Public Service Announcements for International Disasters

Rules and Guidelines

Please use the following information to guide you when making your submission. For more complete information on eligibility requirements, please see the official rules below.

Background: The Center for International Disaster Information’s (CIDI) mission is to reduce the amount of inappropriate donations sent to victims of international disasters by the American public, while encouraging support for relief efforts by professional humanitarian and/or relief agencies. The CIDI informs the public that when providing contributed assistance to an international humanitarian response activity, the public is encouraged to make a monetary donation. By making monetary donations to professional relief organizations, these agencies are enabled to buy needed supplies within the region, eliminating expensive transportation costs. Financial contributions allow relief agencies to purchase exactly what is needed, thereby stimulating their country’s local economy and helping the community return to normal more quickly.

In recent years it has become clear the public’s generosity, while well-intended, is often misplaced. For example, history shows that after every major international disaster, large-scale efforts are frequently made by groups and individuals in the United States to collect donations of food and clothing. However, most people do not anticipate the challenges of transporting, warehousing, and distributing these items - nor the negative impact these massive donations have upon the local economy after a major disaster. Many are not aware of the cultural, religious and social sensitivities that should be considered before these collections are undertaken. Populations affected by disasters will likely have different dietary and environmental requirements that may make donations of food and clothing sent from the United States inappropriate. The CIDI is asking you to join us in educating the general public on this issue by creating either a compelling television or print public service announcement (PSA) that will be aired on the CIDI Web site and possibly national television and print media.

Content: The CIDI seeks the submission of creative PSAs that will engage and educate the general public about appropriate donations to support victims of international disasters. There are some legal limits on what you can do (see below), and we are not going to post anything that would be inappropriate for television or print mediums, but other than that what you put in your PSAs is up to you (live action, animation, etc). We're looking for bold and exciting ideas and the right message to help educate the public on this important issue. Please be sure to read the documents in the Resources section of www.psaid.org to help shape your entry and better understanding the theme for the PSAs.

New in 2010: In 2010, CIDI will introduce the “Best Way to Help Campaign”, a national effort educating Americans that cash helps the most in international disaster response. As part of the Campaign, CIDI will ask Americans to take the CIDI Pledge to capture Americans commitment to help and generosity to the global community. The Pledge will challenge all Americans to express their commitment to providing the best form of disaster relief when helping international disaster victims. The Pledge will debut in 2010 at www.cidi.org.

We encourage PSAid competitors to consider the CIDI Pledge in their entries. This new concept may spark fresh ideas for entries, particularly as we celebrate the fifth anniversary of PSAid. Competitors may consider including a tagline for the Pledge in their entry or even designing their entry entirely around the Pledge. We challenge you to use your creativity!

Judging Criteria: The print and broadcast entries will be judged and voted on separately by both the judging panel and public. A panel of judges, including staff from the CIDI and the United States Agency for International Development's (USAID) Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance, will select five finalists from all eligible submissions for each category. Judges will be asked to rate each PSA based on four criteria:

Overall Impact (educational, informational, persuasive);
Originality (concepts, ideas, format);
Memorable Content and Delivery; and
Clear Message.

The five finalists in each category will then be voted on by the general public through the www.psaid.org Web site. Public votes will help to determine three winners in each category. Public voting will last for approximately one week and the CIDI reserves the right to disqualify any votes from invalid addresses (see official rules for further details).

Who can participate: Anyone 18 years of age or older who is currently enrolled in a U.S. college or university. Applicants must be either a U.S. citizen or an international student with a valid, current student visa. Students whose education is either sponsored or funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development may not enter. Employees or family members of employees of USAID, the CIDI, or Macfadden are not eligible to participate. Residents of Vermont may not enter.

Format and Length: The broadcast PSA should be formatted for broadcast television and run 30 seconds in duration. All broadcast submissions must include a standard end tag available at the Resources section of www.psaid.org. Acceptable upload formats are .WMV, .AVI, .MOV, .MPEG, .MPG, and H.264.

UPDATED: Print PSAs should be formatted as an 8"x10" image in EPS format with a minimum of 300 DPI resolution with a JPG copy to be viewed by judges and the public voters on the website. The JPG copy should be 72 DPI and with minimum dimensions of 600px x 400px or 400px x 600px but no more than 1350px x 900px or 900px x 1350px. It is important to note that the competition judges and the public voters will only view the web JPG version of your entry -- this is the version they will vote on, which will ultimately determine a winner. Please upload your Print PSA JPG in the dimensions within the range provided that make the most sense for your entry, while also making sure this version is readable and clear.

