Democracy Photo Challenge

The Democracy Photo Challenge
Official Contest Rules

What do you think democracy is? Take a photo and share your idea with the world!

NO ENTRY FEE IS NECESSARY TO PARTICIPATE OR WIN. THE CONTEST IS VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW, REGULATION, STATUTE OR OTHER APPROPRIATE LEGAL AUTHORITY.

I. Contest Sponsors:

The Democracy Photo Challenge is sponsored by the following partners of the Democracy Video Challenge: The Annenberg Space for Photography, Bridges to Understanding, Center for International Private Enterprise, Getty Images, International Center of Photography, International Republican Institute, International Youth Foundation, the Motion Picture Association of America, National Democratic Institute, NBC Universal, New York University-Tisch School of the Arts, One Economy, Recording Industry Association of America, TakingITGlobal, University of Southern California, the U.S. Department of State and YouTube.

II. Platform Sponsor:

Google (Picasa).

III. How to Enter:

Take an original still photo that illustrates what you think "Democracy is..." and submit it to the Contest using the method listed below (“Photo Submission”). Once a photo is uploaded to the Contest site, it is considered a final submission and may not be modified or edited, or replaced. Contestants may submit no more than five Photo Submissions. Participation in this Contest is automatically deemed as acceptance of these Official Contest Rules. A Photo Submission must be an original photograph (digital or analog) taken by the submitter. All photos should have been taken during the last ten years (since 2000).

1. Photo Submission: Contestants can upload their Contest photograph to the Contest website: www.democracyphotochallenge.america.gov. Contestants will also be required to complete a registration form to include their (i) Name, (ii) Country, (iii) Title, (iv) Caption and, (v) Keywords.
2. Retouching of Photos: The submitted Contest photograph cannot be significantly retouched: nothing in the photographs (people, animals, scenery, objects, etc.) may be altered , removed, or, augmented or rearranged. Cropping is permitted, as is modest darkening or lightening of parts of the image.

IV. Content Requirements:

Photo Submissions must not contain obscenity, explicit sexual material, graphic nudity, profanity, graphic violence, calls or incitement to violence, commercial solicitation or commercial promotion. Submissions also must not contain content or images that could be considered abusive, inflammatory, denigrating, or disrespectful to any of the Contest Sponsors, or to groups, individuals or institutions.

Photo Submissions must be original photos created by the Contestant and must not contain any elements that are protected by someone else’s copyright or otherwise subject to third party proprietary rights, including privacy and publicity rights (except as expressly permitted below). Submissions must adhere both in appearance and in fact to the norms of civil discourse. In other words, the content of all Photo Submissions must be suitable for a global, public audience. The Contest and Platform Sponsors reserve the right to disqualify, at their sole and absolute discretion, any submission that does not adhere to these criteria and to the intent and substance of these Official Contest Rules.

By submitting a photo to the contest, the Contestant affirms that he or she has obtained written consent from all individuals whose image or likeness appears in the photo and further affirms that he or she is prepared to provide reliable documentation to that effect upon request (or from the individuals’ parent/legal guardian if any such individuals are considered a minor in their country of residence). The Contestant further affirms that he or she has obtained the necessary rights, licenses, consents and permissions to use all material in the photo. Failure to obtain such rights, license consents, and permissions may result in the disqualification of the Photo Submission at the Contest Sponsors' sole and absolute discretion. Contest Sponsors recognize no allowance for “fair use” of copyrighted material. In the event of any question or difference of view regarding compliance with, interpretation, or application of these Content Requirements or other provisions of these Official Contest Rules, the Contest Sponsors reserve the exclusive right to resolve such questions or differences of view in their sole discretion.

V. Eligibility:

1. Contestants must be at least 18 years old on the date of commencement of the Contest.
2. The Contest commences at 8:00PM EDT on July 7th 2010 and and closes at 12:00PM GMT on July 28, 2010. The person submitting the photo will be considered the Contestant and will be the only person eligible to compete for the prize. In order to be eligible to win the prize, you must provide accurate and complete information.
3. The following individuals are not eligible to enter the Contest: Employees, directors and officers of the Contest Sponsors, Platform sponsors, or Participating Individuals and Organizations, the U.S. government, contractors of the U.S. government; or distribution agencies, web design agencies, advertising agencies, fulfillment agencies, as well as judging and Contest agencies involved in the administration, development, fulfillment and execution of this Contest and the immediate family members (spouse, recognized partner, parent, child, sibling and spouse or "step" of each) and those living in the same households of each such individual.
4. Submissions must follow technical format requirements of the Google (Picasa) Platform – Submission should be in .jpg, .gif, .png, TIFF, or .psd format and no larger than a two (2) megapixel (mg) file size. The submission should be at least 640 pixels (px) on its longest side and 72 dots per inch (dpi). Submissions should not have any visible any watermarks, signatures, or anything personally identifiable. Once a photo submission has been accepted for entry into the contest, the contestant’s name and country may be publically identified at the sole discretion of the Contest Sponsors.

