Triggering Change Pitch

HOW TO USE CREATIVITY AND ENGAGEMENT TO INSPIRE ACTION ON ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY  

Triggering Change is a two-minute pitch that can be done individually or in pairs. It aims to develop creative processes that inspire action on environmental sustainability. Students can participate in the pitch through their classes or independently. Participation involves attending three mandatory online Prep sessions with experts. In Fall 2023, students from Richmond, the American University in London, are joining the pitch. Click here to see past winners’ pitches.

Winners will receive a €100 voucher for Patagonia products. In Fall 2023, the pitch is due on November 29, at 10 PM (CET, Rome time) and 9 PM (GMT, London time). Late submissions are not accepted. A submission form with instructions is provided below.

This year, Triggering Change will concentrate on two UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s): Climate Change (SDG 13) and Zero Hunger (SDG 2). Students will choose one topic for their pitch after attending three mandatory Prep sessions. Attendance at all three sessions is required to complete the pitch. Attending is important because it provides the opportunity to participate in a Q&A session. Students who, for a valid reason, cannot attend a session, can receive a recording by writing to [email protected].

Participation makes students eligible for the Certificate in Sustainability and is a must for selection for the COP 28 JCU delegation.

The selection committee is composed of alumni Giacomo di Capua and Asia Guerreschi, student Davide Ebraheem, Professors Michèle Favorite, Carola Hieker and Tanja Lanza. 

PITCH DESCRIPTION

Goal:
How to use creative storytelling methods, audiences, contextual research and multidisciplinary perspectives to design a pitch that is disruptive, emotive and creates a dialogue or exchange related to environmental sustainability, ultimately leading the audience to want to create change or respond to make the planet a better place. 

Pitch format: 
You should choose formats and methods that are appropriate to your idea. Your presentation will consist of a two-minute video - done individually or in a pair - that is sent online to the link below. This might include a presentation (no static Power Point’s please), dialogue, prototype or even a performance held in a space that you think is engaging. Sitting in front of a screen and reading a script is not what we are looking for.

Audience:
Choose a specific audience and personalize your pitch for it.

Key elements to cover:

• Why this issue is important to your audience
• What the challenge is from an environmental sustainability perspective
• How your audience can make a difference
• The takeaway or impact: ask your audience to do something about it and have a clear call to action

Think of concrete and actionable ways your audience can make a difference; avoid utopistic proposals.

Solution:
Your proposal should be environmentally, socially and economically feasible. For example, a solution to a specific environmental problem in an industrialized country can have negative social repercussions in a developing country. In other words, don’t make the solution to a challenge in your backyard someone else’s problem further afield.

For more information, visit our FAQs page.

PREPARATION, REGISTRATION AND SUBMISSION

PREPARATION 
Participants must be knowledgeable about the two SDG’s selected this semester by attending three mandatory online Prep sessions and by reading independently about them. Relevant Library resources are available.

Prep session 1
Andrea Petrini Rossi, Sales Team Lead @ Too Good To Go
Date & Time: November 2 - 6:30 PM CET (for students in Rome) and 5:30 PM GMT (for students in London)

Too Good To Go is an NGO founded in Denmark and now operating worldwide that helps prevent food waste by connecting with your local restaurants and stores that provide unsold food at affordable prices.

Prep session 2
Domenico Schillaci, Co-founder and CTO, MUV.
Date & Time: November 13 - 6:30 PM CET 

Founded in 2012 in Palermo, MUV is a gaming app aimed at cutting urban CO2 emissions by rewarding people who embrace sustainable mobility (walking, biking and using public transportation). When you use the app, the more you actively move, the more you win. Since September 2018, the app has been adopted in 14 European cities and the 5,000 game participants have recorded over 260,000 sustainable kilometers, improving their carbon footprints by about 32%.  

Prep session 3
Expert talk by Janina Peter, Head of Innovation, the World Food Forum (WFF) and Bruno Ferreira, Co-Founder of the Food Bank of Bolivia (Banco de Alimentos de Bolivia). 
Date & Time: November 16 - 6:30 PM CET 

As an independent youth platform facilitated by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization, the WFF fosters youth-led solutions in the agrifood sector. Janina will explain the WFF’s mission and Bruno will describe the work carried out by Banco de Alimentos de Bolivia, which is supported by the WFF.

Pitch Feedback Session with Giacomo di Capua
The selection committee member Giacomo Di Capua will be available to meet students for 10-minute office hour sessions on Monday, November 20, 2023 between 3.20 PM and 6.40 PM CET either in person (Admissions office, ground floor, Critelli Campus at John Cabot) or online (Google Meet) to answer questions related to your pitch ideas and provide preliminary feedback on the pitch design.

Please reserve your spot at least 3 hours prior to the selected time. A confirmation email (and the meeting link, if you selected to meet online) will be sent to you at the same corresponding address. Reserve your spot.

REGISTRATION
All participants will need to register for the Pitch through this form by October 20. They will then receive a link to attend Prep session 1. There is no registration for sessions 2 and 3. Students will receive links to attend those sessions after they have completed the preceding ones.

SUBMISSION
The pitch is due on November 29, at 10 PM (CET, Rome time) and 9 PM (GMT, London time). For any questions, please contact [email protected].

Submit your pitch

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