Esri India StoryMaps Challenge 2025

Mapping Ideas, Shaping Narratives

Submit your story through October 31st, 2025 by 6 pm IST

Enter the challenge
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India StoryMap Challenge 2025

Esri India is pleased to announce the India StoryMap Challenge 2025, a national storytelling competition designed to showcase the power of GIS through creative and impactful StoryMaps.

  • Take a geographic approach

    The world’s greatest challenges—including climate change, sustainability, and social and economic inequality—are interrelated and inherently tied to geography. GIS tools help people understand those challenges and communicate solutions through place-based stories.

    Learn about GIS

  • Tell stories with maps

    Maps are an integral part of storytelling—a story can effect change, influence opinion, and create awareness. ArcGIS StoryMaps enables storytellers to easily combine text, maps, and interactive content to make engaging stories that inform and inspire.

    Browse storytelling resources

  • Tell your story

    Your story could showcase your plans or projects, educate people about an issue, or help gain support for your cause. Or it could be a personal story, such as sharing a place you love. The possibilities are endless.

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A map of shipping routes across the Atlantic, Europe, and Africa, showing patterns of human activity.

Challenge Announcement


The Esri India StoryMap Challenge 2025, organized by Esri India, aims to inspire and empower individuals and teams across the country to harness the power of geographic information and storytelling. The challenge invites participants to showcase India’s rich diversity, pressing challenges, and innovative solutions through creative and impactful StoryMaps.

This contest provides a national platform for participants to demonstrate how complex spatial information can be transformed into engaging, informative, and visually compelling narratives using Esri’s ArcGIS StoryMaps technology.

View the full judging criteria

Themes

  • Sustainability & Environment

    Climate change, biodiversity, conservation success stories.

  • Infrastructure & Urban Development

    Urban planning, transport, housing, smart infrastructure

  • Heritage & Culture

    Historical sites, cultural traditions, festivals, stories of places

  • Disaster Management & Resilience

    Floods, earthquakes, disaster response planning

  • Health & Wellbeing

    Health services mapping, pollution impacts, social development

  • Education & Social Impact

    Literacy initiatives, social programs, women empowerment

  • Water Resources & Agriculture

    Irrigation, watershed management, crop pattern analysis

  • Sports & Events Mapping

    Spirit of sports, concerts, festivals, and large public events 

  • Space & Science

    Space exploration stories, satellite data studies, cutting-edge scientific research using GIS

  • Community Stories

    Local issues, citizen-led initiatives, rural development

  • Flora & Fauna

    Wildlife conservation, endangered species mapping, forest cover analysis, biodiversity hotspots, botanical studies, and habitat monitoring

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Key dates and submission deadlines

Competition Launch: 6th October

Submission Window Open: 6th - 31st October

Winner Announcement: 19th November (GIS Day)

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Prizes and Recognition

Rank

Prize Money (INR)

1st Winner

1,00,000

2nd Winner

75,000

3rd & 4th Winner

50,000 Each

5th to 8th Winner

25,000 Each

9th to 10th Winner

10,000 Each


* Applicable taxes (TDS) will be deducted as per government regulations

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Requirements

  • Complete the StoryMap Entry Form & provide details and request a license if needed.
  • Esri India will provide licenses to all registered participants who complete the entry form, to be used exclusively for creating and submitting StoryMaps for the competition. Licenses are valid only for the contest period and will be disabled after the event ends. Entries created using personal or organizational licenses will not be accepted
  • Once the StoryMap is created, submit the final StoryMap link to storymaps@esri.in.

A computer monitor displaying an ArcGIS StoryMaps story with a block of text beside a photo of an oceanographer posing by the ocean

Judging criteria

Each StoryMap will be evaluated by the judging panel based on the following criteria:

  • Story telling: Clarity and Creativity (25%)
  • Data & Maps Usage (25%)
  • Creativity & Design (20%)
  • Impact / Relevance (20%)
  • Visual and multimedia elements (10%)

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Terms and conditions

By entering the Esri India ArcGIS StoryMaps challenge 2025, you confirm that you have read and agree to the terms and conditions.

Review terms and conditions
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Resources

Find tips and tricks to get you started.

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Get inspiration for your story

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