Born in the 90s – Explore the Past, Create the Future!

Published on 9 June 2015

On the eve of the 25th anniversary of the democratic movement in Albania, the Institute for Democracy, Media & Culture in collaboration with the Ministry of Social Welfare and Youth and the German Embassy announce the "Born in the 90s – Explore the Past, Create the Future!" creative contest for all young people born in early 1990.

Motivation of the Competition

2015 marks the 25th anniversary of the democratic movement followed by the collapse of the totalitarian regime in Albania. The "children of democracy," born in late 1980 and early 1990 have little to no recollection of the first years of transition. And they know even less about their past. Their childhood and youth is marked by the transition and concerns that have accompanied the Albanian society in the past two decades. Because life in freedom and democracy after nearly half a century of dictatorship proved not to be as easy as first hoped.

"Born in the '90s - Explore the Past, Create the Future!" competition aims to encourage and motivate young Albanians to reflect on the present, learning from the past, to create a safer and more prosperous future. Specifically, participants in this competition are invited to answer these questions:

What does 1990 mean to you?
What about the words "freedom," "borders"?
Does your family talk about events that have occurred before or after 1990?
How can the individual memories of your grandparents or family make you understand dictatorship?
What is your personal wish regarding the future development of Albania?

By reflecting in one of the following genres:

Essay & Literature
Multimedia
Visual Arts

Finally, why should we know our past? Because history does not happen by accident, it is made, and the youth are those who will write about it tomorrow.

Terms of Participation

The competition is open to all Albanian youth - living inside the country or abroad - born in the years 1989‒1999.
Entries may be submitted in either Albanian or English language.
Each participant may submit one entry only.
Each entry must be linked to the theme of the competition.
Only original works that have not been presented in similar activities will be accepted.
Essay or literary writing should be 3 to 5 pages long (Times New Roman 12pt, 1.1 spacing).
Entries on audio and/or video should be no longer than 4 minutes in length.
Artistic entries, posters or photographs should be no larger than A1 size.
Entries which are violent, hateful, sexist, racist or in any other way offensive will be disqualified.

Copyright and Reproduction Rights

Please get permission to publish or broadcast from every person who appears in video, film or picture.
Entries submitted to the competition must be original work.
Plagiarism will result in exclusion from the competition.
Copyright of each entry remains with the author, but the author of the winning entry grants the organizer unlimited rights to reproduce their work for exhibitions or further publications.
Winners of the competition will grant the organizer the exclusive right to translate, publish, exhibit and broadcast the winning entries for an undetermined amount of time. The winners agree as per the above terms that they will not take an honorarium, besides the prize.

Entry Submission

Final deadline for submissions is 5 October 2015 at 24.00.

The participants in this competition should submit the following documents:

Copy of the signed application form
Short CV of the author
Passport sized photo (write name/surname with a pencil on the back of the photo)
A short summary of the work submitted (max. 1,200 characters including spaces)
Entries such as posters, documentaries should be included in a CD
Confirmation that you read and agree to the terms of participation in this competition

Delivery address:

IDMC – Institute for Democracy, Media & Culture

Bardhok Biba St., Trema Bldg.
Entrance A, 11th Floor
Tirana, Albania

or via email: office@idmc.al

Participants will receive a confirmation by e-Mail. For more information, please consult our website or follow us on Facebook.

Winners Announcement

All entries will be evaluated by an independent jury composed of public figures and experts in the fields of literature, multimedia, photography and fine arts, based on the following criteria:

Innovation in presenting the topic
Understandability
Creativity and originality
Ability to attract the audience
Clear and powerful message
Authentic style
Ability to deliver the project using innovative forms (social media etc.) and simple tools (smartphones, amateur camcorders etc.)
Works should be conceived not only for a specialized audience, but for a mass audience

The winners will be announced within October 2015 and will be invited to Tirana to collect the award, in the presence of renowned personalities in the fields of media, civil society, politics and culture.