Impact Journalism Day: Calling for stories of change

billionBricks co-founder Prasoon Kumar inside a weatherHyde tent. In 2016, the group raised over $145,000 through crowdfunding, enabling it to give 500 tents to needy families.
billionBricks co-founder Prasoon Kumar inside a weatherHyde tent. In 2016, the group raised over $145,000 through crowdfunding, enabling it to give 500 tents to needy families. ST FILE PHOTO

Know of an idea or initiative to make the world a better place?

Share it, with details on how it offers an innovative solution to a local or global issue, by next Monday to have a chance to be a part of Impact Journalism Day.

For the sixth year in a row, The Straits Times will join media outlets around the world for the event, which falls on June 16 this year.

The aim is to raise awareness of innovative solutions that inspire hope and positive action among readers.

It can be an initiative that helps the vulnerable in your neighbourhood, an idea that improves the lives of people beyond Singapore, or an invention that has the potential to make a global impact.

If you think your project fits the bill, write in to the Paris-based organiser Sparknews at www.tellsparknews.com. Your project must be up and running, and can be helmed by an individual, a company or an organisation.

About 50 shortlisted solutions will be featured in 50 participating media outlets, including ST. This means they will be seen and read by more than 120 million readers.

"Impact Journalism Day brings together inspiring ideas from around the world. Newsrooms around the world come together to feature some of those taking positive steps to solve problems, big and small.

"ST is delighted to be part of the project, together with some of the best media organisations in the world. By working together, we help spread word about the good work being done," said Mr Warren Fernandez, ST editor and editor-in-chief of Singapore Press Holdings' English/Malay/Tamil Media group.

Sparknews, led by a group of journalists, was set up in 2012 to make an impact and improve the world through the reports they put out.

An initiative featured last year was Singapore-based billionBricks, a non-profit organisation that designed a weather-resistant tent to tackle homelessness. In 2016, it raised over $145,000 through crowdfunding, enabling it to give 500 tents to needy families.

Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.

A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on March 10, 2018, with the headline Impact Journalism Day: Calling for stories of change. Subscribe