U.S. Embassy Awards Winners of the Video Contest “Never Too Young to Change the World: Stand Up for Everyone’s Rights”
On December 15 teachers and high school students, and American diplomats gathered online to honor the winners of the student video contest “Never Too Young to Change the World: Stand Up for Everyone’s Rights”.
This contest was launched on February 28, 2020 to raise awareness about civic engagement and the importance of voting. The Embassy received 22 videos from 16 high schools and colleges in Romania. The videos were judged on effectiveness in raising awareness about civic engagement and voting, on originality and creativity, and on quality by a jury composed of Americans affiliated with the U.S. Diplomatic Mission to Romania.
In his opening remarks, Cultural Affairs Officer William O’Connor congratulated all participants and encouraged them to participate in the future in these kinds of competitions.
The top three prizes awarded by the U.S. Embassy were: a GoPro video camera, a digital photo camera, and a Kindle E-book reader. Members of the finalist teams were also offered small gifts for encouragement.
The twelve contest finalists were:
- Alexandru Claudiu NASTASE – “Henri Coanda” Technical College of Aeronautics
- Alin-Andrei SIMILEA – “Ion Maiorescu” National College Giurgiu
- Ana-Alexandra BUNEA – “Sfantul Sava” National College
- Maria CHITU-SINESCU – “Sfantul Sava” National College
- Dumitru-Adrian STEFAN – “Mircea Scarlat” National Pedagogical College Alexandria
- Georgiana Valentina ROSU – “Mihail Sadoveanu” High School
- Ioana Camelia MIRU – “C.A. Rosetti” High School
- Iustin POPESCU – Children’s Club Sector 6
- Diana PENA – Children’s Club Sector 6
- Mihaela-Cristina GROSU – Children’s Club Sector 6
- Bianca-Alexandra IVASCU – Children’s Club Sector 6
- Ruth MUNTEAN – “Dr. Ioan Mesota” National College Brasov
The three winning teams are:
First place: Georgiana Valentina ROSU
“Mihail Sadoveanu” High School Bucharest, Grade: X
Second place: Alexandru-Claudiu NASTASE
“Henri Coanda” Technical College of Aeronautics Bucharest, Grade: XII
Third place: Dumitru-Adrian STEFAN
“Mircea Scarlat” National Pedagogical College Alexandria, Grade: XI
Titles and captions for the finalist videos and for the winners
Team 1:
Title: Never Too Young to Change the World: Stand Up for Everyone’s Rights
Caption: Not Always Being a Youth Means Your Word Doesn’t Matter!
(Video made by Alexandru-Claudiu Nastase from “Henri Coanda” Technical College of Aeronautics Bucharest)
Team 2:
Title: Everyone’s Rights Matter
Caption: Our Lives Begin to End the Day We Become Silent about Things that Matter
(Video made by Alin-Andrei Similea from “Ion Maiorescu” National College Giurgiu)
Team 4:
Title: Never Too Young to Change the World: Stand Up for Everyone’s Rights
Caption: Making Our World a Better One to Living
(Video made by Ana-Alexandra Bunea and Maria Chitu-Sinescu from “Sfantul Sava” National College Bucharest)
Team 9:
Title: We Are the Change
Caption: Let’s Be Better and Let’s Live Better!
(Video made by Dumitru-Adrian Stefan from “Mircea Scarlat” National Pedagogical College Alexandria)
Team 10:
Title: Never Too Young to Change the World
Caption: Youth Standing for Everyone’s Rights
(Video made by Georgiana Valentina Rosu from “Mihail Sadoveanu” High School Bucharest)
Team 11:
Title: Never Too Young to Change the World
Caption: Love Each Other…Even Online!
(Video made by Ioana Camelia Miru from “C.A. Rosetti” High School Bucharest)
Team 14:
Title: Never Too Young to Change the World: Stand Up for Everyone’s Rights
Caption: Let’s Change the World Together!
(Video made by Iustin Popescu and Diana Pena from Children’s Club Sector 6 Bucharest)
Team 17:
Title: Stand Up for Everyone’s Rights
Caption: We Are Never Too Young to Change the World!
(Video made by Mihaela-Cristina Grosu and Bianca-Alexandra Ivascu from Children’s Club Sector 6 Bucharest)
Team 22:
Title: Never Too Young to Change the World: Stand Up for Everyone’s Rights
Caption: My Voice Does Matter! I Do Have a Voice!
