ABOUT THE CHALLENGE

Create a video short that completes the phrase “Democracy is…”

THE PRIZE

  • An all-expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C., New York and Hollywood.
  • Gala screenings of the winning videos in Hollywood, New York and Washington
  • Exposure to filmmakers and the U.S. film and television industry.
  • Meetings with democracy advocates from government, media and civil society.

THE TIMELINE

  • SUBMISSION DEADLINE – MIDNIGHT GMT JANUARY 31, 2010.
  • Challenge semifinalists will be selected on or about March 31, 2010.
  • An independent jury will narrow down the semifinalists to 21 finalists on or about May 15, 2010.
  • The general public will vote online for the winning videos May 15 – June 15, 2010.
  • Seven winners – one each from the Western Hemisphere, Europe, Middle East/North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, South & Central Asia, East Asia/Pacific and one anonymous winner – will be announced in mid-June 2010.
  • The six publicly identified winners, one from each of the six geographic regions, will travel to the United States to claim their prize in the fall of 2010.

THE DETAILS

  • You must be 18 or older to enter.
  • Videos can be any style: fiction or documentary, animated or live action.
  • Videos must be no longer than three minutes.
  • Videos must be in English or have English subtitles.
  • Contestants may enter anonymously, but anonymous winners cannot collect the grand prize.
  • See contest site for a complete list of rules, www.videochallenge.america.gov.

GUIDELINES AND OFFICIAL RULES

Terms:

  1. The term “Contest” refers to the Democracy Video Challenge.
  2. The “Contest Sponsors” include the Center for International Private Enterprise, the International Youth Foundation, NBC Universal, the National Democratic Institute, the International Republican Institute, the Motion Picture Association of America, New York University, the Recording Industry Association of America, Tisch School of the Arts, TakingITGlobal, the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School of Communications, and the U.S. Department of State.
  3. “Platform Partner” means Google Inc., whose sole responsibility for this Contest is to make the YouTube website, located at http://www.youtube.com (including all mirror, derivative sites and/or localized versions thereof, as applicable) (collectively, the “YouTube Site”) available to the Contest Sponsors.
  4. The “Contestant” is the registered user of the YouTube account associated with a Video Submission.
  5. A “Video Submission” is any eligible video submitted to the Contest not later than 11:59:59 GMT January 31, 2010.

Eligibility:

  1. Contestants must be at least 18 years on the date of commencement of the Contest.
  2. Previous video-making experience is neither required nor prohibited.
  3. The Contest commences at 12:00:01 am GMT September 15, 2009 and ends at 11:59:59 GMT January 31, 2010.
  4. To become a registered user of the YouTube Site, individuals must register for an account and agree to the YouTube Site’s “terms of use” set forth athttp://www.youtube.com/t/terms (“Terms of Service”). There is no fee or charge to become a registered user.
  5. The following individuals are not eligible to enter the Contest: employees, directors and officers of the Contest Sponsors, the Platform Partner, the U.S. government, the William Morris Endeavor Agency, Rumblefish, and each of their respective parent, subsidiary and other affiliated companies, as well as contractors of the U.S. government, distribution, web design, advertising, fulfillment, judging and Contest agencies involved in the administration, development, fulfillment and execution of this Contest (collectively, “Contest Parties”), and the immediate family members (spouse, parent, child, sibling and spouse or “step” of each) and those living in the same households of each such individual.
  6. No entry fee is necessary to participate or win in the Contest. The Contest is void where prohibited by law, regulation, statute or other appropriate authority.

General Requirements:

