The soil collage | Terms and conditions

 

THE CONTEST

World Soil Day (WSD) is celebrated on 5 December each year.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), its Global Soil Partnership (GSP), the European Union (EU) through its Horizon Europe Mission “A Soil Deal for Europe,” the International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS), ADEME and AFES are organizing a student contest (The Soil Collage Student Contest) within the framework of WSD 2026.

The contest aims to raise awareness on soils among students and encourage creativity and practical thinking about soil preservation and restoration through a simple, collaborative and hands-on activity.

Contestants are asked to submit:

(i) One or more photos of the completed Soil Collage, illustrating the group’s exploration of what soil is made of, how soils function, the services they provide, and the threats they face;

(ii) A short description (maximum 300 words) of one local soil issue and one to three realistic actions proposed to address it, explaining how these actions would help the soil.

By submitting the online entry form for the WSD 2026 Soil Collage contest, all applicants acknowledge and agree to these Terms and Conditions, which are detailed below:

ELIGIBILITY

Contestants must be university students from any discipline. No prior knowledge of soil science is required.

Each submitted entry must have a name for the group/team and a short description explaining the local soil issue and proposed action(s), considering the aspects mentioned above.

Submissions must include one or more photos of the completed Soil Collage, together with the required short description.

The material must not violate or infringe third parties’ rights including but not limited to trademark, privacy, publicity, or other intellectual property rights, or constitute copyright infringement.

The submission must not contain dates, texts, brand names, logos or trademarks.

FAO respects contestants’ rights and does not claim copyright over materials submitted to this contest. The author(s) retain full copyright for each entry. Whenever the material is published by FAO or partners, the author(s) will be credited.

By participating in the contest, the contestant grants FAO the permission to use the submitted materials in their websites and on digital channels.

If the material contains images of a person or persons, entrants must have obtained the permission of those persons for submission of their material to the contest as well as the use of the material by FAO for the purposes described in these General Rules.

The selected entries may be posted on FAO’s social media accounts. Any questions regarding the Soil Collage contest should be submitted to [email protected].

Participants cannot disseminate the derivative works themselves.

In order to submit entries, contestants must agree to the terms and conditions.

By participating in the contest, the contestant grants FAO permission to publish the submitted materials in FAO’s document repository and related communication materials, while retaining full copyright ownership.

GENERAL RULES

The contest is open to groups of university students (“Contestants”). The age to declare is that at the time of entering the contest. If the contestant is under the age of 18, the consent of their parent or legal guardian is required.

FAO employees and their immediate family members (spouses, parents, children, siblings and their respective spouses, regardless of where they live) or persons living in the same households of such employees, whether or not related, are not eligible to enter the contest. FAO will determine eligibility at its sole discretion.

Partners or relations of partner staff of the institutions involved in the launch of the contest, and relations of the judging committee, are not eligible to compete.

FAO reserves the right to disqualify submissions which are not consistent with the Organization’s values and guiding principles.

FAO also reserves the right to verify the eligibility of any entry and/or contestant (including a contestant’s identity and address) and to disqualify any contestant who submits an entry that is not in accordance with the Contest Rules, including the submission criteria, Copyright and Privacy, or who tampers with the entry process.

The contestant will indemnify and hold FAO harmless from and against any costs, losses, liabilities, and expenses (including attorneys’ fees) from third party claims arising out of or relating to its participation in the contest or any violation of these Terms.

FAO will not pay any fees for, nor pay any costs relating to, participation in the contest or for the use of any submissions.

No logos, URLs, telephone numbers, or calls that solicit directly for monetary donations should be included in any material.

FAO will not be responsible, and cannot be held liable, for incomplete, lost, late, misdirected or illegible entries or for failure to receive entries due to transmission failures or technical failures of any kind.

By submitting entries to the contest, contestants agree that personal data, especially name and address, may be processed, shared, and otherwise used in accordance with FAO Data Protection Policy. The data will be used for the purposes of the contest, FAO institutional activities, and any other purposes outlined in these Rules. The data may also be used to verify the contestant’s identity, address and telephone number.

COPYRIGHT AND PRIVACY

• The materials are distributed under the Creative Commons BY NC ND licence.
• Contestants must own the copyright of the materials submitted to the contest.
• If the submitted materials contain images of a person or persons, contestants must have obtained the permission of those persons or their legal guardians for submission of their materials to the contest as well as the use of the material by FAO and partners for the purposes described in these General Rules.
• The contestant declares that the material submitted does not infringe third-party rights. The contestant also confirms that each person depicted in the submitted material has granted permission to be portrayed as shown.
• FAO will not seek additional approvals in connection with the use of the material and will not be responsible for any claim or complaint alleging violation of the rights of third parties.
• Copyright of the material remains with the contestants. By entering the contest, contestants grant an irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide exclusive license to FAO to reproduce, distribute, display and create derivative works of the entries (along with a name credit) in connection with the contest and the promotion of FAO’s work, including in:
  • FAO corporate websites
  • Corporate videos or digital recordings to illustrate the work of FAO;
  • Printed FAO publications, brochures or posters;
  • FAO’s Social media channels, including promotion of the contest;
  • Any other media used by FAO to communicate.
• Failure to publish a credit due to error or oversight shall not be deemed a breach of this condition.
• Contestants may not submit any entries which include content generated by any generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) tool, including photorealistic imagery, graphics or other artistic media. FAO reserves the right to disqualify any entry not compliant with these rules.

ACCEPTANCE

By submitting entries to the Contest, the Contestant confirms that the Rules for this Contest, as set out above, have been read, understood and agreed to by the Contestant or their respective parent or legal guardian.

PRIZE

• All shortlisted contestants will receive a certificate of participation.
• The regional finalists and the global winner will be announced during the official World Soil Day 2026 celebration (5 December).
• Selected entries may be showcased and widely promoted on FAO platforms.
• When the selected entries are published, only the first and family name and country of origin will be published. No other personal information about the contestants will be published or shared.