In celebration of Black History Month, the Embassy of the United States in Jordan announces the launch of a poetry and creative expression video competition entitled “IDENTITY” beginning on February 1, 2017. Create a two-minute video of your spoken word poetry on a topic or theme that relates to what identity means to you.
Jordanian youth ages 18-26 are invited to create one video clip of no more than two minutes, on the above theme and to upload the video onto a private YouTube or Vimeo channel. Contestants are reminded that by participating in the contest and uploading content to YouTube, they are bound by YouTube’s Terms of Service and any agreements with YouTube or Google contained therein. Once a video is uploaded to YouTube, it is considered a final submission and may not be modified or replaced. Individual contestants may submit only one video.
Submit the link to your video in an email to BHMAmman@state.gov by 11:59 p.m. Amman time on Feb. 15, 2017 in order to be considered. Finalists will be notified via e-mail and announced publicly at the Black History Month Slam Poetry Night in early March. Submissions may be in English or Arabic, and English will not be required to participate in the upcoming workshop.
A jury composed of local writers and poets, American diplomats, Fulbright grantees, and alumni of U.S. writing programs will select the top eight videos. Videos will be judged on effectiveness in communicating the importance and role of identity and what the author stands for.
The ten finalists will be invited to participate in a slam poetry workshop with an accomplished American slam poet in late February 2017, culminating with a final performance of their pieces, in collaboration with the American performer.
From among the ten finalists, the U.S. Embassy will award three top prizes including a laptop computer for first place, during the final performance. Winners of the 2nd and 3rd places will be awarded a digital camera and a tablet computer, respectively. Winning videos will be featured on the U.S. Embassy YouTube Channel and Facebook page, and on other online platforms. All finalists will receive certificates from the U.S. Embassy in recognition of their efforts.
Contest participants must provide the following information in their email when they submit their videos:
- Entry email should include:
- Full name
- Date of birth/age
- School (if enrolled)
- Telephone #
- Email address
- Title of the original video
- Applicant’s personal information
- Applicant’s contact information:
- Link to your video on YouTube or Vimeo
The competition is for Jordanian or other official permanent residents in Jordan.
Rules and Contest Details
I. Contest Theme:
“IDENTITY” – In honor of Black History Month 2017
II. How to Enter:
Produce an original video of your own spoken word poetry no longer than two minutes in length that reflects the theme of the contest, “IDENTITY” — what does identity mean to you? Each contestant is allowed to submit only one video entry. Videos need to be the original work of the contestants, and to be filmed in Jordan. This contest is open to Jordanian youth ages 18-26 residing in Jordan. Once a video is submitted, it is considered a final submission and may not be modified or edited, or replaced. Participation in this contest is automatically deemed as acceptance of these Official Contest Rules. A video submission must be an original video produced by the submitter.
III. Video Submission:
Video links to pieces uploaded on YouTube or Vimeo, with the corresponding passwords to view them must be sent to BHMAmman@state.gov on or before 11:59 p.m. on February 15, 2017. Entry email should include: Title of the original video, the submitter’s full name, date of birth/age, contact information (telephone number, email address), and the link to your video on YouTube or Vimeo
IV. Content Requirements
Entries cannot:
- be sexually explicit or suggestive, or derogatory of any ethnic, racial, gender, religious, or other group;
- communicate demeaning messages or images;
- promote alcohol, illegal drugs, tobacco, firearms/weapons (or the use of any of the foregoing), any activities that may appear unsafe or dangerous;
- contain prominent copyrighted materials owned by others (including photographs, television, movies or other media);
- promote the violation of any law; and
V. Eligibility:
- Contestants must be ages 18-26.
- The contest commences on February 1, 2017, and closes at 23:59 on February 15, 2017. The person submitting the video will be considered the contestant and will be the only person eligible to compete for the prize.
- Children of the U.S. Embassy employees will not be eligible to participate in this competition.
VI. Selection of Winners:
Judging Criteria
All videos will be screened by a panel of American diplomats from the U.S. Embassy, Amman and other Americans affiliated with the U.S. Embassy, Amman.
The criteria for judging in order of importance are:
1) Effectiveness in raising awareness about the importance of identity;
2) Originality/Creativity;
3) delivery of the poetry.
VII. Terms & Rights:
By entering you represent and warrant and agree that:
You have produced and submitted the Entry. You have received permission from any person(s) depicted in the video and that all elements of your Entry submitted by you are original with you and are not copied from any other work.
Any minor pictured in the video has authorization from that minor’s parent or legal guardian to submit the video product.
By submitting your Entry, you agree that the U.S. Embassy, Amman has no obligation to post or publish your Entry, that all such postings or publication, if any, will be in the U.S. Embassy, Amman’s sole discretion.
You retain ownership of the Entry you submit, however by submitting an Entry, each entrant understands and grants to the U.S. Embassy, Amman 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, Amman is not responsible for any unauthorized third party use of any Entry.
The U.S. Embassy, Amman reserves the right to request proof of the use of any copyrighted materials from any entrant at any time.
The U.S. Embassy, Amman reserves the right to disqualify any Entry for any reason, in its sole and absolute discretion. The U.S. Embassy, Amman 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, Amman 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.