Submissions and Key Dates: Please notify us of your interest in participating at www.psaid.org so that we may communicate contest deadlines directly with you. Submissions will be accepted through March 29, 2010 by electronic upload at www.psaid.org. Five finalists in each category will be announced on or about April 9, 2010 with public voting to follow from approximately April 9 - April 18, 2010. The three winners in each category will be announced on or about April 21, 2010.

Respect for Existing Copyright: You must be the original author of everything in your PSA or have permission to use copyright protected material. So while we want you to be creative, you need to be careful about what you put into the PSA. If you're thinking about using existing music, video clips, photos or the like, odds are that someone else owns a copyright to that material and you will need to get the copyright owner's permission before using the material in your PSA.

Consent from Actors in Your PSA: All entrants will be required to declare that they have consent from any people appearing in their PSAs. Note that consent requirements may vary from state to state. A standard consent form is available at www.psaid.org.

Official Rules

MUST BE A U.S. CITIZEN or a U.S. STUDENT VISA HOLDER, OVER 18 YEARS OLD AND ENROLLED IN UNIVERSITY IN THE U.S. TO ENTER. Participation constitutes entrant's full and unconditional agreement to and acceptance of these Official Rules. The Center for International Disaster (CIDI) Public Service Announcement Contest (“Contest”) commences in January 2010 and the submission deadline is March 29, 2010 (“Contest Period”). Contest is sponsored by the Center for International Disaster Information (“CIDI” or “Sponsor”) by generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development. CIDI is headquartered at Macfadden, 8403 Colesville Road, Suite 400,, Silver Spring, MD 20910.

(1) Eligibility:

Contest is offered only to natural persons older than 18 years of age as of the date of entry, who are university students, who are US citizens, or international students holding valid, current student visas. Students whose education is either sponsored or funded by the United States Agency for International Development may not enter. Residents of Vermont may not enter. Employees, independent contractors, officers, and directors of Sponsor, its affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising, promotion and fulfillment agencies, and legal advisors, and the immediate family members and persons living in the same household of such persons, are not eligible to participate in the Contest. Contest offered only in the 50 United States and the District of Columbia. Void in Vermont and where prohibited by law.

(2) How to Enter:

Create your own print or television broadcast public service announcement (“PSA”) that discusses current issues and important topics regarding appropriate humanitarian aid or relief from the general public for international disasters. PSA should build on the interest of people ready to donate to international disaster and humanitarian relief efforts and demonstrate how they can channel their interest to best help. The PSA encourage monetary assistance to established, recognized international disaster relief agencies by effectively communicating this to the general public in an informative, memorable, and creative way. To enter, access the PSAid Web site at www.psaid.org, upload your PSA entry (“Entry”), and complete the contest registration forms and any applicable release forms no later than 11:59 p.m. EDST on March 29, 2010.

Broadcast category entries should be submitted with high image and sound quality. All broadcast PSAs are not to exceed 100 megabytes in size and should be no longer than 30 seconds in duration. All broadcast submissions must include a standard end tag available on the Contest Resources section of the PSAid Web site. Acceptable upload formats are .WMV, .AVI, .MOV, .MPEG, .MPG, and H.264. For public display during the contest, a flash (.FLV) version will automatically be generated. Broadcast entries may be in any form of moving image, including but not limited to, video, animation, text and audio in DVD format. Both audio/visual and visual only entries are permitted.

Entries must be submitted online at www.psaid.org with applicable registration and certifications and must be received no later than 11:59 EDT on March 29, 2010. Submissions must be named and group entries must have a designated Group Leader for technical and administrative issues and/or for winner notification. Entry materials must designate how you would like your attribution to appear with your posted Entry (e.g., “Mary Smith, Chicago, IL,” “M. Smith, Chicago, IL,” or “Mary S., Chicago, IL”).

Limit one entry per person per contest category. Multiple entries from the same person in one category, either individually or with a group, will be disqualified. Entries that do not qualify will not be acknowledged or returned.

