2008 TC/OBC KIDVID CONTEST
Rules of the
Contest
The Transition
Center's Overseas Briefing
Center and the Foreign
Service Youth Foundation are sponsoring the thirteenth annual
worldwide KIDVID Contest for production of a DVD that depicts life
for Foreign Service youth at your post. Winners will be awarded cash
prizes and are invited to attend the annual Youth Award Ceremony
sponsored by FSYF held in the summer. This contest is open to
children ages 10-18.
Foreign Service children and their parents come to
the OBC to research their assignments and they want to see what life
will be like for them at post. Housing, schooling,
recreational facilities, community life, and depicting city life
are the most important elements to communicate. We want
the viewpoint of the younger members of the Foreign Service
Community. Following are basic guidelines for suitable topics;
contest rules can be disseminated directly to potential contestants.
What would be of most interest to other children
and teens who have been assigned to your post? Examples should
include:
City
1) Typical points of entry for new arrivals
2) Major sights
3) View of the city from a high point
4) Local neighborhoods and shopping areas that you use
5) Typical landscape, different animals (if applicable)
Housing
1) View of typical bedroom for different age groups
2) Backyard or play areas for kids
3) Exterior and interior housing views (at least a couple of
examples from different embassy neighborhoods, especially if housing
differs considerably at various locations)
School
1) View of the school buildings, playgrounds, and
sports fields
2) Classrooms, library, computer room, chemistry lab or other room
of particular interest
3) School activities in progress (if at all possible), including
students and teachers
4) Special equipment in use
5) Sports teams and facilities
Shopping
1) Where does your family buy groceries every week? Are there good
places to shop for clothes?
2) Favorite shopping areas where you go with your family or can go
by yourself
Community Life
1) What young children and teens do in their free
time is very interesting to new people moving to your post.
2) What kind of recreational activities do you have at your post?
(i.e. pool, American Club, beaches, horseback riding, etc.)
3) How do you celebrate American holidays there?
4) What are the favorite restaurants in the city? Do you have fast
food restaurants like those in the
US?
5) What are the biggest tourist attractions at your post?
Contest Rules for Video Production
1. Eligibility:
Family members (ages 10-18) of USG direct-hire and contract
employees who are assigned to the US Mission.
2. Contest procedures: It is
suggested that the Management Officer or Community Liaison Office
Coordinator take responsibility for the advertisement of the contest
at post. A camera-ready advertisement and a set of rules will
be sent to the CLOs overseas. Contact
Maureen Johnston, if you do not receive them.
The contest rules, also available on OpenNet
http://fsi.state.gov/rd.asp?ID=78
, should be announced, explained and made available in written form
to anyone who wishes to enter the contest.
3. All posts are welcome to submit nominations. Posts
with previous winners can enter again. Boarding school students
spending the holidays with parents at post are welcome to
participate in the contest.
4. Entry must be submitted in a Mini-DV or DVD format that is
compatible with US standards.
5. Before videotaping, be aware of any local restrictions on
using a video camera in public. Americans who are videotaped
need to be informed of the purpose of the DVD (see paragraph 13).
6. Entries will be judged on the basis of visual presentation, audio
clarity including the narration, length of video and thorough
coverage of content. See examples above.
7. Music, graphics, and special effects may be used but are
not required. We are not looking for professional quality
productions; good home video quality is perfectly acceptable.
Technical quality is not as important as content. A good
product is one that gives a clear portrayal of a student's life at
post.
8. Ideal video length is between 15 and 30 minutes.
9. We ask that adults provide minimal assistance in the video
production.
10. Multiple entries from different students at a post may be
submitted to the contest.
11. Group submissions are acceptable, but group winners will
have their prize money divided accordingly.
12. FSYF, through a generous donation from Oakwood
International Corporate Housing, will award cash prizes to the top
winners.
13. All submissions become property of OBC and will not be
returned to contestants. The DVDs will be kept in the OBC and
other Foreign Service reference libraries, for use by those students
and family members who will be moving to the post. As OBC
property, these videos may also be made available to the public.
14. Submissions must be accompanied by the following printed
information from each student who participated in the production of
the video;
Name
Parent Agency
Pouch Address
Telephone Number
Grade and Age
City and
Country
15. Contestants must acknowledge that they
have read and understand the contest rules and uses to which the DVD
may be put.
16. Send contest submissions to the
following address:
KIDVID Contest
Overseas Briefing Center
Room E2126
Shultz Center
Department of State
Washington, DC 20522-4201
17. Contest deadline: Submissions must be
received in the
Overseas
Briefing
Center
by April 15, 2008. Contest winners will be announced by the end of
May.
Please make this contest
widely known at your post to maximize this opportunity for the young
people of your community. Questions regarding the contest
rules or guidelines can be directed by Department e-mail or by
Internet (johnstonm5@state.gov),
phone, (703-302-7277), or fax (703-302-7452), to
Maureen Johnston at the
Overseas
Briefing
Center.
