Call for Entries, Plural + Youth Video Festival (United Nations Alliance of Civilizations)

DEADLINE 27 JUNE!
Share your vision!

PLURAL+ 2013 received a record-breaking 254 videos from 71 countries.
The PLURAL+ 2013 International jury and partners chose  26 winning videos! Watch the award winning videos here: PLURAL+ 2013 Winning Videos.

The United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) again invite the world’s youth to submit original and creative videos focusing on PLURAL+ themes: migration, diversity and social inclusion.

Recognizing youth as powerful agents of social change in a world often characterized by intolerance, and cultural and religious divisions, PLURAL+ invites youth to address key challenges related to migrant integration, inclusiveness, identity, diversity, human rights and social cohesiveness, both at local and global levels. Young people up to 25 years old are invited to submit short videos of five minutes maximum in length.

What is PLURAL+?

PLURAL + is a youth-produced video festival which encourages young people to explore migration, diversity and social inclusion, and to share their creative vision with the world.

PLURAL + is a joint initiative between the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations and the International Organization for Migration, with a network of over 50 partner organizations, who support the creative efforts of young people and distribute their videos worldwide.

Since 2009 over 700 entries from 90 countries have participated. Winning videos have been screened in dozens of festivals, cinemas and broadcast on television networks throughout the world. With your help, we hope to widen the impact of PLURAL+ even further. Lookhere to see where past winning videos have been screened.

Youth are Powerful

PLURAL+ recognizes youth as powerful agents of social change, and supports cooperative efforts to reduce tensions in a world often characterized by conflict and division.

In many parts of the world youth not only represent the future – they are the majority-. Recent events in the Arab Spring demonstrate the power that young people have to bring about citizen participation and social change.

PLURAL+ aims to support dialogue between young people from different cultures, and in the process, increase awareness and respect for diversity.

Creative media are such a powerful approach to this dialogue because, fundamentally, they appeal to a sense of shared human experience and common goals.

The insight and creativity with which young people have produced videos on tough issues, such as human trafficking, social marginalization and racism, reflects the energy that youth bring to addressing social problems in today’s world.

Partnerships for success

PLURAL+ works closely with community organizations and schools in some of the world’s most disadvantaged regions to bring the power of multimedia into the creative hands of young people.

By working in partnership with organizations such as UNESCO Associated Schools Network, CHINH India, TAL, SIGNIS, RED UNIAL and others, PLURAL+ provides greater opportunity for young people to participate, and builds the capacity of organizations to deliver multimedia training for years to come.

PLURAL+ award winners are invited to New York to present their work at the Awards Ceremony, with opportunities for professional development, co-productions, and international exposure through the PLURAL+ distribution network.

Creative digital media empowers disadvantaged youth to leap over the hurdles of poverty, illiteracy, and geographical isolation to become agents of social change in their communities.

The Strategy

In collaboration with key partners and the United Nations Media and Information Literacy initiative, PLURAL+ plans to develop media literacy resources that can be delivered in multiple languages on various platforms around the world, including interactive web-based courses and traditional classroom content. In addition, by creating stronger partnerships with broadcasters, PLURAL+ will strengthen the presence of youth voices in the media.

PLURAL + is seeking support from governments, foundations and the business community to expand opportunities for young people around the world to be heard on important issues and participate in creating a more harmonious world.

Supporting PLURAL+ is a great opportunity for your organization to reach the next generation of creative professionals, and support development of media services in schools around the world.

 http://pluralplus.unaoc.org/about

3 videos will receive $1000 and the makers will be invited to New York City to attend PLURAL+ 2014 Awards Ceremony. Many PLURAL+ partners will also distribute awards. See pluralplus.unaoc.org/awardsPLURAL+ 2014 Call for Entries is open! Looking forward to your videos.