Video Contest “Connectivity for all!”

Author: Gabriella Nagy | Date: March 17, 2021

• Do you enjoy making videos?
• Do you like nature and wildlife?
• Do limits to your movement, travelling and freedom, such as borders and fences, annoy you?

Did you answer ‘yes’ 3 times over? Then you are the right person to take part in our challenge!

We invite school pupils, university students and young adults to join our video contest by making a video centred on the wild animals that coexist alongside us — that live in the forests behind our homes, the fields on the outskirts of our cities and the bushes lining our roads, and how this close proximity can be very dangerous for wildlife and what we can do to help.

Who can join the contest?

• Students and young adults in:
  • Category 1: secondary schools, pupils aged 14-17
  • Category 2: youth, including university students, aged 18-25
• Participants must be enrolled in a school/university in one of the following countries: Romania, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary or Serbia.

What video can compete?

• What: An up to 2-minute-long video in which you show what you think about how our human activities and lifestyles impact animals and their migration habits and what we could do to help.
• Who: You may make a video by yourself or in a group of up to 5 people.
• How:  Your imagination is the limit! The video can be an animation, a stop-motion film, a collage, a live recording of scenes you witness outside, an interview, a song… 
• Language: Submissions in your local language will also be accepted, but, if possible, we would prefer if you made your movie in English.

How to participate in the contest?

In order to participate in the video contest, you need to follow these steps:

1. Make your video using your mobile phone or any other device you feel comfortable with.
2. The video-contest is hosted on the video-sharing platform ‘YouTube’. Create an account and upload your video (if you are below 16 years old and live in Romania, Slovakia or Hungary, or below 15 years old in Serbia or the Czech Republic, your legal guardian must do this for you). When you upload your video, please consider:
   • The title of your video should follow this format: “Contest Category XY: Title of your video”. For example, if you are a primary school pupil in Slovakia, your video could be called “Contest Category 1: The Bear who wanted to see the World”.
   • If you like, you can note the name of your school or university as well as the country you are from in the video description.
   • Also make sure that your video is appropriate for a child audience and that you check the corresponding box “Yes, it’s made for kids”.
   • Make sure the viewing settings for your video are set to “public” or “unlisted”. This will allow us to display your video on the contest page.
3. By 28 April 2021 at the latest, formally register yourself or your group, submitting the link where we can find your video, and agreeing to our Information Note detailing how we will use your private information.
   • If you are below 18 years of age, your legal guardian must register and agree to this Information Note note on your behalf.
   • If you are above 18 years old, you may sign this form yourself.
4. Voting begins on 30 April 2021. All submitted videos will be published on the official YouTube Channel of the ConnectGREEN Project.
5. Share the link of your video and let your friends know that you took part in the challenge and motivate them to add their voice for the best video, by clicking on the ‘like’ button.
6. Voting ends on 14 May 2021, at which point no more votes will be accepted.
7. The winning videos will be announced on 19 May 2021.

Choosing the winners

Your video is competing with the other submissions within your age category in your country. At the end of the contest, 1 winning video will be announced per category in every country. 

Categories 1 (under 18 years of age):

• The winners will be chosen by a popular vote based on the number of "likes" your video receives.
• Prize: The winner(s) will be invited to participate in a Wilderness Camp, in collaboration with the 'Game on!' project, as well as to take part in a canoeing tour organised by CEEweb in the Danube.

Category 2 (over 18 years of age): 

• The winners will be chosen by the members of a jury, each with a background in environmental conservation or filmography, and nominated by the video contest organisers.
• Prize: The author(s) of the winning video will be invited to attend the stand-up comedy show "Climate Comedy Night," organised by the 'Game on!' project, during the 2021 summer. A maximum of 5 tickets will be given to the person or team awarded the first place. The author(s)will also be invited to participate in the Carpathian Network of Protected Areas Conference, to be held in Visegrad, Hungary, on 28-30 September 2021. Within it, they will participate in an Award Ceremony plus a gala dinner. Finally, they will also be invited to participate in a canoeing tour, organised by CEEWeb, in the Danube.

Looking for inspiration?

Are you interested in participating in our contest but not sure how or where to start in the making of your movie? Check out some of the examples below for some potential inspiration:

• Green bridges: "highways" for wildlife above highways for people
• Life needs Connectivity. Beyond Mountains!
• Life needs connectivity. Three love stories, part 2 Ibex
• Why Wildlife Corridors Matter!
• Large Landscape Connectivity

About the organisers

The ConnectGREEN project aims to contribute to maintaining and improving ecological connectivity in the Carpathian ecoregion, namely, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, and Serbia. The project, co-funded by European Union funds (ERDF, IPA), is carried out by 13 partner organisations:

For the Czech Republic:

• The Nature Conservation Agency of the Czech Republic (AOPK)
• The Silva Tarouca Research Institute for Landscape and Ornamental Gardening (VUKOZ)

For Hungary:

• CEEweb for Biodiversity
• Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences

For Romania:

• WWF Romania
• The National Institute for Research and Development in Constructions, Urban Planning and Sustainable Spatial Development (URBAN INCERC)
• Piatra Craiului National Park Administration

For Slovakia:

• The Slovak Environment Agency
• The State Nature Conservancy of the Slovak Republic
• SPECTRA Centre of Excellence of the EU and Institute of Management of the Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava

For Serbia:

• Institute of architecture and urban & spatial planning of Serbia (IAUS)
• Djerdap National Park

Regional coordination: WWF Central and Eastern Europe

Inquiries

For any questions, please contact us at ceeweb@ceeweb.org.