Working with FYI - Film Your Issue, we are once again encouraging young people, ages 15 to 24, to add their voice to the public dialogue by producing 30 to 120 second short films on social issues.
The FYI student film competition is now in its fourth year. Last year, the winning film in the UN/Global Issues category, Looks can be deceiving , which also won the international Yahoo! Audience Award, was produced by a team of nine university students from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
(For more information on last year's competition please visit: http://www.un.org/Pubs/chronicle/2006/issue4/0406p42.htm and http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2007/pi1782.doc.htm ).
FYI - a Los Angeles-based non-governmental organization - works with leading global media companies, academia, and other civil society organizations. Partners and sponsors include: The United Nations Department of Public Information, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the NAACP, the Humane Society of the United States, the National Resources Defense Council, The Human Rights Campaign, USA TODAY, Associated Press, American Film Institute, National Association of Student Councils, MTV, YouTube, MySpace and Starz, among others.
The 2008 FYI Competition
For 2008, the Film Your Issue competition offers six UN/Global issues for young filmmakers to set their sights on. In addition to a DPI award for the best short on climate change, international migration, peace, or tolerance, a special award will be given by the Department to the best film on human rights in commemoration of the sixtieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The World Intellectual Property Organization will provide an award also for the best short on intellectual property.
In order to highlight these issues and the competition, a UN Chronicle webpage for Film Your Issue is accessible at http://www.un.org/Pubs/chronicle/fyi/
And once again, we need your assistance in reaching out to youth in this prestigious competition. Please inform and encourage senior high school and university students to participate by creating short films on the above issues, or on other social issues of importance to them that conform to the rules on the FYI site [ http://www.filmyourissue.com ].
As we are aware, students often have limited or no access to cameras and equipment to create such films. However, they should be encouraged to approach local TV stations or film production companies to support their projects, including by providing editing facilities.
The deadline for the submission of short films this year will be 1 April 2008, with a possible extension in the UN/Global issue category.
Should you be aware of students who will participate in the competition, please advise us, so we can begin to compile a list of students from Azerbaijan. You can also make Maria Ndolo's email address ndolo@un.org or Yvonne Acosta acostay@un.org available to interested students, should they have questions.
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