Canadian Social Forum
Video ComPetition
Telling the Poverty Story: Background Sheet
Who are we?
The Canadian Council on Social Development (CCSD) has been doing work on poverty and social justice for nearly 90 years. Next May, we are hosting the Canadian Social Forum in Calgary. It runs from May 19-22, 2009. Decision-makers, activists, frontline workers, folks in health care, those working in community justice, and many others will be there. That’s more than 750 people, together, in one place for three days − all brainstorming to create sustainable solutions to poverty.
What are the rules for this Video Competition?
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The video competition is open to post-secondary students across Canada.
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Videos may be produced in any language spoken in Canada.
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Two videos will be chosen. Winning productions will be screened at the Canadian Social Forum in Calgary, May 19-22, 2009.
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Winning productions will also be featured on the Social Forum website and become the property of the CCSD.
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Winners will receive a $500 prize and travel to the Social Forum in Calgary. Meals and accommodations are also included.
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Runners-up may also be chosen for screening at the Social Forum.
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Entries will be judged by a committee made up of a broadcast professional, a poverty activist, and a representative of the CCSD.
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The committee will be looking for creative storytelling and compelling story lines.
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Documentary style or first-person accounts are encouraged.
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Content will be checked for accuracy and attribution. And we must have written permission of anyone featured in a video.
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Winning submissions will be shown on a series of 16x12 screens at Calgary’s Telus Centre to an audience of about 750 people. Therefore clean sound is required and videos should be shot with a standard 4:3 ratio (minimum 1024X768) on cameras with specs similar to the Sony PD150/170 DV Cam.
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At the Canadian Social Forum, student interns will have the opportunity to work with a broadcast team to prepare an on-camera report that will be featured on the Forum website.
- Winners also qualify to attend a documentary workshop conducted by CBC TV’s National correspondent, Mark Kelley.
What are we looking for?
A creative, compelling video of not more than six minutes that answers some of the following questions:
- How is poverty affecting Canadian youth?
- If it affects them personally, how do they cope?
- How might poverty be different for young people than for other groups?
- What are young people’s ideas for overcoming poverty? Are they hopeful?
- What are the impacts of poverty − on individuals and on a Canadian generation?
- Are there community initiatives, projects or individuals that are making a difference?
Deadline for submissions: 5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on Monday, March 2, 2009.
Please send the video submission form and two (2) copies of your DVD to:
Canadian Social Forum Video Competition
c/o Canadian Council on Social Development
190 O’Connor Street, Suite 100
Ottawa, ON K2P 2R3
If you have further questions about this Video Competition, please contact dugas@ccsd.ca.