The JOY OF VOTING YOUTH VIDEO CHALLENGE invites youth and young adults ages 14-25 to submit a video entry between October 1st through November 10th, 2020 sharing why voting is important.

Inspired by Eric Liu’s TED Talk on the importance of voting and his Joy of Voting initiative, the Joy of Voting Youth Video Challenge is an opportunity for youth to engage in civic action through a creative medium—videography! Participants in the challenge are invited to create and submit short (1-2 minutes) videos on how voting connects with issues they care about, their communities, and our democracy. What policies or initiatives could be impacted by their vote on Election Day? Participants are encouraged to celebrate and promote voting with their peers! 
 
The 1 to 2 minute videos can include interviews, collages and public domain pictures or images, non-copyrighted music, or employ any other creative means in a video format. Some of the criteria for judging the video entries will include: technical quality and presentation, power of the message conveyed, relevance to the upcoming general election, enthusiasm, and creativity. Participants can submit videos in the 14-17 or 18-25 age categories. Participants must complete an entry form prior to submitting their videos.
 
For more information, email Zoya Ali at zali@everyday-democracy.org. 
 

A panel of independent judges will establish ranking criteria and help select videos from the top four finalists. The top two finalist videos in each age category will receive $150 and $100 cash prizes and may have their videos posted online on Everyday Democracy’s Facebook page and YouTube channel! 

Your submission should focus on the importance of voting. Perhaps there is a specific cause, such as environmentalism or police brutality, that you think could be impacted by voting on Election Day. That being said, we want you to have fun and use your creativity! You can shoot your film through whatever technology you have access to, whether it be your phone or a camera. Feel free to use some of these free online programs to edit, including WeVideo, TikTok, Animoto, or GoAnimate to name a few. Just be sure not to fall under the one-minute minimum or exceed the two-minute maximum.  
 
Make sure that the title of your video is the same on both the entry form and the video. If you, or any actors in the video, are under 18 years of age, you must also submit a parent consent form for each actor/participant with your written application. All video submissions must feature original non-copyrighted or public domain content. Videos must contain non-partisan content. This challenge is about the importance of voting, not the specific candidates.

Participants must be either residents of Connecticut or enrolled in a Connecticut school/college.