Triggering Change Pitch
HOW TO USE CREATIVITY AND ENGAGEMENT TO INSPIRE ACTION ON ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
Triggering Change is a two-minute pitch that uses creativity to inspire action on sustainability. Since its creation in 2022, it has involved 430 students from 80 countries.
Every semester, the pitch revolves around two UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Participants attend four online Prep sessions with global experts and then produce their pitch, either individually or in a pair. Before and after the project, students take Sulitest Awareness Survey, an online awareness test that measures their eco-literacy. The average increase in the SDG module over the course of the five-week duration of the project in Spring 2025 was 15%.
Winners receive a €100 Patagonia voucher. A Certificate in Sustainability is available to students who complete the pitch. (The pitch is complete when students attend the sessions, submit the pitch on time, and complete the Sulitest survey at the beginning and end of the project).
In Fall 2025, Triggering Change will focus on SDG 3, Good Health and Wellbeing, and SDG 15, Life on Land.
John Cabot University students will be joined by those from Oxford Brookes University, Richmond University, University of Arkansas’s Rome campus, Stellenbosch University, and Politecnico di Torino.
Goal
How to use creative storytelling, research, and multidisciplinary perspectives to
design a pitch that is disruptive, emotive, and creates a dialogue related to sustainability,
leading the audience to want to create change and make the planet a better place.
Pitch format
The pitch consists of a two-minute video. While students have total freedom in choosing
an unusual, creative, and dynamic pitch format (a dialogue, poem, performance, song,
etc.) in a setting that is suitable and engaging (a street, shop, beach, forest, etc.),
they are discouraged from using static PowerPoint presentations or sitting in front
of a screen and reading a script.
Audience
Every pitch must be addressed to a specific audience – fellow students, children,
pregnant mothers, etc.
Key elements to cover
- Why this issue is important to the audience
- What the challenge is from an environmental sustainability perspective
- How the audience can make a difference
- The takeaway or impact: the audience must be moved to action through a clear call to action
Solution
Proposals should be environmentally, socially, and economically just and fair. A solution
to a specific environmental problem in an industrialized country might have negative
social repercussions in a developing country. Don’t make the solution to a challenge
in your backyard someone else’s problem further afield.
The selection committee is composed of:
- Prof. Francesco Bedeschi, Residence Director, Faculty of Architecture, U. of Arkansas Rome Program
- Prof. Karen Cripps, Senior Lecturer in Responsible Management and Leadership at Oxford Brookes University, Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA) and Secretary for PRME UK and Ireland Chapter Steering Committee
- Giacomo Di Capua, Postgraduate researcher in Climate Health Economics, TU Dublin & Climate Policy Analyst, Osservatorio Parigi
- Prof. Michèle Favorite, Business Communication and Public Relations, John Cabot University
- Asia Guerreschi, Postdoctoral candidate specializing in Sustainability and Wellbeing, and Founder of Rethinking Climate
- Prof. Carola Hieker, Professor for Organisational Behaviour at Richmond, the American University in London and Adjunct Professor at JCU and Honorary Professor for Transformation Leadership, UCL
- Madiha Rehman, Malala Fund Education Champion, and Director of Programmes at AzCorp Entertainment
PARTICIPATION, REGISTRATION AND SUBMISSION
PARTICIPATION
Participation requires the completion of all steps by the deadline, including registration,
Sulitest Awareness Surveys, Prep Sessions, and Pitch Submission.
Participants have access to library resources that can help them gain a solid understanding of the two SDGs.
If a participant misses a prep session, a recording can made available. Since all prep sessions are followed by a Q&A, actively attending is preferable to watching the session ex post.
REGISTRATION
Registration for the next edition will open in Fall 2025. The tentative dates for
the program are September 15 - October 25, 2025. All students (including those working in pairs) must register individually.
Registered participants will be invited to join a shared folder that will contain all links and information for the project. For any questions, please contact [email protected].
Participants must complete the Sulitest Awareness Surveys.
Students need to finalize all the required steps by these deadlines to continue participating in the pitch and obtain the Cerificate in Sustainability.
PREP SESSIONS
More information on the prep sessions and guest speakers will be shared soon.
Prep Session: The Liminal Space Workshop
The Liminal Space, a London-based agency, has developed this creative thinking workshop
specifically for Triggering Change to inspire participants to think creatively about
sustainability issues.
Prep Session: Pitch workshop, Prof. Michèle Favorite
Sharpen your pitch, refine your arguments, and submit with confidence!
SUBMISSION
Please, make sure to include all members' names in the title of your pitch.
For any questions, please contact [email protected].
For more information, visit our FAQs page.
Student Testimonials
Guided by the insights of our two wonderful SDG speakers, I learned that we are all called to be sustainable innovators.
Jane Morrison - USC Transfer Applicant
Guided by the insights of our two wonderful SDG speakers, I learned that we are all called to be sustainable innovators.
Jane Morrison - USC Transfer ApplicantThanks to this pitch, I have learned that students can make a huge contribution to their communities through seemingly small actions.
Ekaterina Forakis - University of Delaware
Thanks to this pitch, I have learned that students can make a huge contribution to their communities through seemingly small actions.
Ekaterina Forakis - University of DelawareI now perceive my tangible impact in driving sustainable development forward, and everyone’s ability to effect genuine change.
Olivia Strom - Marquette University
I now perceive my tangible impact in driving sustainable development forward, and everyone’s ability to effect genuine change.
Olivia Strom - Marquette University