The Prize

· An all-expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C., New York and Hollywood.

· Gala screenings of the winning videos in Hollywood, New York and Washington

· Exposure to filmmakers and the U.S. film and television industry.

· Meetings with democracy advocates from government, media and civil society.

The Timeline

· SUBMISSION DEADLINE – JANUARY 31, 2009

· Challenge semifinalists will be selected February – March 2009.

· An independent jury will narrow down the semifinalists to 21 finalists April 1 – May 15 2009.

· The general public will vote online for the winning videos May 15 – June 15, 2009.

· Seven winners – one each from the Western Hemisphere, Europe, Middle East/North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, South & Central Asia, East Asia/Pacific and one anonymous winner – will be announced in mid-June 2009.

· In October 2009, the six publicly identified winners, one from each of the six geographic regions, will travel to the United States to claim their prize.

The Details

· You must be 18 or older to enter.

· Videos can be any style: fiction or documentary, animated or live action.

· Videos must be no longer than three minutes.

· Videos must be in English or have English subtitles.

· Contestants may enter anonymously, but anonymous winners cannot collect the grand prize.

· See contest site for a complete list of rules, www.videochallenge.america.gov.

The Democracy Video Challenge is a world-wide competition for aspiring filmmakers to create and submit a 3-minute video completing the phrase “Democracy is…” All videos can be uploaded onto YouTube directly. Certain rules apply. Please see the following websites for additional information:

http://www.videochallenge.america.gov/

http://www.youtube.com/democracychallenge