“Freedom Is. . .” - A Video Contest in Cooperation with Apple

Posted on June 17th, 2008 by Eileen Turner

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights defines the foundation of freedom as being “recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family.”

Freedom has many manifestations: Freedom of speech…freedom from fear…freedom of movement and residence…freedom of thought, conscience, and religion…freedom of opinion and expression…freedom for peaceful assembly and association…freedoms to which everyone is entitled, without distinction of any kind.”

Yet around the globe, many people are denied essential freedoms and basic human rights. To raise awareness of the importance of freedom, the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, in cooperation with Apple Inc., is asking college students across the United States to participate in a national video essay competition on the subject of “Freedom Is . . .”

Here’s how the contest works:

Teams of college students of up to five members can create, edit and submit a short video (3 minutes or less) expressing the qualities, importance, and impact of freedom in their lives today. At least one mention of the phrase “freedom is” must be included in the video.
Team registration is open now and must be completed by noon EDT on Sunday, July 6th, 2008.
All videos must be created and submitted by noon EDT on July 13th, 2008 to be considered for judging.
Contest winners will be announced the week of July 21.
A panel of judges selected by Apple Inc. will choose 20 finalists from the videos submitted. From these, another panel of judges selected by the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center will choose a Grand Prize winning team and five honorable mention teams.
Cash prizes of $500 will go to each of the honorable mention teams, along with copies of Apple’s iLife ’08 and iWork ’08 suites of software applications featuring iMovie, iPhoto, iWeb, iDVD, GarageBand, Pages, Keynote, and Numbers.
The Grand Prize winning team will receive $1,500, as well as Apple’s award-winning Final Cut Studio editing suite, iLife ’08 and iWork ’08, and national recognition as the Freedom Contest grand-prize winner (with all bragging rights). The winning video will be shown on August 7, 2008 at the 2008 Higher Education Leadership Summit reception, hosted at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. A representative of the winning team will be invited to attend the event, courtesy of Apple.

All accepted videos may be showcased on Apple’s Student Gallery, Apple Learning Interchange, the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center website and museum, and other related Apple and NURFC websites.

Prizes are provided by the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center and Apple.

To register and obtain detailed information, visit the official contest site at http://edcommunity.apple.com/freedomcenter .

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