Apply for the UNDP/Arab Dev. Portal Visualize 2030 Data Camp for youths from MENA Region

Application Deadline: November 30th 2020

Visualize 2030 is an initiative of the Arab Development Portal which aims to encourage the consumption of data by youth from the Arab region in support of advocacy campaigns and innovative thinking around development priorities and to advance their contribution to informed public debate in the region.

Visualize 2030 is an annual data camp that brings together youth from Arab countries to enhance their technical and analytical capacity to produce audio visual content on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Visualize 2030 calls upon youth (aged 20-30) to use official statistics with the aim of visualizing a data-driven story that highlights concerns, hopes or ambitions regarding a development topic in a selected Arab country or for the whole Arab region. Every year, Visualize 2030 will be addressing a development theme in the Arab region within the framework of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Visualize 2030 brings together the top ideas selected for a data adventure to collectively think and engage with one another in order to unleash the power of data: create a data-driven visual product that can take the form of a poster, infographics, illustrations, videos or any other visualization using the ADP Database or other official national or international sources.

Visualizers are shortlisted based on skills and innovation, taking into consideration diversity criteria, mainly in terms of ideas presented, gender and country representation. Participants are expected to be from the Arab region.

During the camp, Visualizers are granted access to training and production facilities where trainers on graphic design, videography, animation, statistical analysis, visualization and communication and presentation skills are available to assist them develop their final products.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 25 September 2015. The new agenda seeks to leave no one behind and aspires to transform the world in which we live.

UN Member States have resolved “to end poverty and hunger everywhere; to combat inequalities within and among countries; to build peaceful, just and inclusive societies; to protect human rights and promote gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls; and to ensure the lasting protection of the planet and its natural resources.”

Moreover, under the same ambitious 2030 Agenda, calls for global data to inform sustainable development policymaking are unparalleled: UN Member States emphasized the importance of “quality, accessible, timely and reliable disaggregated data […] to help with the measurement of progress and to ensure no one is left behind.” (Paragraph 48).

National statistical offices in the Arab region and other national data producers, hence, face an urgent need to adapt and develop in order to meet the widening, increasing and progressing needs of data users, including the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

In light of the above, youth are encouraged to take the below into consideration when drafting their applications:

• In your opinion and as per the official statistics, what is the most pressing problem or challenge in your home country/Arab region brought up by COVID-19 and that should be resolved by 2030? 
• How was your life affected by the pandemic? Can you find data that highlight this impact? 
• How easy is it to access reliable statistics in your home country/Arab region?
• What does the “data revolution” mean for your country/Arab region and how can it help alleviate the current challenges?
• How would open data affect the spread/effects of the pandemic in your home country/Arab region?

Eligibility Requirements

• Visualize 2030 targets youth aged 20 to 30 years in the Arab region
• It mainly addresses young students, researchers, graphic designers, journalists, and any other citizens interested in sustainable development in the Arab region.
• The Visualize 2030 is open to teams composed of two or three individuals.
• Individual applications will not be considered.
• The team must include at least one designer and one data analyst/researcher/economist. Visualize 2030 alumni are not eligible to participate.UN staff are not eligible to participate.

Application Criteria
Step 1 — Launch the call for application
ADP will launch the call for applications for the Visualize 2030 via a social media campaign. Interested applicants are expected to fill the online application and submit an updated professional portfolio and research samples (if available).

Step 2 — Selection of the top ideas
The applications will be assessed by the jury of the preselection phase. The top teams (teams of two or three) will be selected based on skills and innovation, taking into consideration diversity criteria. Shortlisted teams will be notified about their acceptance via email.

Step 3 — Data camp
The shortlisted teams will be invited to the data camp to develop their ideas. Visualizers will be granted access to trainings and production facilities.

Step 4 — Final Ceremony
Visualizers will present their final products during a Ceremony and that will include pitch presentations and demonstrations of the products by the teams (2-3 minutes per team). The top three teams will win cash prizes and their names will be announced in a spot broadcasted on the ceremony day

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the UNDP/Arab Development Portal Visualize 2030 Data Camp