGs influence each other, and what actions might be taken to reach those goals by 2030. What are the shared challenges? What are the shared opportunities? Does one goal need to be met before the other can be? These are some of the questions students are encouraged to consider, and answer, in their submissions.

The UN Statistics Division’s Sustainable Development Indicators and the World Bank’s World Development Indicators are now available in Google Cloud Platform Public Datasets and analysis-ready within Google Data Studio, where applicants should build their submissions.

The contest, closing on 30 September 2018, will be judged by a panel of international experts. Five winners will be announced in October at the UN World Data Forum in Dubai.

For more information on the Visualize 2030 contest and how to participate, see cloud.google.com/visualize-2030.

Visualize 2030 Press Inquiries

Jennifer Oldfield, Director of Communications, Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data
joldfield@data4sdgs.org 

About Visualize 2030

Visualize 2030 is a data storytelling contest hosted by Google Cloud in collaboration with the United Nations Foundation, the World Bank, and the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data. It is open to students aged 18+. Submissions must be built in Google’s Data Studio, and received by 30 September 2018.

Learn more here: http://cloud.google.com/visualize-2030

About the United Nations Foundation

The United Nations Foundation builds public-private partnerships to address the world’s most pressing problems, and broadens support for the United Nations through advocacy and public outreach. Through innovative campaigns and initiatives, the Foundation connects people, ideas, and resources to help the UN solve global problems. The Foundation was created in 1998 as a U.S. public charity by entrepreneur and philanthropist Ted Turner and now is supported by philanthropic, corporate, government, and individual donors.

Learn more at: http://www.unfoundation.org

About the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data

The Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data is a growing network of more than 300 organizations, including governments, businesses, and civil society organizations, working around the world to harness the data revolution for sustainable development. Since it was created in 2015, the Global Partnership has elevated data issues at a political level, launched a multi-million-dollar Collaborative Data Innovations for Sustainable Development funding initiative, and supported the advancement of country-led Data Roadmaps for Sustainable Development in: Colombia, Ghana, Kenya, Philippines, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and Costa Rica.

http://www.data4sdgs.org

About the World Bank 

The World Bank Group is one of the world’s largest sources of funding and knowledge for developing countries. Its five institutions share a commitment to reducing poverty, increasing shared prosperity, and promoting sustainable development. The World Bank Development Data Group coordinates statistical and data work and maintains a number of macro, financial and sector databases. Working closely with the Bank’s regions and Global Practices, the group is guided by professional standards in the collection, compilation and dissemination of data to ensure that all data users can have confidence in the quality and integrity of the data produced.

http://www.worldbank.org