With elections and politics consuming news programs and conversations around the world right now, the Democracy Video Challenge asks you to make a short video to finish the sentence, "Democracy is..."

Sponsored by the US State Department’s Bureau of International Information Programs, the contest has brought together many, varied partner organizations including TakingItGlobal, the Tisch School of the Arts, and the International Youth Foundation among others.  You can submit your answer now!

Details:

Submissions are allowed until January 31st, 2009, from anyone aged 18 or older from around the world.  Videos must be under three minutes in length and can be of any style (animated, documentary, etc.).  The prize includes an "all-expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C., New York and Hollywood, gala screenings of the winning videos in Hollywood, New York and Washington, exposure to filmmakers and the U.S. film and television industry, and meetings with democracy advocates from government, media and civil society."  For official rules, visit the Democracy Video Challenge site.

Timeline:

• SUBMISSION DEADLINE - JANUARY 31, 2009
• Challenge semifinalists will be selected February – March 2009.
• An independent jury will narrow down the semifinalists to 21 finalists April 1 – May 15 2009.
• The general public will vote online for the winning videos May 15 – June 15, 2009.
• Seven winners – one each from the Western Hemisphere, Europe, Middle East/North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, South & Central Asia, East Asia/Pacific and one anonymous winner – will be announced in mid-June 2009.
• In October 2009, the six publicly identified winners, one from each of the six geographic regions, will travel to the United States to claim their prize.

Youth Media Exchange, or YMEX, an online social network for youth interested in using digital media tools to share information on major global issues, encourages youth to post videos to the YMEX site after entering the contest.  You can check out the YMEX forum about the contest here.

The Democracy Video Challenge's YouTube channel has videos about the contest in various languages and partner organizations are getting the word out to youth around the world to participate.

Is your organization using a video contest to spur online participation?  Have you used online tools to target youth audiences?  Is your organization engaging communities around political issues leading up to the US election?