The Organization of World Heritage Cities (OWHC) is proud to renew for a fourth time the International Video Production Competition entitled “My City: Our World Heritage”. The objective of the competition are:

• To make the young people acquire a better knowledge of world heritage.
• To convey to the young people a stronger sense of belonging and pride concerning world heritage, through their personal vision.
• To allow young people to express themselves on world heritage and, in particular, on that of their city.
• To ensure that they are involved in the conservation and enhancement approach of the cities recognized as treasures of mankind.

Prize

• The OWHC will invite the mayors of the two young prize winners to officially present the winning video in their municipality. The videos of the young prizewinners will also be broadcast officially at the OWHC World Congress in Gyeongju (Republic of Korea) that will take place from October 31 to November 3, 2017. The mayors or representatives of the winning cities will be invited to speak. Later on, a representative of the OWHC will be pleased to award the winners with the international prize, namely the sum of:
  • $1000 US for the winner of the 14-17 years old category
  • $2000 US for the winner of the 18-21 years old category
• The young prizewinners of the international level and the mayors of both winning cities will be awarded an honorary certificate by the OWHC;
• In the event where a team of young people wins one of the prizes, the amount will be divided according to the number of teammates. An honorary certificate will be awarded to each of the members of a duly formed team;
• A certificate of participation will also be given to each of the finalists of the international level.

Eligibility

• The cities that are allowed to participate in this competition must be members in good standing of the OWHC and have paid annually their contributions for the last three years. A city that has been on UNESCO’s World Heritage List for less than three years may also register in this international competition, provided it has paid its contribution annually to the OWHC since its recognition by the UNESCO;
• The contest is open to young people of two age groups: 14-17 years old and 18-21 years old. They must be of the required age when they deposit their videos on YouTube. The OWHC may request proof of identity from local award-winners;
• The cities are not required to open the competition to both targeted groups; they may decide to offer the competition to a single age group only;
• Teams of young people are accepted;
• The young people cannot register directly with the OWHC.  The cities register in this competition and invite the young people to take part in it;
• The mayor of a world heritage city may hand the management of this project over to a delegated promoter;
• Videos made with a camcorder, a camera, a computer, or a cellphone are eligible. The video must be made or converted in the formats accepted by YouTube, namely .wmv (Windows Movie Maker, Windows Media Player, etc.), .avi (Audio Video Interleave), .mov (iMovie), .mpg (Quick Time video format).

Video Requirements

• The videos must present visual elements of the city; do not overload them with text. However, sound effects, music (with lyrics or not), and a narrator (without exaggeration) are allowed.
• If the videos contain narration or text, they must be produced in one of the three working languages of the OWHC: French, English or Spanish.
• The competitors must obligatorily publish their videos on YouTube. There is no cost to realize this operation.

Important Dates

• Registration Period: January 9 – June 16, 2017
• Period for participating cities to submit videos to OWHC: June 16 – July 31, 2017
• Online Webcast of the video’s finalists: August 2017
• Judging period: September – October 2017
• Announcement of the Prize Winners: October 31 – November 3

For more information and how to apply, visit OWHC International Video Production Competition.