Calling all Filmmakers! The “TAP Potential” Video Contest on Climate Change!

The TAP Video Contest invites you to show off your videography talent, and share your ideas on how to tap the potential for climate action.

Across the globe, people are turning the climate change challenge into an opportunity. We want to hear these stories. Your film might focus on your own actions, those of a community group or university, or perhaps the work your city or region is doing. The story is yours to tell – but here are some ideas to kick-start your brainstorming:

• Describe an initiative that focuses on combating climate change. How could this be scaled up to have an even greater impact in your city or further afield?
• Share your ideas on a new or existing project that would convince your family, friends or colleagues to take climate action. What is it about this project that encourages the community to get on board?
• Have your say on the transformative action needed to encourage sustainable development in your hometown. If you were the mayor, what would be your first order of business?

Whatever you think can make a difference for the climate; we want to see it brought to life through a short, engaging video.

The Transformative Actions Program (TAP) is a 10-year initiative aiming to showcase the potential of local climate action. It aims to improve cities’ and regions’ access to financing, and maximize investment in low-carbon and climate-resilient urban development and governance processes. The TAP will showcase 100 ambitious projects at the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP21) in Paris in December 2015.

WANT TO KNOW HOW TO JOIN?

It’s easy! Anyone can join, as an individual or in a group. You may submit as many entries as you like. Simply follow these steps:

1. Create a 15 second to 3 minute digital video about tapping the potential of transformative climate action in cities or regions.
2. Upload your film on Vine, Youtube, Youku or Vimeo.
3. Tag your film with #TAPPotential and share your video with your social network!
4. Write an email to tap@iclei.org to inform us of the link by 30 September 2015. Please provide us with your name and a contact telephone number.

THE REQUIREMENTS

• Your film can be in any digital video format – you can even use your smartphone!
• Choose whatever film style you wish. Perhaps you want to narrate, sketch, sing, animate, or illustrate your story… Be creative!
• Your film can be in any language, but we strongly suggest you include English subtitles and a full script.
• Your film must not have been entered in other film contests before.

THE WINNER

The winner will be marked out of a total of 50 points on the following criteria:

• Content: clarity and effectiveness of the video in documenting a story about climate transformation, promoting action and/or offering new solutions. (15 points)
• Innovation, originality, and impact: telling the story in a fresh and unusual way, appealing to a broad and diverse audience and encouraging further thought and action. (15 points)
• Technical expertise: quality of camera and audio work, effectiveness of editing and strength of script. (10 points)
• Online impact: How many likes or views your video gets when published online. We want you to share and promote your video to your network! (10 points)

THIS IS WHAT YOU GET

• First prize: 500 euros
• Second prize: 300 euros
• Third prize: 200 euros
• Winners will also be offered the opportunity to work alongside ICLEI’s Communications Team as a social reporter at the Cities and Regions Pavilion – TAP 2015 at COP21 in Paris. (Please note the prize does not grant entrance to the restricted UNFCCC Blue Zone at COP21.)

WHEN’S THE DEADLINE?

The deadline for submission is 30 September 2015 and winners will be informed by 10 October 2015.

Formore information, just log on to the TAP Video Contest page.

A Call Well Made

Professor Samuel Nii Odai, the Pro Vice-Chancellor, has called on businesses to consider the

PROFESSOR SAMUEL NII ODAI

implications of their activities on the environment. He made this call at the launch of this year’s Trade and Technology Fair (TRATECH) organised by the Students Representative Council (SRC).

The fair has the theme “People, Planet and Profit: Embracing Sustainability and Innovation for Business Growth”.
Prof. Nii Odai explained that profit was good but businesses should not only consider profit to the neglect of the environment. This was because a negative attitude towards the environment would affect generations. He made a passionate appeal to businesses to adopt innovative strategies to save the environment.

“As a science and technology university, equipping students with the requisite entrepreneurial skills, it is our responsibility to ensure that future generations do not suffer due to our actions today,” he stated. He therefore commended the students for choosing the theme.

Joseph Baffour, Chairman of the TRATECH Committee, observed that this year’s fair sought to provide employment and capacity-building to exhibitors with good and amazing business ideas. Exhibitors would compete under the SRC Business Development Challenge. Viable businesses that emerge winners would be brought into partnership with the Kumasi Business Incubator (KBI) and the Centre for Business Development.

Items on exhibition include electronics, clothing, drugs, cosmetics, footwear, ceramics, paintings, sculpture, decorative accessories, food, beverages and drinks. There were exhibitions from multimedia, travel and tourism companies and other service providers in the Kumasi Business Incubator (KBI).

Duke Sasu, the SRC President, believes that students’ ideas should be supported and therefore fourteen (14) start-up businesses and ideas of students would be supported with funds.
Apart from the usual college and departmental exhibitions, a significant number of exhibitors were students and alumni entrepreneurs. Wise Technologies, an electronic company owned and funded by some students, exhibited universal modems and power banks. The power banks are power devices for charging smartphones, tablets, cameras, Go Pro, MP3 players among others. The power bank would help students to charge their mobile devices in this time of the power crisis.
Mtrotech is also a student-owned business. They exhibited cane furniture and handmade customized t-shirts made from sea shells, clay, wood and other natural materials.

Some undergraduate students from the KNUST School of Business (KSB) also exhibited Fresh Drinking Yoghurt. The drink known as Lese Fresh Drinking Yoghurt comes in strawberry, mango and orange flavours.  At the KSB stand were assorted bead products such as necklaces, bracelets, earrings, among others under the label Queens Pearl.

Story Credit: www.knust.edu.gh