VI. Selection of Winners:

Judging Criteria
All photos will be pre-screened by a combination of the Contest Sponsors to ensure compliance with these Official Contest Rules and the Google Terms of Service before being posted to the Contest site. Afterwards, the photos will pass through two rounds of judging to determine the winners. The Contest Sponsors reserve the right, in their sole and absolute discretion, to verify in the final analysis whether a potential finalist or potential winning Photo Submission has fully complied with these Official Contest Rules. The first round of judging will evaluate each submission using the following criteria:

• 60%: Relevancy to "Democracy is" - Photo clearly demonstrates, abstractly or concretely, an illustration of what “Democracy is…”
• 20%: Technical Elements – Photos will be judged for qualities of lighting, focus, sharpness, composition, arrangement, perspective, etc.
• 20%: Creativity - Level of artistic creativity; originality of idea.

Finalists
An independent jury comprised of photography experts, democracy and youth organizations will evaluate the submissions. They will choose no more than six finalists from each of the world’s six geographic regions as defined by the U.S. Department of State (Western Hemisphere, East Asia Pacific, Europe, Africa, Near East, South & Central Asia) for a total of no more than 36 finalists. Only one finalist will be selected from any one country. The finalists will be announced and posted on the Contest site on August 19th, (International Photography Day). Finalists may be publicly identified by name and country, at the sole discretion of the Contest Sponsors.

Each finalist will be required to sign and return to the Contest Sponsors an affidavit of eligibility and liability/publicity release not later than 12:00 AM GMT August 21, 2010, and provide a short bio and brief statement about the photo; otherwise they will be ineligible to compete for the grand prize. The Contest Sponsors reserve the right, in their sole and absolute discretion, to verify that a potential finalist or winner is in full compliance with these Official Contest Rules before the Contestant is recognized as a finalist or winner, and before awarding any prize. The inability of Contest Sponsors to contact a potential finalist or winner may result in disqualification and/or selection of an alternate finalist or winner from among all remaining eligible submissions.

Winners
The general public will have until midnight GMT, August 26th, 2010 to vote for their favorite photos using Picasa web's "Like" system, based on the criteria set forth above. The public will select twelve grand prize winners, two from each of the world’s six geographical regions. The name and country of the winners for each geographical region will be publicly announced through multiple media including the Democracy Challenge Facebook Fan Page (www.facebook.com/democracychallenge) and Twitter feed (www.twitter.com/demvidchallenge). In the event that multiple Contestants have the same highest number of "Like" votes, the jury co-chairs will evaluate the photos on the criteria described above to break the tie and choose the winner.

Voting Phase
The global community will be invited to vote or “like” their choice for winner on the Picasa platform. To become a registered user of picasaweb.Google.com, individuals can login with an existing Google account or can create one by clicking on "Create an Account" at http://picasaweb.Google.com. Registered users must agree to Google "terms of use" set forth at https://www.Google.com/accounts/TOS ("Terms of Service"). There is no fee or charge to become a registered user.

VII. Prize:

The winners’ photos will receive special exhibits through public displays at cultural and/or other appropriate venues in New York, Washington DC, Hollywood, and, if possible, other cities around the world (to be selected solely by the Contest Sponsors), as well as on multimedia sites. At each public display, a short bio of the winner will be included, along with a brief statement, in the winner’s own words, about the photo, including its meaning for that winner. If feasible, additional prize elements may be added at the sole discretion of the Contest Sponsors.

The winner must provide a valid mailing address where an additional prize, if any, is to be shipped. The Contest Sponsors are not responsible for any problems related to the shipping of any additional prize, including, but not limited to, theft, delay, damage, or destruction/accidental loss by the shipping carrier.

The prize has no cash value. Any unused portion of the prize is not transferable, convertible, or exchangeable and cannot be taken as cash. All taxes on or in connection with any prize, and the reporting consequences thereof, are the sole and exclusive responsibility of the winner.

Contest Sponsors are not liable in the event that any portion of the Contest is cancelled due to weather, fire, strike, acts of war or terrorism, or any other condition beyond their control.

