Deadline: 19 June 2020
PLURAL+ Youth Video Festival is a joint initiative of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) that invites the world’s youth to submit original and creative videos focusing on the themes of migration, diversity and social inclusion.
By supporting the distribution of youth-produced media, PLURAL+ recognizes youth as powerful agents of positive social change in a world often characterized by intolerance, and cultural and religious divisions.
All entrants to PLURAL+ will be notified about the results of the competition by mid-August 2020, and the winners will be publicly announced at an Awards Ceremony in Morocco in late 2020. Arrangements will be made in late summer 2020 for the travel and accommodation of PLURAL+ winners.
Goal
The primary goal of PLURAL+ is to support the creative vision of young people and the global distribution of youth-produced media on themes related to migration, diversity, social inclusion, and the prevention of xenophobia in order to foster respect for cultural diversity.
New Award Categories
For the 2020 edition of PLURAL+, IOM and UNAOC announced the creation of two new award categories for the festival, providing even more opportunities for young filmmakers around the world to be recognized for their creative visions.”
- Entitled “The Future We Want,” the first new award category invites young filmmakers to submit videos focusing on the future of migration, diversity, social inclusion, and the prevention of xenophobia. It was created in the context of the 75th anniversary of the UN and the organization’s efforts to foster a global conversation on the role of global cooperation in building the future we want.
- The second new category, the #for SafeWorship Award, invites youth to express their views and perspectives on ways to foster peaceful co-existence between religions and faiths. This category was created in the context of the UN Plan of Action to Safeguard Religious Sites, developed by UNAOC and launched in September 2019
What should video be about?
- PLURAL+ recognizes young people as powerful agents of social change and video entries should therefore serve as an instrument for them to express their thoughts and opinions on one or several of the main themes of PLURAL+: migration, diversity, social inclusion, and the prevention of xenophobia.
- PLURAL+ video entries can be of any genre (animation, documentary, music video, comedy, etc.) as long as they have the potential to make the audience think in constructive ways about those pressing social issues in constructive ways.
- PLURAL+ video entries should not contain profanities or material that some audiences may find inappropriate or offensive.
PLURAL+ video entries must be:
- Between one and five minutes in length, including title(s) and opening/closing credits (the PLURAL+ team will automatically disqualify any submission falling outside of this time restraint)
- In English or include English subtitles
- Produced after 31 December 2018.
In addition, PLURAL+ video entries can be of any genre (animation, documentary, music video, comedy, etc.) as long as they have the potential to make the audience think in constructive ways about the PLURAL+ themes – migration, diversity, social inclusion, and the prevention of xenophobia.
If selected, entrants must be prepared to submit a digital copy of their video in either of the following formats: MOV (preferred), MP4, AVI, QT, MKV, or FLV. HD is preferred (1920×1080), but not required.
What do PLURAL+ winners get?
PLURAL+ winners get a chance to come to Morocco, all expenses paid, and to present their work during the annual PLURAL+ Awards Ceremony in late 2020, which is attended every year by a diverse, global audience (United Nations employees, media professionals, representatives of civil society organizations, academics, etc.). In addition, PLURAL+ winning videos gain international exposure and PLURAL+ winners get the opportunity to meet and network with a multitude of professionals, peers, and organizations and to explore opportunities for further distribution and dissemination of their work.
Eligibility Criteria
- The PLURAL+ Youth Video Festival (hereinafter referred to as “PLURAL+”) is open to young people of all nationalities with a keen interest in the pressing social issues of migration, diversity, social inclusion, and the prevention of xenophobia.
- Entrants to PLURAL+ must be at most 25 years old at the time of the production of their videos.
- PLURAL+ is organized into three age categories:
- up to 12 years old
- 13 to 17 years old and
- 18 to 25 years old.
- While the people appearing in the video do not have to be young, it is imperative that the video reflects the thoughts and opinions of the young filmmaker about migration, diversity, social inclusion, and xenophobia. The person submitting the video (“the entrant”) must be actively involved in its making; e.g. either as a director, writer, camera person, editor, actor, coordinator, etc.
- Immediate family members of staff members of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC), the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and members of the PLURAL+ International Jury are not eligible to enter the competition.
For more information, visit https://pluralplus.unaoc.org/