California Sikh Youth Voices Promoting Diversity: A Video Contest
Share Your Story about Sikh Culture and Your Experiences Standing Up to Bullying

The goal of the Sikh Youth Voices video contest is to create more awareness and understanding of Sikh culture and to help schools create more welcoming and inclusive environments that are free of bullying.

Not In Our School [1] and UNITED SIKHS [2] are proud to share student-made videos on our websites for use in classrooms across the country and the world. We believe that building, understanding and creating awareness of Sikh culture as well as solutions to bullying will help make schools safer and more inclusive for all students. Sharing stories through the voices of Sikh youth is a wonderful way to make that happen.

We are seeking youth-made videos that share the following:

• Tell everyone about Sikh culture
• Share experiences being Sikh and propose ways to make environments more welcoming
• Build awareness about bullying of Sikh youth with concrete solutions, for example, an example of being bullied and what you did to resolve it or what you think you should have done to resolve it

Your videos can include a monologue, short skits, re-enactments or innovative ways you have solved problems. They can include only you or others. Be creative!

Between now and January 13, 2013 youth can produce 1-3 minute videos and submit them to NIOS or UNITED SIKHS. NIOS, UNITED SIKHS and Amrit Kaur will judge the videos and select the three winners in each category and up to 10 runners-up that will be posted on our websites.

HOW THE VIDEOS WILL BE USED

We will create a composite of the videos for use in classrooms. We will also design lesson plans so classrooms can learn about Sikh culture and discuss making their environment welcoming to Sikhs and all students. We will also include additional extension activities for students to learn more about Sikh culture. Videos will be featured and award winners will be recognized on the NIOS [3] and UNITED SIKHS [4] websites.

ELIGIBILITY

• Open only to students, grades 5-12 in California
• All video production must be led by youth
• All videos must specifically address Sikh culture

DEADLINE FOR ENTRIES: Jan. 13, 2013

Winners will be announced by January 27, 2013 and contacted by phone or email. 

WIN PRIZES

Prizes will be awarded to students in each of two categories: grade 5-8 and grade 9-12

First prize: Kindle Fire
Second prize: $100
Third prize: $50
Runners-up: $10 gift card

CONTEST ENTRY RULES:

• Entries will be judged on the quality and message of the videos.
• The videos must call attention to Sikh culture in the context of themes of inclusion, diversity, solutions to bullying, and being an upstander.
• All videos must be the student's original creation. No copyrighted music, video, or images may be used in the video.
• All must be submitted electronically in the following formats: Send us a link to a film uploaded to YouTube, TeacherTube, Vimeo, or Dropbox.
• All videos must be submitted with Parental Releases [5] for all producers and each person in the video.

ENTRY PROCEDURES:

Here is what you do:

1. Select “Sikh way of life” and one or a combination of the following topics:

• Welcoming School Environment
• Ending Bullying
• Celebrating Diversity
• Speaking Up
• Overcoming Stereotypes
• Cyber-bullying
• Invent your own “Not in Our School” topic

2. View films on www.notinourschool.org [3] to get ideas.
3. Write scripts, film, and edit their pieces.
4. Obtain parental release [5] for the students in the films and for the producers.
5. Complete the registration form and submit the film by Jan. 13, 2013.

About the Contest Sponsors:

Not In Our Town (NIOT), a project of The Working Group, is a national movement that encourages community response to hate since 1995. NIOT has produced more than 80 films chronicling positive responses combining PBS broadcast, grassroots events, educational and online tools and activities to help communities battle hate and learn from each other. The purpose of the Not in Our School (NIOS) program is to help students take steps to create a more tolerant, inclusive and respectful school community. Please view our short film, “What is Not in Our School?” at NotInOurSchool.org/about [6]. You can reach Not In Our School at info@niot.org [7].

UNITED SIKHS is a U.N.-affiliated, international non-profit, non-governmental, humanitarian relief, human development and advocacy organization. UNITED SIKHS has initiated projects to illuminate the pervasiveness of bullying in the Sikh community, the importance of addressing bullying at all levels, and working together through increased awareness to create tolerant and inclusive communities. You can reach UNITED SIKHS via email at sikhyouthvoices@unitedsikhs.org [8] and phone at 888-243-1690.

(Please see the report at www.unitedsikhs.org/docs/UNITED-SIKHS-Bullying-Prevention.pdf [9])