By submitting an entry, entrant warrants that he/she is the sole author and copyright owner of entry or has permission (via license or otherwise) to use or incorporate those entry portions authored or owned by third parties. Entries may not have been entered into any other contest or won any other award. Use of images, music, and other works in the public domain may be incorporated into entries. However, materials that infringe on the rights of any third party may not be used. The CIDI is not responsible for late, lost, delayed, garbled, damaged, misdirected, incomplete, illegible, or unintelligible entries. Incomplete or illegible entries are not eligible. This PSA is to educate the general public on why monetary donations are the best type of humanitarian aid or relief assistance that can be provided by the public after an international disaster.

A link to the contest submission forms will be available on the CIDI Web site throughout the entry submission period (January 2010 to March 2010). Entrant(s) must complete the online Registration and Certification information included in the contest registration materials and grant to sponsor a nonexclusive license to copy, reproduce, display, or distribute the entry, and to make derivative works based upon the entry or a substantial portion of the entry without attribution or prior permission. All persons whose pictures, likeness, voice and/or name is used in the PSA must complete an online Personal Release form. Entries become the property of the CIDI and will not be acknowledged or returned.

By submitting an entry, Entrant grants to USAID a nonexclusive, irrevocable license to copy, reproduce, display, or distribute the entry, and to make derivative works based upon the entry or a substantial portion of the entry without attribution or prior permission. Entries become the property of USAID a nonexclusive, irrevocable license to copy, reproduce, display, or distribute the entry, and to make derivative works based upon the entry or a substantial portion of the entry without attribution or prior permission. Entries become the property of USAID and will not be acknowledged or returned.

(3) Prize:

Cash prizes total $30,000. The broadcast top prize winner will receive $12,000; second- and third-place winners will receive $5,000 and $3,000 respectively. The print top prize winner will receive $6,000; second- and third-place winners will receive $3,000 and $1,000 respectively. The winning entries, or derivative work of said entries, will be used in national distribution to major media outlets and on the CIDI Web site: www.cidi.org

(4) Winner(s):

A panel of judges will select the five finalist’s entries for each category (print and broadcast) from all eligible submissions by April 9, 2010. Judges will base their selections of PSA finalists on the following criteria (“Judges Voting”)

Overall Impact (educational, informational, and persuasive);
Originality (concepts/ideas/format);
Memorable Content and Delivery; and
Clear Message.

Five finalists from each category will be announced on or about April 9, 2010. The finalists entries will then be voted on by the general public through the PSAid Web site based on public appeal (40%) (“Public Voting”). The winner will be the entrant with the highest number of total points [Judges Voting (60%) and Public Voting (40%) = 100%].

Public voting will be conducted between April 9, 2010 and April 18, 2010 (“Public Voting Period”). If there is a tie in one of the categories, the judges reserve the right to determine winner based on a review of scores.

For public votes, there may be only one vote per person, per active email address, per contest category. Individual votes from online votes that are either fraudulently generated or duplicated, or associated with inactive or "dummy" e-mail addresses, are subject to disqualification. The CIDI will tabulate all online votes and shall announce the top three entries (the "1st, 2nd and 3rd place Winners") to the public on the PSAid Web site. The online voting period ends at 11:59 pm EDST on April 18, 2010. The top prize winners will be announced on or about April 21, 2010.

Judges' decisions are final. The CIDI reserves the right to disqualify and remove any entry which is, in the judging panel's discretion, inappropriate, offensive, defamatory, or demeaning to the CIDI’s reputation or goodwill, or any entrant who, in the judging panel's discretion, engages in conduct that is inappropriate, offensive, defamatory, or demeaning to the CIDI’s reputation or goodwill or to other entrants or their respective entries. Winner will be notified by e-mail, express mail and/or phone on or about April 21, 2010 and shall be required to complete an affidavit or declaration of eligibility/liability release and, except where prohibited, a publicity release and such other documents as may be required by the CIDI to protect its right to air and use the winning entry. Required documents must be signed and received within seven (7) days of the date printed on the prize notification. Failure to comply or return of any prize notification as undeliverable may result in forfeiture of prize and selection of the next highest score entrant as the winner. A parent or guardian of a winner not of the age of majority in state of residence will be required to ratify and sign required documents. If winner cannot be contacted within five (5) calendar days of first notification attempt, if prize or prize notification is returned as undeliverable, if winner rejects his/her prize or in the event of noncompliance with these Contest rules and requirements, such prize will be forfeited and selection of the next highest score entrant as the winner. Upon prize forfeiture, no compensation will be given.

