Washington’s Aspen Institute is seeking pitches for short-form content for tweens that focuses on climate science.

The nonprofit org issued a callout today as part of its This is Planet Ed program, which is all about using educational channels to raise environmental awareness among the next generation of potential climate activists. 

Projects must target the eight to 12 demo and integrate these four climate principles. Only short-form content is eligible, which Aspen defines as between 60 seconds to five minutes. But the scope is otherwise pretty broad, with live action, animation, comedy, drama, documentary, podcasts, music and even interactive games all welcome at the table.

Applications can be submitted online through the Planet Media Call For Pitches website until January 31, 2024. Up to eight finalists will then be selected to pitch their concepts to a panel of judges at the Aspen Ideas: Climate conference in Miami this March. Former Sesame Workshop CEO Gary Knell is among the judges, as is Katharine Hayhoe, chief scientist at The Nature Conservancy. (Knell and Hayhoe are co-chairs of Aspen’s Planet Media Task Force, which is developing a guide on how to effectively teach climate principles through kids media.)

Aspen plans to reward up to three winning pitches with at least US$15,000 in financial support. And LA-based Known Originals—the production division of marketing agency Known—will also offer practical advice and support to the producers behind selected pitches.

This callout is part of an effort to address what Aspen sees as a market gap in kids media when it comes to solution-focused green content. In a December 2022 report from This is Planet Ed, roughly 74% of parents said they wanted such narratives in children’s media—but a review of 31 educational and nature-themed shows from top kids networks found that only 1% of assessed episodes had a direct reference to climate change or global warming.