The Center for International Disaster Information (CIDI) seeks Public Service Announcement (PSA) entries that illustrate how to practice Smart Compassion™ in support of disaster relief overseas. We’re looking for your print and video entries to inform and engage the public on effective donations while showcasing your bold thinking and creative ideas. Official Rules are below and contain required legal guidelines for your entries. Please use this information as a guide when developing your PSAid entry. Submissions that do not comply with the following rules and guidelines will be rejected. All contestants are required to review these rules and guidelines before entering the competition.
Submissions will be accepted through April 30, 2012, by electronic upload at www.psaid.org. The 2012 competition features print and video categories. The winners in each category will be announced on or around May 15, 2012.
In addition to the Official Rules, please be sure to review the documents in the Resources section of www.psaid.org for background information about the contest and to access helpful tools, tips and insights for winning PSAs. More information on CIDI and about Smart Compassion™ may be found at www.cidi.org.
Official Rules
You must be a US citizen or legal resident, over 18 years old and living in the United States (defined as the 50 States and Washington, DC) to enter. Participation constitutes entrant's full and unconditional agreement to and acceptance of these Official Rules. The Center for International Disaster Information’s Public Service Announcement Contest (“Contest”) commences on November 1, 2011, and the submission deadline is April 30, 2012. 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 (USAID). CIDI is headquartered at 529 14th Street, Suite 700W, Washington, DC, 20045.
(1) Eligibility
Contest is only offered to individuals 18 years of age or older as of the date of entry. Each applicant must be either a US citizen or legal resident. Students whose education is either sponsored or funded by USAID may not enter the Contest. Employees, independent contractors, officers, and directors of CIDI, its affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising, promotion and fulfillment agencies, 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 where prohibited by law.
(2) How to Enter
Create your own print or video PSA that demonstrates the most effective ways to support international disaster relief. CIDI encourages Smart Compassion™ and educates the public that the most effective and least expensive way to help people affected by emergencies overseas is through monetary donations to established relief organizations. It is simple: save lives, save money – send cash. Your PSA entry should educate the general public about this message.
To enter, access the PSAid website at www.psaid.org, upload your PSA entry (“Entry”), and complete the contest Registration Forms and any applicable Personal Release Forms no later than 11:59 p.m. EDT on April 30, 2012. All entrants will be required to declare that they have consent from each person who appears, whose likeness appears, or whose voice is heard in their PSAs. Although consent requirements may vary from state to state, a standard Consent Form is available at www.psaid.org and is a required submission for each person featured in the Entry.
Submissions must be named, and group entries must have a designated Group Leader for technical and administrative issues and, where applicable, 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”).
New in 2012: there is no limit on entries per person or per contest category.
(3) Format and Length
Print PSAs should be formatted as an 8"x10" image in EPS format with a minimum of 300 DPI resolution and must be accompanied by a JPG copy that can be viewed 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 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 when viewing online.
Video PSAs should be exactly 30-seconds in length and should not exceed 100 megabytes in size. Video entries should be developed for high image and sound quality. 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. Please make sure the sound for a video PSA is of a quality suitable for presentation on television and other public media outlets. The need for clear enunciation cannot be overstated. Encourage all speakers to project through the end of sentences as to not diminish volume at the ends of sentences. Increase the volume for quieter speakers, and vice versa in order to insure the consistency of volume throughout the video.
All video submissions must include a standard end tag and print submissions must include CIDI and USAID logos. The end tags are available on the contest resources section of the PSAid website, and must be included exactly as provided.
(4) Copyright Infringement
By submitting an Entry, each 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. While the use of images, music and other works in the public domain may be incorporated into Entries, materials that infringe on the rights of any third party may not be used. CIDI is not responsible for late, lost, delayed, garbled, damaged, misdirected, incomplete, illegible or unintelligible entries. Incomplete or illegible entries are not eligible.
A link to the contest submission forms will be available on the PSAid website throughout the Entry submission period (November 2011 through April 2012). Each entrant must complete the online Registration and Certification form included in the contest registration materials, and all persons whose pictures, likeness, voice and/or name are used in the Entry must also complete an online Personal Release form.
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 and will not be acknowledged or returned.
(5) Judging Criteria
A panel of judges will announce the winners in each category on or about May 15, 2012. The judges will review all Entries for message, accuracy, originality, delivery/artistic skill, and overall impact. The judges are looking for the Entries that best convey both the importance and the impact of appropriate international disaster response and the need for Smart Compassion™. Additional suggestions from judges and additional knowledgeable professionals are available in the Resources section at www.psaid.org.
Judges' decisions are final. CIDI reserves the right to disqualify and remove any Entry which is, in the judging panel's sole discretion, inappropriate, offensive, defamatory or demeaning to CIDI’s reputation or goodwill, or any entrant who, in the judging panel's sole discretion, engages in conduct that is inappropriate, offensive, defamatory or demeaning to CIDI’s reputation or goodwill or to other entrants or their respective Entries.
Winners will be notified by e-mail, express mail or phone on or about May 15, 2012, 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 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 winner notification. Failure to comply may result in forfeiture of extended recognition and national distribution and selection of the next highest rated entrant as the focus. If winner cannot be contacted within five (5) calendar days of first notification attempt, if notification is returned as undeliverable, if winner rejects notification or in the event of noncompliance with these Contest rules and guidelines, winner status will be forfeited and selection of the next highest score entrant as the winner will occur.
(6) 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, 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, website, 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 website, including the PSAid website.
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 District of Columbia, without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of law rules or provisions (whether of the District of Columbia or any other jurisdiction), that would cause the application of the laws of any jurisdiction other than the District of Columbia. 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 e-mail address submitted at time of entry. “Authorized Account Holder” is defined as the natural person who is assigned an e-mail address by an Internet access provider, online service provider, or other organization (e.g., business, educational, institution, etc.) responsible for assigning e-mail addresses or the domain associated with the submitted e-mail address. Any potential winner may be requested to provide Sponsor with proof that such winner is the authorized account holder of the e-mail 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.
(7) Winners List/Official Rules
A copy of these Official Rules and the winners list may be obtained by sending an e-mail request to [email protected] or by fax request 202-783-0122. Requests for the winners list must be received by May 31, 2012.
(8) 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.
(9) 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:
Juanita Rilling, Director, Center for International Disaster Information, 529 14th Street, Suite 700W, Washington, DC 20045.
DMCA Claims
The DMCA specifies that all infringement claims must be in writing (either electronic mail or paper letter) and must include the following:
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A physical or electronic signature of the copyright holder or a person authorized to act on his or her behalf;
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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;
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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;
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Information reasonably sufficient to permit the service provider to contact you, such as an address, telephone number, and, if available, an electronic mail address;
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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
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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.