The Our Ideas, Our Future Contest Inspires Climate Storytellers
Earth Rising is proud to support The Our Ideas, Our Future Contest, an initiative organized by Jóvenes por el Clima Mendoza, a youth-led Argentine environmental organization. The Our Ideas, Our Future Contest engaged young residents of Mendoza, aged 18 to 30, in climate storytelling. The contest and its programming focuses on the idea that people’s emotional connection to the natural world is crucial for climate action or in other words “people do not protect what they do not love”.
The contest was structured into two main categories: Essays and Short Films. Sixty participants, organized into teams of three, underwent a training program consisting of environmental panels, virtual workshops with experts, and category-specific creative sessions, such as creative writing or climate storytelling for cinema. Teams developed projects focused on local environmental or social justice issues. Following this training and coaching sessions, teams developed their stories which were ultimately shared at an award ceremony in October.
Ultimately, a jury selected two winning essays and two short film projects; the latter received the necessary funding to be fully produced. From November 2025 to February 2026, the winning filmmakers entered the production stage. During this period, the teams moved from script to screen. The first chosen film was entitled Agua, a moving documentary about the daily struggle of living without access to a water connection.The second film was El Otro Lado de la Etiqueta: a deep dive into the circular economy and sustainable local consumption.
To conclude the project in April, the finished short films were projected in a local micro-cinema, where 100 community members gathered to celebrate the work of young local climate activists. There is power in people coming together to share stories. It is how we feel closer to one another and connected to a wider movement capable of the change we need for a more sustainable world.
To learn more about Jóvenes por el Clima Mendoza visit their website here.