  1. Video Submissions must complete the phrase, “Democracy is…”
  2. Video Submissions may be no more than three minutes in length, including titles.
  3. Video Submissions may use any narrative and technical style, including documentary, fiction, live action or animation.
  4. When uploading the Video Submission, the Contestant must include the following information in the YouTube branding box:
    1. The Contestant’s YouTube account name;
    2. The name of the video (in English); and
    3. The country for which it is being submitted. The user may also choose to add a brief description of the video, but it must be in English.
  5. Each Contestant may submit only one Video Submission.
  6. Video Submissions must be in English or have English subtitles. Any non-English word (i.e., music, lyrics, dialogue, and signage) must be translated into English subtitles. Contestants may use an online translation tool such as translate.google.com to create the English text. Most video editing software includes a titling tool, but free titling software is also available on the Internet.
  7. Video Submissions must be uploaded to the YouTube Contest site beginning 12:00:01 September 15, 2009 at www.youtube.com/democracychallenge by 11:59:59 GMT January 31, 2010. See uploading instructions below.
  8. Once a video is uploaded to the YouTube Contest site it is considered final and may not be modified or edited.
  9. Finalists will be expected to provide Contest Sponsors with a broadcast-quality copy of their Video Submissions on tape or DVD within two weeks of the finalist announcement, in order for the Submission to be aired on television and distributed on DVD.
  10. No Video Submissions will be returned.

Content Requirements:

  1. Video Submissions may contain content created by the Contestant and content in the public domain. Video Submissions must not contain any elements including music, audio, speech/voiceovers, stills, video, supers, or other audiovisual materials that is protected by someone else’s copyright or trade secret or otherwise subject to third party proprietary rights, including privacy and publicity rights, except as provided below.
    1. Contestants may include music in their Video Submissions only as follows:
      1. Contestants may include music that they have personally composed and performed. In such cases, Contestants must submit a written affirmation that they composed and performed such music todemocracyvideochallenge@gmail.com. This email should contain your YouTube user name, your video’s name (in English), video URL, and country.
      2. Contestants may include music they jointly composed and performed with relatives and close friends if the relevant parties give written permission to the Contestant to include the music in the Video Submission for use in the Contest. In such cases, Contestants must submit documentation todemocracyvideochallenge@gmail.com stating in detail who composed and performed the music, and the circumstances in which permission was given for inclusion in the Video Submission and use in the Contest. This email should contain your YouTube user name, your video’s name (in English), video URL, and country. Decisions on the sufficiency of the documentation are within the sole and absolute discretion of the Contest Sponsors.
      3. Contestants may include (at no charge to the Contestant) music that has been made available for use in the Contest by Rumblefish, Inc. Instructions on how to incorporate music from Rumblefish into a Video Submission is available at: http://www.rumblefish.com/DemocracyVideoChallenge.
      4. You will receive an email from the democracyvideochallenge@gmail.comconfirming the Contest Sponsors’ receipt of your documentation. Such email confirmation does not connote automatic eligibility of the Video Submission. Contest Sponsors reserve the right to request further documentation, at their sole and absolute discretion, to verify eligibility and compliance with these Official Rules.
    2. By uploading a Video Submission, the Contestant affirms that he or she has obtained the necessary rights, licenses, consents and permissions to use all material in the video, including but not limited to rights to use original content not produced by the Contestant alone and written consent from all individuals whose image or likeness appears in the video and that he or she is prepared to provide documentation to that effect upon request (or from parent/legal guardian if any such person(s) is considered a minor in their country of residence). Failure to obtain such rights and consents may result in the disqualification of the Video Submission at the Contest Sponsors’ sole and absolute discretion.
    3. Contest Sponsors recognize no allowance for “fair use” of copyrighted material.
  2. Video Submissions must not contain profanity, explicit sexual material, graphic violence, appeals to violence or commercial promotion. Video Submissions must adhere to the norms of civil discourse and should not contain material that might be considered abusive, inflammatory or disrespectful to other groups or individuals.
  3. Video Submissions that do not comply with the YouTube Terms of Service or these Official Rules or that otherwise contain prohibited, inappropriate, or irrelevant content as determined by the Content Sponsors, in their sole and absolute discretion, will be disqualified, removed from the Contest site and not considered for a prize.

Registration:

  1. The person named as the registered owner of the YouTube user account associated with the Video Submission will be considered the Contestant and will be the only person eligible to compete for the grand prize. In order to be eligible to win the grand prize, you must provide accurate and complete information.
  2. Contestants must identify their country when uploading their Video Submissions. Dual nationals, immigrants or foreign residents of a country may choose to identify their Video Submissions with either their country of origin or their country of residence but may choose only one. The video will be considered a Video Submission from the country identified during upload for the purposes of the judging process. Any Video Submission without a country label will be considered an anonymous entry and will not be eligible to win the grand prize.
  3. Once your video has been uploaded to YouTube, please submit an email to thedemocracyvideochallenge@gmail.com account that includes your YouTube user name, the name of your video ( in English), video URL, country, and any supporting documentation as outlined in Section IV content requirements and section VII.

