Asia-Pacific is the most disaster-prone region in the world. In the last ten years (2008-2017), the region faced over 2500 disasters causing over 100 deaths per day and affecting around 1.6 billion people cumulatively . These figures do not take into account the small-scale recurrent events that affect the communities . The region could account for 40 percent of the global economic losses resulting from disasters in near future .

The Asia Regional Plan for Implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 is an ambitious regional plan that aims to prevent and reduce disaster risk in pursuit of sustainable development and resilience. The Sendai Framework and the Asia Regional Plan highlight the role of advocacy and media in generating the right level of awareness on disaster risk reduction, in pursuit of developing a culture of safety and prevention. Documentaries and short films have proved to be one of the most effective mediums to strengthen understanding on disaster resilience by showcasing how people, institutions and communities prevent and reduce disaster risk and enhance resilience.

The Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction 2018 (AMCDRR) , being jointly hosted by the Government of Mongolia and the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), seeks to accelerate the implementation of the Sendai Framework and the Asia Regional Plan, including through accelerating the momentum around resilience awareness.

Theme of the Conference and the Asia Video Contest

The AMCDRR has adopted a theme “Preventing Disaster Risk: Protecting Sustainable Development”. The video contest will be organised around this theme. Some indicative sub-themes include:

• The human impact
• Innovation and Technology
• Community resilience

Objectives of the Video Contest:

The video competition aims to showcase benefits of disaster risk reduction in achieving resilience of institutions and communities and to advocate for risk prevention for sustainable development. The videos will demonstrate effective and innovative actions and solutions to advance the implementation of the Sendai Framework. Priority will be given to productions which have made a positive contribution to accelerate one of the four priorities of the Sendai Framework showing solutions to reduce existing risks and promoting positive aspects of risks sensitive investment actions towards resilience. This also includes recognition and celebration of individual and community actions and approaches that support disaster risk reduction and resilience.

-The total award value is USD12,000.00 (MNT 29,000,000.00).

-Two best videos will be awarded. The award carries a cash prize of USD 4,000.00 each and return tickets and allowance to attend the AMCDRR in Ulaanbaatar.

-All screened videos will be uploaded on the AMCDRR conference websites with proper citation and acknowledgement.

Entry Requirements

The video competition invites entries that demonstrate the story of a person, a group or a project that focus on disaster risk reduction and resilience. The award aims to honour filmmakers, producers and broadcasters who produce documentaries that can inspire citizens and decision makers to take more actions to build a resilient world.

• There is no entry fee.
• The short films and documentaries should focus on the Asia-Pacific region at any level (regional, national, local, institutional, policy, etc.) and preferably produced by producers from the region.
• Productions will be accepted in English, or in original and native language if accompanied by subtitles in in English.
• Length of productions will vary between 3 to 5 minutes and will have to be professionally made according to broadcast standards.
• Only one video clip can be submitted per person. The video clip should have been produced by the entrant and/or the entrant should have the unrestricted right to disseminate it.
• The video clip should be supported by a document file containing the script, title, location, and the producer’s name in English.
• Only high resolution videos, with good sound quality, will be accepted. The video should have a minimal resolution of 720p.
• The competition will not accept films produced by governments or development actors publicizing a specific project. The main aim of the AMCDRR video competition is to sensitize broadcasters to produce materials promoting disaster risk reduction as part of their reporting.
• The video should be the original work of the entrant and must not infringe upon the copyrights, trademarks, and rights of privacy, publicity, or any other proprietary rights of a person or entity.
• The film should not feature or depict any specific commercial products, processes, services and political views.

Selection
A jury composed of members of the Mongolian National Broadcaster (MNB), the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) and UNISDR will review the submitted documentaries.
The following criteria will be used to evaluate submissions:
• Theme relevance
• General appeal and interest to the broad community
• Creative/Innovative
• Inspirational
• Originality
• Quality of production

The decision of the jury is final and binding, and are not subject to appeal. The jury reserves the right to exclude any submission deemed inappropriate for the competition.