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Tuesday, June 05, 2012

Geographic Travels Geo-Literacy Outreach Awards

Geographic Travels is offering $500 in awards to promote Geographic Literacy!

Geographic Travels, one of the world’s most read geography blogs, exists for the promotion of geographic knowledge and education and entertainment of the public. The Geographic Travels Geo-Literacy Outreach Award is intended to find new ways to successfully advance Geo-Literacy in the public.  Its aim is to assist in the establishment of unique programs to educate the public on the importance of geography and spatial thinking. Through these programs, Geographic Travels wants to promote an atmosphere of learning, collaboration, and independent thinking to increase geo-literacy.

Projects can come in a multitude of forms; whether it is a new classroom exercise connecting geography with unique ideas thought separate from geography, a project with the chamber of commerce or another business, demonstrating how a hospital can implement geography, or an activity with a civic organization. We encourage submitters to think “outside the box” and to go beyond the standard line of “Geography will save the world.” Most of the world is geographically illiterate because people do not see the day-to-day use and importance of geography.

The award will grant $300, the Alexander Von Humboldt Prize, and $200, the Isaiah Bowman Prize, to the winners to implement the submitted idea. Geographic Travels does not discriminate nor favor any submitter.

Eligibility

Anyone can enter the contest for the awards. One does not need a host institution. Submissions are due 1 October 2012 and winners will be announced by 1 November 2012. Please submit the application form and the required documentation separately.

Application Process

To enter in the Geographic Travels Geo-Literacy Outreach Award competition one needs to fill out the application form HERE.  A sample lesson plan/speech draft/handout literature, etc. will be required as a turn-in. Also, a blog post for Geographic Travels detailing your plan, proposed implementation, and anticipated outcome is required.

Please send the documentation and any information requests to catholicgauze@gmail.com.

Judging Criteria

A board will select the winners based on the idea and potential impact. The board will notify all submitters of their final status.

The board will judge submissions based on several criteria – 1.) Originality of Project, 2.) Feasibility of Implementation, 3.) Geographic-centricity, 4.) “Generalizability”, 5.) People-centricity. The first two criteria should be considered together, Geographic Travels is not looking for a pie-in-the-sky idea. The third criteria is to measure the project potential influence on the field of Geography. The fourth criteria addresses the potential to expand the project outside its initial funding. Is your project solely devoted to local neighborhood geographies, or does it have applicability elsewhere? The fifth criteria balances the fourth, as this is for an educational grant, and is based off of how effective is your project in reaching out to the public.

Implementation Process

Winners will be paid via PayPal. They will be required to report on the implementation of their project to the board and write a blog post detailing the implementation of their idea. Video and pictures are highly encouraged. The project’s implementation and blog post must be completed by 1 February 2013.

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