Liabilities and Rights:

  1. The Contest Sponsors and Platform Partner do not endorse any Video Submission or any opinion, recommendation, or advice expressed therein, and the Contest Sponsors expressly disclaim any and all liability in connection with Video Submissions.
  2. The Contest Sponsors and Platform Partner do not permit copyright infringing activities or infringement of any other intellectual property rights and reserve the right to remove any Video Submission in violation of another party’s copyright or other intellectual property rights.
  3. The Contestant assumes sole responsibility for the material contained in the Video Submission and for the consequences of posting it on the Contest site.
  4. Neither Contest Sponsors, and Platform Partner nor any of the Contest Parties are liable for any disputes between collaborators related to a Video Submission.
  5. Contestants retain ownership of their Video Submissions. However, by submitting a Video to the Contest, Contestants grant Contest Sponsors and Platform Partner a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sub-licensable and transferable license to use, reproduce, distribute, prepare derivative works of, display, and perform the Video Submissions in any media formats and through any media channels in perpetuity in connection with the Contest and in connection with the activities and operations of the Contest Sponsors.
  6. You agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless Contest Sponsors and Platform Partner, their parent, subsidiary and other affiliated companies, officers, directors, employees and agents, from and against any and all claims, damages, obligations, losses, liabilities, costs or debt, and expenses (including but not limited to attorney’s fees) arising from: (i) your use of and access to the YouTube Site and Contest websites in connection with the Contest; (ii) your violation of these Official Rules or the YouTube Terms of Service; (iii) your violation of any third party right, including without limitation any copyright, trademark, intellectual property, privacy, publicity or other proprietary right in connection with the Contest; or (iv) any claim that your Video Submissions caused damage to a third party. This defense and indemnification obligation will survive indefinitely beyond the conclusion of the Contest and your use of the Contest and YouTube websites.
  7. Neither Contest Sponsors, Platform Partner nor any of the Contest Parties are liable for any disputes between collaborators related to a Video Submission.

Uploading Videos:

  1. Videos must be formatted in a manner acceptable for uploading to the YouTube Website.
  2. Log into YouTube at www.YouTube.com/signup.
  3. IF CONTESTANTS ALREADY HAVE A YouTube ACCOUNT: Sign in under the “Member Login” section.
  4. TO ENTER THE CONTEST IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A YouTube ACCOUNT: Contestants must complete the free registration form.
  5. Once Contestants are registered and logged into YouTube, they should visit the Contest website at www.YouTube.com/democracychallenge.
  6. On the Contest website homepage, locate the Contest Module in the right column and Click on the Submit tab. It is within this module that all Video Submissions will be entered.
  7. On the Submit tab click on the Upload button to upload the Video Submission to YouTube.
  8. When uploading the Video Submission, the Contestant must include the following information in the YouTube branding box: 1) the Contestant’s YouTube account name; 2) the name of the video (in English); and 3) the country for which it is being submitted. The user may also choose to add a brief description of the video, but it must be in English.
  9. After uploading the video, or if the video has already been uploaded, click the Continue button on the Contest Module Submit tab to proceed to the next step.
  10. Enter the Contestant’s YouTube username in the contest module and click the Continue button to proceed to the next step.
  11. Select the appropriate video to enter in the Contest from all of the Contestant’s uploaded videos. Preview any video by clicking the video thumbnail image on the left side of the module.
  12. Before submitting the video entry, the Contestant must agree to the Contest terms and conditions by checking the checkbox below the video player.
  13. You’ll know if the video was submitted correctly because the Contest Module Submit tab will confirm that the video was submitted to the Contest.
  14. YouTube will send a confirmation email to the video owner’s email address. Click the URL in the confirmation email to verify the submitted the contest entry.

***** IF YOUR VIDEO CONTAINS MUSIC, YOU MUST FOLLOW THE RULES IN CONTEST REQUIREMENTS, SECTION IV 1.a and SECTION V, including the necessary information about the source of your music. Please keep in mind that you can download approved music for this contest at no charge on Rumblefish.