(Video made by Ruth Muntean from “Dr. Ioan Mesota” National College Brasov)
Never too Young to Change the World: Youth Standing Up for Everyone’s Rights
Video Contest
As part of the campaign to increase the respect for and awareness of human rights for all, especially by youth, the U.S. Embassy in Bucharest invites high school students aged 16-18 to participate in a video competition on “Never too Young to Change the World: Youth Standing up for Everyone’s rights” on February 26, 2020.
Working individually or in teams of no more than two people, Romanian high school students aged 16-18 are invited to create a video clip of no more than 2 minutes, on the above theme and submit it via WeTransfer to infobuch@state.gov no later than March 31, 2020. The video submission must be in .mp4 format and must be accompanied by 2 files, in .srt format, containing the subtitles in English and in Romanian, respectively.
Participants should include their full name, e-mail address, phone number, high school, and the name of their English teacher in their submission. Children or any other family members of the U.S. Embassy employees are not eligible to participate in the competition. Written permission from a parent of guardian must be included for anyone under the age of 18 who appears in the video.
A jury composed of American diplomats and Fulbright grantees will select the top three videos. Videos will be judged on effectiveness in raising awareness about the importance of respecting everyone’s rights, especially by youth; originality and creativity; and video quality.
The U.S. Embassy will award the top prize, a GoPro video camera, during a special ceremony held in May 2020. Winners of the 2nd and 3rd places will be awarded a digital camera and an eBook reader, respectively. The three winners’ videos will be highlighted on the U.S. Embassy website and on other online platforms. All participants – students and teachers alike – will receive certificates from the U.S. Embassy to recognize their efforts.
Rules and Contest Details
Creating videos on “Never Too Young to Change the World: Youth Standing Up for Everyone’s Rights”
The U.S. Embassy in Bucharest invites high school students aged 16-18 to participate in a video contest to raise awareness about the importance of standing up for everyone’s rights in Romania. In addition to prizes for the best videos, winners will have their videos featured on the Embassy’s online platforms. The theme of the contest is “Never Too Young to Change the World: Youth Standing Up for Everyone’s Rights.” We are looking for creative, short, catchy videos that best express the theme. Winners will be selected based on the video’s effectiveness in raising awareness about the importance of standing up for everyone’s rights, originality and creativity, and video quality.
Rules and Contest Details
- Contest Theme: “Never Too Young to Change the World: Youth Standing Up for Everyone’s Rights”
- How to Enter:
Individuals or teams of no more than two persons produce an original video, no longer than two minutes in length, that reflects the theme of the contest, “Never Too Young to Change the World: Youth Standing Up for Everyone’s Rights.” Videos longer than two minutes will not be accepted. Videos must be the original work of the contestants and filmed in Romania. This contest is open to Romanian high school students residing in Romania. Once a video is submitted, it is considered a final submission and may not be modified, edited, or replaced. Participation in this contest is automatically deemed as acceptance of these Official Contest Rules. Each video submission must be an original video produced by the submitter. Only one submission per individual or team will be allowed. - Video Submission:
Videos, in .mp4 format, must be uploaded on WeTransfer and the links to the videos must be sent to infobuch@state.gov on or before midnight of March 31, 2020. Participants will submit their name, e-mail address, phone number, grade and high school, name of their English teacher, when uploading their videos on WeTransfer. Videos must be accompanied by 2 files, in .srt format, containing the subtitles in English and in Romanian. - Content Requirements:
Entries cannot:- Depict or otherwise identify a minor, including the film maker(s), without a parent’s or legal guardian’s written consent.
- Contain sexually explicit or suggestive material, or inappropriate language relating ethnicity, race, gender, religious preference, professional background, age group or disability;
- Promote or contain the use of alcohol, drugs, tobacco, weapons, or any activities that may appear unsafe or dangerous;
- Promote any particular political agenda, message, or party;
- Defame, misrepresent, or contain disparaging remarks about other people, companies, or organizations;
- Contain any prominent use of trademarks, logos, or trade dress (such as distinctive packaging or building exteriors/interiors) owned by others as determined by the U.S. Embassy in Bucharest, or advertise or promote any brand or product of any kind, or contain any personal identification, such as license plate numbers, personal names, e-mail addresses or street addresses;
- Contain prominent copyrighted materials owned by others (including photographs, sculptures, paintings and other works of art or images published on or in websites, television, movies or other media) as determined by the U.S. Embassy, Bucharest;
- Contain materials embodying the names, likenesses, photographs, or other information identifying any person, living or dead without permission;
- Communicate messages or images inconsistent with the positive images and/or goodwill to which the U.S. Embassy, Bucharest wishes to associate;
- Depict and cannot itself be in violation of any law or otherwise;
- Eligibility:
- Contestants must be high school students in Romania aged 16-18 working in teams of no more than two persons.
