4 september 2023
Climate data visualisation competition
Creative talent invited to visualise climate data for COP28 showcase
Are you a creative visionary with a passion for climate action? Enter the European Space Agency's latest competition to showcase your talent by transforming decades of satellite climate data into impactful visuals.
The competition winner will have a unique opportunity to present their data visualisation at the United Nations COP28 climate conference, set to take place in the United Arab Emirates later this year [31 Nov – 12 Dec].
Satellite imagery, and other data, have helped to record how Earth’s environment has changed over the past five decades, advancing scientific knowledge of the climate.
Visualisations have the power to distil this mass of information to effectively communicate new climate research and bridge the gap between climate science and policy makers and raise awareness among the wider public.
“Engaging imagery or art can powerfully illustrate and raise awareness of environmental phenomena, developing trends or impacts such the changing pattern of drought, wildfires or heatwaves,” says Susanne Mecklenburg, Head of ESA’s Climate Office.
“Data visualisation helps to show the facts, something that is increasingly important to support accurate communication of new science at a time when mis- and disinformation around research is becoming more of an issue.”
The competition invites creative experts and enthusiasts across Europe to access and illustrate freely accessible climate datasets available from ESA, EUMETSAT and ECMWF and highlight key aspects of Earth’s changing system.
Entries will be judged by visualization experts including the father the famous climate stripes, Professor Ed Hawkins of the University of Reading and journalist Dr. Matthias Stahl of the der Spiegel newspaper.
Each submitted climate data visualisation will be evaluated for its clarity of message, design aesthetic, novelty and accessibility.
The winner will also be invited to visit ESA’s data visualisation suite, the Phi Experience, at its ESRIN facility in Frascati, Italy, while the 10 runners up will have their visualization added to ESA’s visualisation gallery, along with judges commendations.
To enter, visit ESA’s climate website where aspiring entrants can access a range of climate datasets, view a gallery of worked visualization examples and step-by-step tutorials. The competition is open until 4 November.