Judging Criteria

All videos will be pre-screened by the Contest Sponsors to ensure compliance with these Official Rules and the YouTube Terms of Service before being posted to the Contest site. Subsequently, videos will pass through three rounds of judging to determine the winners. The first two rounds of judging will be evaluated on the following criteria:

  1. 40% Overall Impact (demonstrates the meaning and value of democracy)
  2. 40% Creativity (contains original concepts, ideas and storytelling style)
  3. 20% Production Values (image quality, editing and sound)

Round 1: Contest Sponsors will evaluate Video Submissions at the country level. Three videos from each country will be nominated to the semifinalist pool. Round 1 judging will be completed on or about March 31, 2010.

Round 2: An independent panel of judges comprised of film experts and democracy and youth organizations will evaluate the semifinalists. They will choose three finalists from each of the six world geographic regions as defined by the U.S. Department of State (Western Hemisphere, East Asia Pacific, Europe, Africa, Near East, South & Central Asia) and three anonymous finalists for a total of twenty-one finalists, which will be revealed on the Contest site (www.youtube.com/democracychallenge) on or about May 15, 2010.

Round 3: The twenty-one finalist Video Submissions will be posted on the Contest site in mid-May 2010, and the general public will have until 11:59:59 GMT, June15, 2010 to vote (one vote per person per day) for their favorite videos using YouTube’s rating system, based on the criteria set forth above. One grand prize winner from each of the six world geographic regions, as defined by the U.S. Department of State, and one anonymous winner will be selected on or around June 18, 2010.

Prizes:

  • All seven winning Video Submissions will be screened at a gala reception in Washington, D.C., New York and Hollywood and posted to www.videochallenge.America.gov andwww.youtube.com/democracychallenge.
  • The six world geographic winners will receive the grand prize: a 10-day trip for winner to Washington D.C., New York and Hollywood to attend gala screening(s) of the winning videos, meetings with government, media and civil society leaders, and exposure to the U.S. film and television industries. The trip is anticipated to take place approximately Fall 2010 (final dates to be determined by Contest Sponsors). The trip consists of: coach air transportation to/from a major airport near winner’s residence and a U.S. airport selected by the Contest Sponsors; coach air, train or car transportation between cities; transfers to/from hotel, airport, train station and/or screening/meeting venues; standard hotel accommodations (one room) for 10 days; and meals for winner each day throughout the trip (at a reasonable per diem to be decided by the Contest Sponsors). All grand prizes will be awarded provided a sufficient number of eligible Video Submissions are received. Grand prize ARV may vary depending upon departure and destination points, and also airfare, hotel and other price fluctuations. Each grand prize is nontransferable and non-endorsable. All taxes on or in connection with any prize, and the reporting consequences thereof, are the sole and exclusive responsibility of the winner. In the event any screenings and/or meetings are postponed, cancelled, or not available, that portion of the grand prize will not be awarded. The Contest Sponsors reserve the right to substitute the grand prize, or any portion thereof, with another prize of equal or greater value. The selection of all vendors, products and services in fulfilling any prize is subject to the Contest Sponsors’ sole and absolute discretion.
  • The Contest Sponsors reserve the right to verify that a semifinalist, finalist or winning Video Submission is in full compliance with these Official Rules before the Contestant is recognized as a semifinalist, finalist or winner and before awarding any prize. Inability of Contest Sponsors to contact a semifinalist, finalist or potential winner may result in disqualification and/or selection of an alternate semifinalist, finalist or potential winner from among all remaining eligible Video Submissions. A potential winner, where permitted by law, may be required by Contest Sponsors to execute and return an affidavit of eligibility, release, tax forms and/or other required documentation within seven (7) days following Contest Sponsors’ notification. Noncompliance with this requirement may result in disqualification and/or selection of an alternate potential winner from among all remaining eligible Video Submissions.
  • The Contest Sponsors reserve the right to require prize winners to submit to a confidential background check as a condition of awarding the prize to help ensure that the use of any such person in advertising or publicity for the Contest will not bring Contest Sponsors into public disrepute, contempt, scandal or ridicule or reflect unfavorably on the Contest as determined by Contest Sponsors in their sole and absolute discretion.
  • Travel to the United States is contingent on the winners’ eligibility to receive a U.S. tourist visa. The Contest Sponsors will make all reasonable efforts to facilitate this process but cannot guarantee that a visa will be issued.

