NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC PARTNERS WITH WATTPAD FOR PLANET OR PLASTIC? INITIATIVE

National Geographic Joins Wattpad to Raise Awareness of the Global Plastic Crisis, Inspire Wattpad Users to Preserve the Planet

TORONTO (October 15, 2018)-National Geographic and Wattpad, the global multiplatform entertainment company for original stories, today announced that they are joining forces to raise awareness of the global plastic crisis through a creative storytelling challenge.

As the amount of plastic in the world's oceans continues to grow, National Geographic has announced a global commitment to help tackle this pressing problem, launching a multiyear Planet or Plastic? initiative aimed at raising awareness about the global plastic crisis and reducing the amount of plastic that reaches the world's oceans.

Today, as an extension of its Planet or Plastic? initiative, National Geographic (@NationalGeographic) joined Wattpad to launch a global story contest, asking writers to explore the alarming impact of plastic on the environment, with the aim of inspiring the next generation to do their part to protect the environment through creative storytelling and artistic activism.

By sharing stories with the hashtag #PlanetOrPlastic, Wattpad users will be able to inspire others to take the pledge to reduce the amount of single-use plastic in their lives. Participants in the contest will also get the chance to have their stories featured on NationalGeographic.com.

Eight million tons of plastic flow into the ocean every year, impacting marine life and doing irreparable damage to our world, said Jill Cress, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at National Geographic Partners. Storytelling is among the most impactful forms of advocating for positive change, and by partnering with Wattpad we will engage a passionate, global community of readers and writers to help inspire the next generation of stewards for our planet.

At Wattpad, we understand the power of storytelling to raise awareness for social causes, said Chris Stefanyk, Head of Brand Partnerships at Wattpad. Every day we see millions of writers use their creative voices to take a stand for social issues. We are honored to welcome National Geographic to our platform and use storytelling to further educate our community on ways to preserve the planet.

You can find the new National Geographic profile at www.wattpad.com/user/NationalGeographic. You can join National Geographic's efforts by pledging your commitment to reduce their use of single-use plastic at natgeo.com/plasticpledge.

About Wattpad

Wattpad's vision is to entertain and connect the world through stories. The global multiplatform entertainment company uses the power of community and technology to enable the creation and distribution of content across a variety of formats. Its flagship app, Wattpad, is home to a community of more than 65 million people who spend over 22 billion minutes a month engaged in original stories. Tap by Wattpad, the company's second storytelling product, offers short, chat-based stories in over a dozen languages. Wattpad Studios co-produces stories for film, television, digital and print, together with industry partners. Wattpad Brand Solutions offers a full suite of advertising products to help brands build deep engagement with Millennial and Gen Z consumers. The company is proudly based in Toronto, Canada. Learn more at: company.wattpad.com

About National Geographic

National Geographic Partners LLC (NGP), a joint venture between National Geographic and 21st Century Fox, is committed to bringing the world premium science, adventure and exploration content across an unrivaled portfolio of media assets. NGP combines the global National Geographic television channels (National Geographic Channel, Nat Geo WILD, Nat Geo MUNDO, Nat Geo PEOPLE) with National Geographic's media and consumer-oriented assets, including National Geographic magazines; National Geographic studios; related digital and social media platforms; books; maps; children's media; and ancillary activities that include travel, global experiences and events, archival sales, licensing and e-commerce businesses. Furthering knowledge and understanding of our world has been the core purpose of National Geographic for 130 years, and now we are committed to going deeper, pushing boundaries, going further for our consumers and reaching millions of people around the world in 172 countries and 43 languages every month as we do it. NGP returns 27 percent of our proceeds to the nonprofit National Geographic Society to fund work in the areas of science, exploration, conservation and education. For more information visit natgeotv.com or nationalgeographic.com, or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn and Pinterest.

LINK:	http://press.nationalgeographic.com/2018/10/15/national-geographic-par...
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