Accepting the prize constitutes permission (except where prohibited by law) to use winner's Entry, name, hometown (including state) and/or likeness for promotional purposes without further compensation. Prize(s) is non-transferable and may not be substituted for another prize, except the CIDI may award prize of equal or greater value if prize becomes unavailable for whatever reason. All taxes and unspecified expenses are the responsibility of winner.

(5) General Terms and Conditions:

By participating, entrants agree that Sponsor, its shareholders, agents and representatives, affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising, promotion and fulfillment agencies, and legal advisors are not responsible or liable for, and shall be released and held harmless from: (i) telephone, electronic, hardware or software program, network, Internet, or computer malfunctions, failures, or difficulties of any kind; (ii) any condition caused by events beyond the control of Sponsor that may cause the Contest to be disrupted or corrupted; (iii) any printing or typographical errors in any materials associated with the Contest; (iv) any and all losses, damages, rights, claims and actions of any kind in connection with or resulting from participation in the Contest, or acceptance of the prize, including without limitation, claims based on publicity rights, defamation, or invasion of privacy. Sponsor, its shareholders, agents and representatives, affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising, promotion and fulfillment agencies, and legal advisors are not responsible for technical, hardware, software, telephone or other communications malfunctions, errors or failures of any kind, lost or unavailable network connections, web site, Internet, or ISP availability, unauthorized human intervention, traffic congestion, incomplete or inaccurate capture of entry information (regardless of cause) or failed, incomplete, garbled, jumbled or delayed computer transmissions which may limit one’s ability to enter the Contest, including any injury or damage to participant’s or any other person’s computer relating to or resulting from participating in this Contest or downloading any materials in this Contest. Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to cancel, terminate, modify, extend, or suspend the Contest should (in its sole discretion) computer virus, bugs, non-authorized human intervention, fraud, or other causes beyond its control corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, or proper conduct of the Contest. In such case, judges will select the winners from all eligible entries received prior to and/or after (if appropriate) the action taken by Sponsor. Sponsor reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to disqualify any individual it finds, in its sole discretion, to be tampering with the entry process or the operation of the Contest or CIDI's Web site, including the PSAid Web site. All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Official Rules, or the rights and obligations of participant and Sponsor in connection with the Contest, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Virginia, without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of law rules or provisions (whether of the State of Virginia or any other jurisdiction), that would cause the application of the laws of any jurisdiction other than the State of Virginia. All federal, state and local rules and regulations apply. In case of dispute as to the identity of any entrant, Entry will be declared made by the authorized account holder of the email address submitted at time of entry. “Authorized Account Holder” is defined as the natural person who is assigned an email address by an Internet access provider, online service provider, or other organization (e.g., business, educational, institution, etc.) responsible for assigning email addresses or the domain associated with the submitted email address. Any potential winner may be requested to provide Sponsor with proof that such winner is the authorized account holder of the email address associated with the winning entry. Any other attempted form of entry is prohibited; no automatic, programmed; robotic or similar means of entry are permitted.

(6) Winners List/Official Rules:

A copy of these official rules and a winners list may be obtained by sending an email request to psaid@psaid.org, or by fax request (202) 337-3538. Requests for winners list must be received by May 31, 2010.

(7) Privacy Policy:

See the Center for International Disaster Information Privacy Policy regarding use of all material entered and/or submitted for this Contest or otherwise collected by this site, except as otherwise provided in these Official Rules.

(8) DMCA Notice:

The Center for International Disaster Information complies with the provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). In compliance with the DMCA, a Designated Agent has been established with proper documentation sent to the US Copyright Office.

If you have a concern regarding the use of copyrighted material on any site on the network, please contact the agent designated to respond to reports alleging copyright infringement.

The designated agent for Sponsor to receive notification of claimed infringement under Title II of the DMCA is:

Suzanne H. Brooks, Director, Center for International Disaster Information, 4100 N. Fairfax Drive, #302, Arlington, VA 22203; 703-276-2942.

DMCA Claims

The DMCA specifies that all infringement claims must be in writing (either electronic mail or paper letter) and must include the following:

A physical or electronic signature of the copyright holder or a person authorized to act on his or her behalf;
A description of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or, if multiple copyrighted works at a single online site are covered by a single notification, a representative list of such works at that site;
A description of the material that is claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of infringing activity, and information reasonably sufficient to permit the service provider to locate the material;
Information reasonably sufficient to permit the service provider to contact you, such as an address, telephone number, and, if available, an electronic mail address;
A statement that you have a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and
A statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that you are authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.

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