Umbrella500 Impact Awards · 2026 · Applications close 10 September

Green Content Creator Award

You don't need a project.You need 90 seconds and something to say.

Two cash prizes for the video that makes people care about a green topic. No startup, no organisation, no track record.

Start your application See the other awards

You'll create an account first — about a minute. One award per account, so pick the one that fits your work.

Apply in Arabic, English or French

Accepting entries now Applications close 10 September 2026 Winners announced late October 2026

Two prizes, two ways to win

One winner is chosen by public vote, the other by the expert panel — so you can win on reach or on craft, and you don't need both. The two prizes are equal, and the two winners must be different entries.

Who it's for

Anyone. An entrepreneur, a member of an organisation, or any community member — there is no requirement to run a venture, an initiative, or an organisation of any kind.

Full eligibility is for members. Create your account — it takes about a minute.

What to make it about

Your entry must address a green topic relevant to communities in the wider MENA region. Beyond that the choice is deliberately open. You might:

Explain a green subject in a way that makes it clear and engaging
Introduce a green idea, practice or technology people may not know about
Share a good green practice from elsewhere that could work here
Propose an idea or an approach worth trying
Raise a green problem and show how it can be addressed

None of these is preferred over the others. A video that simply makes a green topic interesting and accessible is as valid as one built around a problem and its solution.

Before you film

These are the rules your entry is screened against, so read them before you make anything.

Shape: Vertical — 1080 × 1920, 9:16, the shape a Reel is
Length: 90 seconds maximum
Language: Arabic voice-over, with English or French subtitles
Originality: Made by you, for this award

Accuracy matters too: no false or misleading claims about a green issue or its solutions, and the problem you raise and any solution you show should be realistic and logical.

Using AI

You may use AI tools. We care about the topic you choose and the quality of the content, not the tools you used. One line covers the limit: you may use AI to imagine and dramatise, including showing how a problem could worsen, provided a viewer can tell it is an imagined scenario and not real footage of a real place today.

Fine

AI visuals clearly framed as a possible future or an illustration — "if nothing changes by 2040"
Illustrative or stylised imagery of a general scene
Dramatised scenarios a viewer can recognise as scenarios

Not allowed

AI visuals presented as documentary footage of how a real place looks today
A fabricated image of a specific, named, identifiable place presented as real
Anything a reasonable viewer would take as a real photograph or video of a real event

You'll be asked to tick a box if your entry contains realistic AI-generated imagery. It is not a mark against you — social platforms require that content to be labelled, and we need to know so we can label it correctly when we share your work.

People, music and standards

People in your video

No identifiable person under 16. Someone aged 16 or 17 only with written permission from a parent or guardian. Any identifiable adult only with their written permission.

Footage and music

All footage, images, graphics and audio must be your own or used with written permission. One practical warning: a track from a social platform's music library is licensed for your personal post, and that licence usually does not extend to a company reusing your video. You can still enter — but original or free-licence audio means we can share your work everywhere rather than almost everywhere.

Standards

No hate speech, discrimination or content targeting any group. No party political or religious campaigning. No promoting a commercial product or brand.

What we'll ask you

The form has two parts and saves as you go, so you can stop and come back.

1

Your video

A short video on a green topic. Anyone with a story can enter — no venture required. If your video is not ready yet, leave the link empty and carry on: everything you type is saved as you go, so you can come back and add it any time before you submit.
2

Last details and consent

Almost done. These last few details help us reach you, and the consent below lets us act on your entry.

What you win

What this award pays is for members

Create your personal account to see the prize, how it splits between cash and expert support, and the exact weight judges give each thing they score. It takes about a minute.

How your application is judged

There is no shortlist and no pitch. Every compliant entry goes straight to the public vote — which is why every entrant has a reason to bring their own audience in. The most-voted entry wins Community Choice. Separately, a panel of green and creative content judges reviews every compliant entry and picks Judges' Choice.

Green topic and educational value: Is the topic well chosen and relevant to communities in the region, and does the viewer come away having learned something worthwhile?
Clarity of message: Is it easy to follow, and does the point land within 90 seconds?
Production quality: Visual appeal, editing, pacing, sound, polish.
Creative execution: Creativity and originality of the idea and the approach.

Bring an audience and win the Community Choice. Bring craft and win the Judges' Choice.

This award's timeline

Key dates

Submissions close 10 Sep 2026

Compliance screening Early Oct

Public voting Early to mid Oct

Panel scoring Mid to late Oct

Winners announced Late Oct

Everything below is drawn from the award rules

Questions

No. The Judges' Choice prize is decided on the video alone. Community Choice rewards reach, but that is a separate route to winning, not a requirement to enter.

Yes, with one rule: don't present anything AI-generated as real footage of a real place today. Framing it as an illustration, a projection or a dramatised scenario is fine.

No. Explaining any real green topic well is enough — you don't need to be running anything yourself.

The video itself needs Arabic voice-over, with English or French subtitles. The application form can be completed in Arabic, English or French.

No — each account may enter one award only. Have a look at all three before you start, and pick the one that fits your work best.

The call is open

Create your personal account to apply.

Members see the prize, how judges weight each thing they score, and can apply right up to the deadline.

Start your application

1Name, email, password — about a minute

2Click the link we email you to verify

3You land back here, signed in, ready to apply

Already a member? Sign in

Each account may enter one award only — choose the one that fits your work best.

The Spark Innovation Hub

The awards are hosted on the Spark Innovation Hub — SPARK's community platform, and the reason an account here is worth having after October. It is where the region's entrepreneurs, funders and support organisations are already in one place: founders looking for a first customer, donors and accelerators looking for people to back, and the NGOs and chambers whose job is helping both find each other.

Your account is free to keep, and it stays yours whether or not you win.