Timeline:

  • January 31, 2010: Submissions due.
  • February 1, 2010 to March 31, 2010: First round of judging.
  • April 1, 2010: Semifinalists selected.
  • April 1, 2010 to April 30, 2010: Second round of judging.
  • May 15, 2010: Finalists announced.
  • May 15 – June 15, 2010: General public votes for winning videos.
  • On or around June 18, 2010: Winners selected.
  • July 1, 2010: Visa interview appointments should be scheduled.
  • Fall 2010: Grand prize trip to the United States.

Privacy:

Semifinalists, finalists and winners of the Contest may be publicly identified by name and country. Anonymous Contestants will not be identified by name but may be identified by country. Beyond the identification of semifinalists, finalists and winners, any personally identifiable information collected as part of the Contest will be used only to facilitate contact between the Contest Sponsors or their appointed delegates and the Contestant for reasons related to the Contest. No personally identifiable information will be sold or distributed by the Contest Sponsors to any third party for any other purpose.

General Terms and Conditions:

If for any reason the Contest is not capable of running as planned, including without limitation, infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes which corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity or proper conduct of the Contest, the Contest Sponsors reserve the right, at their sole and absolute discretion to cancel, modify or terminate the Contest. Further, the Contest Sponsors reserve the right, at any time and in their sole and absolute discretion, to disqualify and/or deem ineligible any individual they suspect (a) to be tampering or attempting to tamper with the entry process or the operation of the Contest or any Contest Sponsor or YouTube; (b) to have failed to agree to the Official Rules or to be violating the Official Rules; (c) to be violating the YouTube Terms of Service, or (d) to be acting in a bad faith, unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner, or with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass any other person. Contest Sponsors reserve the right, in their sole and absolute discretion, to disregard and/or deem VOID such individual’s entry in this Contest.

LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY AND RELEASE:

Contest Sponsors and Contest Parties assume no liability or responsibility for any loss or harm resulting from any user’s participation in or attempt to participate in the Contest or ability or inability to upload or download any information in connection with participating in the Contest. Contest Sponsors and Contest Parties assume no responsibility or liability for technical problems or technical malfunction arising in connection with any of the following occurrences which may affect the operation of the Contest: hardware or software errors; faulty computer, telephone, cable, satellite, network, electronic, wireless or Internet connectivity or other online communication problems; errors or limitations of any Internet service providers, servers, hosts or providers; garbled, jumbled or faulty data transmissions; failure of any email transmissions to be sent or received; lost, late, delayed or intercepted email transmissions; inaccessibility of the Contest site in whole or in part for any reason; traffic congestion on the Internet or the Contest site; unauthorized human or non-human intervention of the operation of the Contest, including without limitation, unauthorized tampering, hacking, theft, virus, bugs, worms; or destruction of any aspect of the Contest, or loss, miscount, misdirection, inaccessibility or unavailability of an email account used in connection with the Contest. Contest Sponsors and Contest Parties are not responsible for any typographical errors in the announcement of prizes or these Official Rules, or any inaccurate or incorrect data contained on the Contest site. Use of Contest site is at user’s own risk. Contest Sponsors and the Contest Parties are not responsible for any personal injury or property damage or losses of any kind which may be sustained to user’s or any other person’s computer equipment resulting from participation in the Contest, use of the Contest site or the download of any information from the Contest site. By participating in the Contest, the Contestant releases the Contest Sponsors and Contest Parties from any and all claims, damages or liabilities arising from or relating to such Contestant’s participation in the Contest. Contest Sponsors and Contest Parties are not liable in the event that any portion of the Contest is cancelled due to weather, fire, strike, acts of war or terrorism, or any other condition beyond their control (a “Force Majeure Event”). Should a Force Majeure Event occur, Contest Sponsors may, but are not obligated to, exercise reasonable efforts to air the winning videos and deliver all or part of the prize or make a reasonable substitution in their sole and absolute discretion.