- Videos will be accepted from February 26, 2020, until at 23:59 on March 31, 2020. The team submitting the video will be considered the contestant and will be the only team eligible to compete for the prizes.
- Children or any family members of U.S. Embassy employees are not be eligible to participate in this competition.
- Selection of Winners and Judging Criteria:
- A jury composed of American diplomats and Fulbright grantees will select the top three videos. Videos will be judged on effectiveness in raising awareness about the importance of respecting everyone’s rights, especially by youth; originality and creativity; and video quality.
- Terms & Rights: By entering the contest, you represent and agree that:
You have produced and submitted the video. You have received permission from any person(s) depicted in the Video (“Third Party Participant”) (if applicable) for them to appear in the video and that all elements of your entry are your original work, are not copied from any other work, and do not infringe upon the rights of any third party and to the extent any elements were created by a third party (“Third Party Participant”), you own all rights, titles and interests to said elements which is part of your Entry to enable you to grant the rights granted herein. If you appear in the video, you have submitted signed permission from your parents for your participation. If a Third Party Participant is a minor, you have secured written permission from that minor’s parent or legal guardian. You retain ownership of the Entry you submit, however, by entering you, on behalf of yourself and any Third Party Participants, grant the U.S. Embassy, Bucharest the perpetual, fully-paid, irrevocable, non-exclusive license to publish, reproduce, prepare derivative works of, distribute, display, exhibit, transmit, broadcast, televise, digitize, otherwise use, and permit others to use and perform throughout the world the video and Entry in any manner, form, or format now or hereinafter created, including on the Internet, and for any purpose, including, but not limited to, advertising or promotion of Contest Entities and Contest all without further consent from or payment to you, including those Entry(ies) which were not selected. By submitting your Entry, you agree that the U.S. Embassy, Bucharest has no obligation to post or publish your Entry, that all such postings or publication, if any, will be in the U.S. Embassy, Bucharest’s sole discretion and that the posting or publication of an Entry does not guarantee the Entry will be selected as a winner.
By submitting an Entry, each entrant understands and grants to the U.S. Embassy, Bucharest permission for his/her Entry to be posted on the Embassy’s online platforms (e.g. Facebook, YouTube), and web pages in perpetuity throughout the world for viewing by visitors to the Websites. The U.S. Embassy, Bucharest is not responsible for any unauthorized third party use of any Entry. Entries will not be acknowledged and will not be received or held “in confidence” and a submission does not create a confidential relationship or obligation of secrecy between you and the U.S. Embassy, Bucharest or any of its affiliates.
Each Entry must not infringe upon the copyrights, trademarks, rights of privacy, publicity or other intellectual property or other rights of any person or entity. If the Entry contains any material or elements that are not owned by the entrant and/or which are subject to the rights of Third Parties, the entrant is responsible for obtaining, prior to submission of the Entry, any and all releases and consents necessary to permit the use and exhibition of the Entry by the U.S. Embassy, Bucharest in the manner set forth in these Official Rules. The U.S. Embassy, Bucharest reserves the right to request proof of these permissions in a form acceptable to them from any entrant at any time. By submitting an Entry, entrant warrants and represents that he/she consents to the submission and use of the Entry in the Contest, and to its posting on the U.S. Embassy, Bucharest or other USG web pages.
The U.S. Embassy, Bucharest reserves the right to disqualify any Entry for any reason, in its sole and absolute discretion. The U.S. Embassy, Bucharest is under no obligation to disclose why an Entry has been disqualified other than the Entry was ineligible under these Official Rules. Furthermore, the U.S. Embassy, Bucharest reserves the right to not award any prize if, in its sole and absolute discretion, it does not receive a sufficient number of eligible and qualified entries in the entry period.
