World Youth Movement for Democracy (WMYD) aims to serve as a platform for young activists to address the importance of promoting democratic values, a forum for sharing information and ideas, and an action-oriented, solidarity movement.
It provides a space for young activists to build relationships with each other, to collaborate across borders, to deepen their knowledge on key issues, and to develop practical skills.
WMYD has announced the launch of its first annual Global Photo Contest entitled “Youth in Action: A Snapshot of Democracy” and is inviting entries for the same providing the winners with an opportunity to attend one of the largest global gatherings of democracy activists, scholars, policy makers, and donors.
Fifteen semi-finalists (Five in each category: Building a Movement, Democracy in Action, and Youth Igniting Change) will be announced on 1 December 2011, and will have their winning photo published on the WYMD Web site. One finalist will be selected from each category through online open voting for a total of three finalists. The final results of the contest will be announced on 15 December 2011.
The purpose of this contest is to demonstrate understanding of the workings of democracy in your daily life by capturing images of democracy in action, youth igniting change, or the building of movements to create change for your community. The categories below outline concepts that photographs should embody. Each category is open to participant’s personal interpretation and understanding of how the photo applies to the relevant category, and should be accompanied by a short (100 word maximum) tagline to explain your concept and reasoning behind the photograph.
Photo Categories
Each submitted photo is required to fall into one of the following categories:
Building a Movement — youth, human rights, and women’s rights movements, among others, can begin with just one person reaching out to a few others in his or her community. How do you and other young people begin building a movement from the grassroots up? How are young people and broader communities mobilized? How does a movement grow? Why are you part of a particular movement?
Democracy in Action — democracy is more than casting a vote. It includes active participation in your community and the political freedom to do so. It can be gathering your neighbors to hold a community discussion, posting information expressing different viewpoints, or joining a political party or civic organization. What does democracy mean to you? How do you perceive democracy in your community? What areas are others trying to improve? What is it about democracy that you most appreciate in your community? How does democracy translate to action?
Youth Igniting Change — Youth are a powerful force to bring about change to a community. Often change comes about by youth asking the question “why?” and planting the seed to make others in the community think progressively to improve society and policies. What are youth doing to positively change your community? How is change brought about?
Review Process
Each category will have its own regionally balanced review committee that will be comprised of Leadership Board members and Democracy Ambassadors to determine the five semi-finalists. The photos of the 15 semi-finalists will be posted online for open voting to determine three finalists in each category.
Prizes
Finalists will be provided with sponsorship to cover their travel and other expenses to participate in the Seventh Assembly of the World Movement for Democracy in October 2012.
The photos of the three finalists will be showcased on the World Youth Movement for Democracy and World Movement for Democracy Web sites, as well as at the Seventh Assembly.
Last date for submission of photo entries is November 1, 2011
For more information, visit this link.
