Would you like to see your cultural heritage story transformed into an animated digital story? We are now taking submissions for stories aimed at a Pacific youth audience.
This is an open international call out for authors of the Moana - both at home and in the diaspora.
We have a variety of upcoming Pacific digital storytelling projects and we would like to extend this opportunity to new and established authors of our community.
Selected stories will be produced into an animated digital story and be available worldwide on our Pacific Digital Library platform.
Stories should be:
- 400-800 words long
- Written in English and / or a Pacific / Melanesian language
- Aimed at children 4-14 years old
This round will close on 1 March 2025, with further rounds planned in the future. If you are not ready to submit a story you also have the option to submit a writing sample, for consideration for future projects.
There are two 'theme streams' we are looking at for this round, with more information below. Your story should embed these key messages into an engaging story format for youth.
theme stream 1
Stories around environment/ sustainability/ climate change:
- How your culture interacts with the environment
- Aspects of subsistence living
- The importance of nature in everyday life in the islands
- Resilience in the face of natural disasters
- Conservation efforts already underway and the difference they have made
- The impacts of climate change on your community, and how these can be mitigated
theme stream 2
Stories around cultural heritage/ identity / keeping cultural connections in a modern world:
- Stories about everyday life that embed traditional knowledge or values
- A historical story unique to your country/island/village
- Retelling traditional myths and legends
- Aspects of indigenous knowledge that need to be preserved: eg agricultural practices, traditional medicine, handicraft making etc
Terms and conditions
1. Eligibility
- Open to all authors, regardless of experience or location, unless otherwise specified.
- Submissions must be original works, not previously published in any format (Self-published is okay).
2. Submission Guidelines
- All submissions must be made through this submission page by the deadline specified.
- The submitted story must be in Word format.
- Stories should be between 400-800 words.
- Authors may submit up to 3 stories, but each story must be submitted separately.
3. Originality and Rights
- By submitting, the author confirms that the story is their original work and does not infringe on any copyright, trademark, or third-party rights.
- The author affirms that they hold full rights to the work, including all characters, plot, and content.
- If their story is selected authors will grant Pacific Kids' Learning the rights to produce the story into an animation to be housed exclusively on the Pacific Digital Library platform.
- Pacific Kids' Learning reserves the right to edit the submitted stories for clarity, grammar, and consistency, but will consult with the author before making any significant changes.
4. Compensation
- Authors selected for publication will receive an upfront selection fee and ongoing royalty payments from the Pacific Digital Library in proportion with the number of views of their story.
5. Deadline and Notification
- All submissions must be received by 1 March 2025.
- Authors will be notified of the acceptance of their submission by 15 May 2025.
- Due to the volume of submissions, we are unable to provide feedback on stories that weren't selected.
6. Confidentiality
- Pacific Kids' Learning will keep all submissions confidential and will not share or disclose any part of the submission without the author's consent, except as necessary for the purposes of the selection process and publication.
7. Publication
- Stories selected for publication will be produced into animated story format and featured exclusively on the Pacific Digital Library.
- Authors are expected to promote the published work on their social media channels, blogs, or other platforms, encouraging viewers to view the content on the Pacific Digital Library.
8. Disqualification
- Submissions that do not meet the guidelines or are submitted after the deadline will be disqualified.
- Pacific Kids' Learning reserves the right to disqualify any submission that is found to be plagiarised or violates any part of these Terms and Conditions.
9. Liability
- Pacific Kids' Learning is not responsible for any lost, damaged, or delayed submissions.
- Pacific Kids' Learning makes no guarantees about the publication or exposure of any submitted work.
10. Acceptance of Terms
- By submitting a story, the author agrees to abide by these Terms and Conditions.
- Pacific Kids' Learning reserves the right to modify or cancel the submission process at any time without prior notice.