Recently, the “My Chinese Story” China-Africa Photo and Video Competition was officially launched. The event is sponsored by the Secretariat of the Chinese Follow-up Committee of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) and the China Public Diplomacy Association, and organized by Global Times Online.
The competition is expected to be joined by content creators from both China and Africa, aiming to showcase the friendship between the two sides over the past six decades through photos, paintings, and short videos. It focuses on stories in sports, culture, economy, and trade of China and Africa, inviting creators to share their personal perspectives on China, their Chinese friends, and experiences in China, to highlight the close bond between the peoples of China and Africa and their hopes for the continued positive development of China-Africa relations.
The competition has commenced online submissions, welcoming participants to enter either as individuals or on behalf of organizations. The competition adopts a combination of public voting and expert review. The public can go to the competition’s pages during the specified period to vote. The top 150 entries with the most votes will proceed to the expert review phase, where an expert panel will evaluate them based on various criteria including visual quality, emotional expression, and viewpoint presentation, to decide the final winners.
The competition will recognize outstanding entries with awards such as the “In Pictures We Meet – Best Picture Award” and the “Video Evidence – Popular Short Film Award”. Each award category includes the first, second, and third prizes, as well as outstanding awards. Winners will receive cash rewards ranging from 100 to 500 dollars, an electronic certificate, as well as a chance to be invited to China.
The submission period for entries starts now until 12:00 PM on May 10, 2024. Participants can send their entries to the designated email address: videophoto@huanqiu.com. Further details about the competition are provided below.
Guidelines for Entries of “My Chinese Story” China-Africa Photo and Video Competition
I. Who Can Participate
All content creators in China and Africa aspiring to promote China-Africa friendship.
II. Language
Chinese, English, French
III. Competition Schedule (Beijing Time)
Submission Period: From now until 12:00 on May 10, 2024
Public Voting: From 12:00 on May 14 to 12:00 on May 21, 2024
Expert Review: From May 24 to June 7, 2024
Result Announcement: June 2024
IV. Awards
This competition offers the “In Pictures We Meet – Best Picture Award” and the “Video Evidence – Popular Short Film Award”.
Note: Each award category includes the first, second, and third prizes, as well as outstanding awards. Winners will receive cash rewards ranging from 100 to 500 dollars, an electronic certificate, as well as a chance to be invited to China. Each work can only win one award.
V. Requirements for Works
1. Theme requirements
Entries should center around the theme “My Chinese Story” with a self-created title. Content suggestions include, but are not limited to: China in my eyes (introducing China’s infrastructure, film and TV series, etc. from a personal perspective), my Chinese friends, my trip to China, China-Africa stories (sports, culture, and other fields), etc.
2. Picture requirements
Entries must be in jpg/png format, with each file being no smaller than 1 MB. Each work must be titled and accompanied by a written description of no more than 300 words. Single photos or photo series (up to 4 photos with consistent dimensions) are acceptable, in black, white, or color. All works can be cropped, but no post-production editing or image stitching is allowed. There is no limit to the number of works submitted by each participant.
3. Video requirements
Entries must feature complete images, sounds, and subtitles (Chinese, English, or French), with a duration of no more than 3 minutes, a resolution of at least 1280*720, and in MOV/MP4/AV format. Each entry must be titled and accompanied by a text description of no more than 300 words. Videos should have clear visuals without any corner marks, platform logos, watermarks, or other identifiers. No commercial advertisements are allowed. There is no limit to the number of works submitted by each participant.
4. Copyright and Intellectual Property Rights Statement
a. Entries must comply with the theme of the competition and convey positive energy. Controversial contents, including pornography, violence, religion, race, or regional discrimination, are not allowed.
b. Participants must affirm that they hold full copyright ownership of their entries. The organizer bears no responsibility for any legal disputes or losses arising from disputes related to portrait rights, reputation rights, privacy rights, copyright rights, and trademark rights.
c. Entries may be used as promotional materials for non-profit communication activities related to the event (including but not limited to exhibition, publicity, publication, production of derivatives, etc.), without additional compensation.
d. Participants are required to acknowledge and abide by the above terms before entering the competition to maintain the order of the competition.
e. Award winners should provide corresponding personal information to the Organizer for prize remittance.
f. The organizer reserves the right to the final interpretation of the competition’s rules and regulations.
VI. How to Participate
Participants should package the source files of their works and the entry form to the following email address: videophoto@huanqiu.com. The email must include the contact person’s name, nationality, employer or institution affiliated, telephone number, email address, and other relevant information.
Participants are also welcome to share their works on social media platforms with hashtags:
On Chinese platforms: #我的中国故事# for platforms like Weibo, AAuto Quicker, Douyin, and bilibili.
On Overseas platforms: #MyChineseStory# for platforms like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and TikTok.
* Note:
1. If a participant has multiple entries, please consolidate all the picture or video source files and the entry form into one package.
2. The file names for the picture/video introductions should match the name specified in the submitted form. For example, if the work is named “Change” in the entry form, both the original picture/video and the work profile must be named “Change.”
3. After registration, the Organizing Committee will notify participants of the registration results via email within five working days.
4. Please refer to the attached entry form for registration details, or download it via the following links:
China (Baidu Netdisk):
Link: https://pan.baidu.com/s/1ykSkSQNOIi1IAHIhpB2eCA
Access code: 416g
Overseas (Google Drive):
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/18T6k-ndekYuXI5hfDQQ8ibm9GD7AB462? usp=sharing
Ⅶ. Evaluation Criteria
The competition will utilize a combination of public voting and expert review to select the final winning works.
Specific evaluation methods are as follows:
Phase 1. Exhibition
A special website will be established for displaying works, and the Organizer will shortlist entries that meet the theme and other entry requirements of the competition.
Phase 2. Public voting
Public voting will be open on the website within a specified time, and the top 150 works will enter the expert review phase.
Phase 3. Expert review
Entries will be evaluated based on their visual effects, emotional communication, and viewpoint expression before the list of winning works is produced.
For further details, please consult:
E-mail: videophoto@huanqiu.com
Tel: +86-10-65361101-3002
Attachment: Entry Form for the “My Chinese Story” China-Africa Photo and Video Competition
