“A functional democracy cannot be based on lies, denial, and amnesia.”
– Vladimir Tismaneanu

30 years after the fall of communist regimes in Central and Eastern Europe, the U.S. Embassy in Bucharest invites you to a contest dedicated to the photographic memories of the era. We invite you to review your photo archive, choose a favorite, and send it in electronic format along with a photo that captures the same image, but today. Photos can contain people, buildings, landscapes, objects, etc.

The “then and now” photos should illustrate the transformation from Communist governance to post-Communist well-being over the last 30 years and will contribute to efforts to preserve recent memory.

Official rules

Prizes

You can win one of the following:

• 1^st Prize:  Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-RX10
• 2^nd Prize:  Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-RX100
• 3^rd Prize:  GoPro Camera Hero 7

Additional prizes may be awarded to recognize all the finalists of the contest.

The winning photos may be posted on the Embassy’s and its partners’ websites and social media platforms. (See additional details in the “Terms &Rights section)

Eligibility

1. Contestants must be Romanian nationals residing in Romania and must be at least 18 years old.
2. The contest commences on September 26, 2019, and closes at 23:59 on October 13, 2019. The person submitting the photos will be considered the contestant, sole owner of the submitted photography, and will be the only person eligible to compete for the prize.
3. Employees of the U.S. Government and their families are not eligible to participate in this contest.

How to Enter:

1. Choose a photo that conveys the atmosphere of the communist period in Romania. Find a current, comparable photo, able to highlight the transformation that has taken place over the past 30 years. Photos must belong to you.
2. Send your photos to infobuch@state.govwith “Then and Now” in the subject line, until October 8, 2019 at 23.59. Please include your full name in the file description. If your entry is received and accepted, you will receive a confirmation e-mail. If you receive no confirmation, call 021.200 6183 for details on re-submission.
3. Once you submit your photos, each set will be considered a final submission, which you cannot replace. You may submit no more than two sets (4 photos no bigger than 3MB each), but and only one set will be eligible for a prize. Participation in this contest is automatically deemed as acceptance of the Terms & Rights.
4. After the expiration of the submitting period, the judges will have four weeks to deliberate. The winners will be announced during a Ceremony the details of which will be shared at a later time, and the result will be featured on Facebook and on the Embassy’s webpage.

Selection of Winners: Judging Criteria

All photos will be viewed by a panel of judges comprised of U.S. Embassy officers and representatives of the 80east Communism Museum.

The criteria for judging in order of importance are:

1. Effectiveness in suggesting the Romania’s transformation after the fall of communism
2. Originality/Creativity

Content Requirements

Entries CANNOT:

• Contain sexually explicit or suggestive material, or inappropriate language relating to 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;
• Depict or otherwise identify a minor without a parent or legal guardian consent.

Terms & Rights

By entering the contest, you represent and agree that:

You own and submitted the photographs (“Entry”). You have received permission from any person(s) depicted in the photos (“Third Party Participant”) (if applicable) for them to appear in the submitted photos 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. 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 are part of your Entry to enable you to grant the rights granted herein. 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 photos you submit, however, by entering the contest, 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, print, reproduce, prepare derivative works of, distribute, display, exhibit, transmit, broadcast, televise, digitize, otherwise use, and permit others, including the 80east Communism Museum, to use throughout the world the photos 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 for those Entry(ies) which were not selected.

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 printing and posting on the U.S. Embassy, Bucharest or other USG web pages and social media platforms.

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 and USG’s social media  platforms (e.g. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc), and web pages in perpetuity throughout the world for viewing by visitors. 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.

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.

By U.S. Mission Romania | 25 September, 2019 | Topics: Events | Tags: Contest, Then and Now