VIII. Liabilities and Rights:

• The Contest Sponsors and Platform Sponsor do not necessarily endorse any particular photo, messages, or advice expressed therein, and the Contest Sponsors expressly disclaim any and all liability in connection with the submitted photos, including disputes between collaborators related to a Photo Submission.
• This Contest and its sponsors do not permit copyright infringing activities or infringement of any other intellectual property rights, and Contest Sponsors reserve the right to remove and disqualify any submission they deem to be in violation of another party's copyright or other intellectual property rights.
• The Contestant assumes sole responsibility for the photo and the material contained in it and also for the consequences of the posting on Picasa.
• The Contest Sponsors reserve the right, at any time, to verify the validity of entries and of Contestants and to disqualify any Contestant deemed not in compliance or any entry deemed not in accordance with these Official Contest Rules. The Contest Sponsors also reserve the right to request further documentation, at their sole and absolute discretion, to verify eligibility and compliance with these Official Contest Rules. If a prize or any portion thereof, is unavailable, the Contest Sponsors, in their sole discretion, reserve the right to substitute the prize with another prize of equal or greater value and/or specification.
• If this Contest is interfered or tampered with in any way by a Contestant, or a person acting on the Contestant’s behalf, or, if, as a consequence of such interference, the Contest is not capable of being reasonably conducted in the manner anticipated by the Contest Sponsors, the Sponsors reserve the right, in their sole discretion and to the fullest extent permitted by law to disqualify any interfering Contestant and/or to modify, suspend, terminate or cancel the Contest.
• In addition, the Contest Sponsors reserve the right, at any time and in their sole discretion, to disqualify and/or deem ineligible any individual who they reasonably believe (a) has failed to agree to the Official Contest Rules or has violated the Official Contest Rules; (c) has violated Google’s “terms of use”; or (d) is acting in a bad faith, unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner, or with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass any other person.
• If for any reason the Contest is not capable of running as planned, including without limitation, infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes which corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity or proper conduct of the Contest, the Contest Sponsors reserve the right, at their sole discretion, to cancel, modify or terminate the Contest.
• Contest Sponsors reserve the right to modify, suspend, terminate or cancel the Contest, as appropriate, including due to any other reason beyond the control of the Contest Sponsors.
• You agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless the Contest Sponsors and Platform Sponsor, their parent, subsidiary and other affiliated companies, officers, directors, employees and agents, from and against any and all claims, damages, obligations, losses, liabilities, costs or debt, and expenses (including but not limited to attorney's fees) arising from: (i) your use of and access to the Picasa and Contest websites in connection with the Contest; (ii) your violation of these Official Contest Rules or the Picasa Terms of Service; (iii) your violation of any third party right, including without limitation any copyright, trademark, intellectual property, privacy, publicity or other proprietary right in connection with the Contest; or (iv) any claim that your Photo Submissions caused damage to a third party. This defense and indemnification obligation will survive indefinitely beyond the conclusion of the Contest and your use of the Contest and Picasa websites.
• The conduct, judging and awarding of prizes for the Contest will be carried out in full compliance with applicable U.S. laws.
• Neither Contest Sponsors nor Platform Sponsor is liable for any disputes between collaborators related to a Photo Submission
• Contestants retain ownership of their photos. However, by submitting a photo to the Contest, Contestants grant Contest Sponsors, participating organizations, and Platform Partner, with proper attribution through whatever means they deem appropriate, a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sub-licensable and transferable license to use, reproduce, distribute, prepare derivative works of, and/or display the Photo Submission, in any media formats and through any media channels in perpetuity in connection with the activities and operations of the Contest.
• At their sole discretion, Contest Sponsors may contact Contestants to propose collaboration on additional projects.

IX. Limitations of Liability and Release:

Contest Sponsors assume no liability or responsibility for any loss or harm resulting from any user's participation in or attempt to participate in the Contest or ability or inability to upload, download, or otherwise access any information in connection with participating in the Contest. Contest Sponsors assume no responsibility or liability for technical problems or technical malfunction arising in connection with any of the following occurrences which may affect the operation of the Contest: hardware or software errors; faulty computer, telephone, cable, satellite, network, electronic, wireless or Internet connectivity or other online communication problems; errors or limitations of any Internet service providers, servers, hosts or providers; garbled, jumbled or faulty data transmissions; failure of any email transmissions to be sent or received; lost, late, delayed or intercepted email transmissions; inaccessibility of the Contest site in whole or in part for any reason; traffic congestion on the Internet or the Contest site; unauthorized human or non-human intervention of the operation of the Contest, including without limitation, unauthorized tampering, hacking, theft, virus, bugs, worms; or destruction of any aspect of the Contest, or loss, miscount, misdirection, inaccessibility or unavailability of an email account used in connection with the Contest.

Contest Sponsors are not responsible for any typographical errors in the announcement of prizes or these Official Contest Rules, or any inaccurate or incorrect data contained on the Contest site. Use of Contest site is at user's own risk. Contest Sponsors are not responsible for any personal injury or property damage or losses of any kind which may be sustained to user’s or any other person's computer equipment resulting from participation in the Contest, use of the Contest site or the downloading of any information from the Contest site. By participating in the Contest, the Contestant releases the Contest Sponsors from any and all claims, damages or liabilities arising from or relating to such Contestant’s participation in the Contest.