Committed Youth

The Social Initiatives Forum is a project of Cooperación internacional / International Youth Cooperation, an NGO that supports, promotes and incentivizes social service initiatives run by young people from around the world.
The Forum will gather in Rome the leaders of social initiatives to exchange experiences and perspectives. This meeting intends to disseminate and promote the values and ideals of a socially engaged and active young people.
Similarly to last year's edition, the social initiatives will be presented in a video format, no longer than one minute. This year, we have included brief technical guidelines to facilitate preparation and to facilitate the jury's task.

FORUM DESCRIPTION
All the projects will be presented at the Social Initiatives Forum that will take place during the Univ Forum in Rome. Each presentation will be assigned 5 minutes, including the video projection. The purpose of the presentation is to give context to the video and to allow the jury to better appreciate each project.

VIDEO FORMAT
1) The videos should be no longer than 1 minute (60 seconds).
2) The video should explain an activity or social initiative having taken place the previous year. Social initiatives videos can refer to particular single events (Christmas or summer activities), or recurring activities (helping the elderly, the homeless or other marginalized populations).
3) Videos can be produced in any of the following formats: MP4, M4V, MPG, WMV, AVI, MOV.
4) Genres can include: fiction, documentary, humour, metaphoric, and artistic.
5) The video should include the Cooperación internacional ONG logo (attached in these guidelines) at the end of the video.
6) Languages: English, Italian, French and Spanish.

JURY EVALUATION CRITERIA
The Jury will evaluate two main aspects: the social initiative itself and the communication quality (whether the video delivers effectively the intended message).

The evaluation criteria for the social initiative are:
INNOVATION: The project should tackle creatively a social issue. It should be innovative in terms of its approach and/or execution.

SUSTAINABILITY: The intervention should produce long-lasting effects. A sustainable initiative generates economic, social or political structures to support in the long-term the aims of the project once the intervention is completed. Potential for future continuity is considered part of this criterion.

YOUTH INVOLVEMENT: Initiatives in which a larger number of young people are actively involved in the project will be rated higher under this consideration.

INVOLVEMENT OF LOCAL CONTRIBUTORS: Examples of such contributors are schools, NGOs, municipalities, associations, parishes, etc.

EFFICIENCY IN THE USE OF RESOURCES: Optimal use of resources means aiming to produce the greatest value at the lowest cost possible.

The criteria regarding the communication quality are:
1) Organization and style: The content of the video is well structured, scripted, and understandable. It respects the time constraints specified in the guidelines.
2) Creativity The original use of the camera, music, sound effects and camera shots improve the overall quality of the video.
3) Content: The video conveys efficiently the main contents of the project and it corresponds to the scope and objectives described in the submission.
4) Quality: Captions and logos are distinguishable and legible. Music and verbal interventions are understandable and audible. The volume is adequate and there are no interruptions in the sound. The images are focused correctly, with adequate light. The camera work is fluid and constant, with adequate edition and logical transitions.