Imagine If's Creative Competition for Environmental Awareness
Purpose Behind
According to the World Wide Fund for Nature’s ‘2020 Living Planet Report’, wildlife populations have been declining drastically by about 68% since the 1970s as a result of overconsumption, population growth, and disastrous waste which is evidence that humans have begun to unleash the 6th planetary mass extinction event.
The race to environmental sustainability and regeneration is long however a lot of developing countries have already started for example India & the Philippines have organized the largest tree planting event. In Africa, some countries are taking the plastic problem seriously. More than 15 countries have either banned single-use plastics completely or introduced a tax on them. In 2003, South Africa declared plastic bags as their “national flower” due to the overwhelming presence of plastic bags in trees and bushes. And in 2004 they enforced the ban of plastic bags. Right after that first ban, the snowball effect happened and the following countries have introduced measures to limit their usage of plastic bags and single-use plastics if not eliminate it completely; Kenya, Mali, Cameroon, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, Malawi, South Africa, Rwanda, and Botswana. In Egypt, we are slowly catching up however we have a long way ahead of us, we need to raise awareness about the problem and find creative solutions for it, which makes this the perfect time to act.
With the advent of the digital age, social media campaigns have proven to be a powerful tool in creating direct social, political and environmental impact. In 2014, a Brazilian association called "OndAzul" took advantage of Snapchat’s 10-second videos by creating a campaign based around that time frame. For example, in 10 seconds, not only can you look at your friend’s latest Snap, but also four kilometers of the Amazon rainforest is destroyed, in that same amount of time, and 140,000 liters of sewage is poured into Guanabara Bay. By connecting fast environmental facts to a platform that is already popular with kids and teens, this organization expanded its audience and quickly captured the attention of the users that saw it, creating direct impact and raising awareness about a very important environmental issue.
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Competition Description
In partnership with The National Bank of Egypt and The British Embassy of Cairo. We, a small team who care about the environment led by Omar Samra & Ahmed Gabr, are launching a Nationwide online creative competition with the aim to set off a grassroots movement led by artists, creatives & influential figures to catch up the Egyptian population to the current environmental issues starting with our waste and plastic crisis that is intoxicating our lands, contaminating our waters and choking our wildlife.
We are inviting submissions from all artists and creatives who are interested in creating a positive impact and raising environmental awareness through their work. Entries are judged by high profile experts, reputable media agencies and art/design houses based on impact, composition, creativity, technical ability, information correctness and relevance to Egyptian audience.
Competition's Environmental crisis focus:
NON-ORGANIC WASTE
Non-organic wastes like plastics don't decompose peacefully into nature. It releases toxic chemicals and becomes nanoparticles. It enters our food chains and can cause harmful diseases with consistent consumption. An article released by The Guardian shows microplastics found in a baby fetus!
Competition Breakdown
Example by Cowry News - Image for an article on how Kenya is pressed to end plastic waste ban by international traders after imposing strictest anti-plastic bag law 3 years ago.
Photojournalism + Article (Submissions deadline: March 7)
Capture a real life image and the story behind it. Your objective is to spotlight non organic waste issues that affect the environment in Egypt or effective solutions that need to be replicated.
Your photo needs to be submitted with the information behind it. Your style of writing will not be judged but the information should be sufficient and accurate. Article to be a maximum of 200 words.
Awards
1st Place EGP 10,000
2nd Place EGP 5,000
3rd Place EGP 3,000
Example of creative photography communicating the suffocating effects of plastic – portrait taken by Khaled Marzouk for Kefaya Plastic in 2019
Creative Photography
(Submissions deadline: February 25)
In this category you can orchestrate a setup, use props, and invite models. Simply design a shoot that would deliver a message and a feeling about a non organic waste issue you see fit. You can submit up to 6 images to display a storyboard or a concept.
Your images should have titles and your artwork should have a caption that is 50 - 100 words.
Awards
1st Place EGP 10,000
2nd Place EGP 5,000
3rd Place EGP 3,000
Kids Take Action Against Ocean Plastic | Short Film Showcase by National Geographic
Caption under video: Despite the vastness of Earth’s oceans, plastic pollutants are turning up everywhere, from the deep sea to the Arctic ice pack. In this short film from filmmaker Chris Hanson, 17 Hawaiian students study the impact of plastic pollution on their local beaches.
Video Documentary
(Submission deadline: March 30)
Video documentaries are a strong tool to inspire, provoke, mobilize & educate. How would you want to share with us your message to convey the dangers of non organic waste?
Film should be shorter than 10 mins.
Awards
1st Place EGP 30,000
2nd Place EGP 15,000
3rd Place EGP 10,000
Example of creative film by by Jonas Benarroch | THE BALLAD OF THE PLASTIC BAG is a short film with original music composed and performed by Nick Haughton. These plastics bags will last for hundreds to thousands of years and pollute our Ocean, our Environment, are ingested by terrestrial and marine animals, when they can easily be replaced by reusable canvas bags. Join the global movement to STOP plastic pollution at PlasticPollutionCoalition.org communicating the suffocating effects of plastic – portrait taken by Khaled Marzouk for Kefaya Plastic in 2019
Creative Short Film
(Submission Deadline: April 15)
Pick an issue about non organic waste, get artistic, funny, dramatic, adventurous, or even romantic. Don’t be shy to add music, effects or graphics to portray your message.
Film should be shorter than 10 mins.
Awards
1st Place EGP 30,000
2nd Place EGP 15,000
3rd Place EGP 10,000
Example of Artwork by Filip Hodas using Cinema 4D, Zbrush, Octane Render, Substance Painter, Substance Designer, RizomUV, Houdini, Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator.
Caption on image: “ As seen in the image of the 787 with a plastic straw in it's engine, it’s easy for straws — which are sharper than they look — to injure flying machines. According to studies, more than 1 million aircrafts in coastal areas die every year after crashing onto striped plastic straws that they mistook for runways.”
Digital Artwork
(Submission Deadline: March 14th)
Use the powers of your imagination & digital artwork to fuse together elements that are normally not found together to portray a message about a non organic waste issue you see in Egypt. You can use digital painting programs or programs that blend pictures together, whichever you see fit.
Name your artwork and add a caption between 50-100 words.
Awards
1st Place EGP 10,000
2nd Place EGP 5,000
3rd Place EGP 3,000
Example of artwork, a hybrid between painting and collage. By Noémi Baki-Szmaler
Handmade Artwork
(Submission deadline: March 21st)
Bring together artistic modes of any handmade crafts varying from mixed mediums (paint, spray paint, collage and others) using discarded materials on various creative surfaces from 2D to 3D artworks; don’t be shy to mix it up, we are open for imagination. Your artwork should express a non organic waste issue you want to convey to a range of ages.
Name your work and add a caption between 50-100 words.
Awards
1st Place EGP 10,000
2nd Place EGP 5,000
3rd Place EGP 3,000
Rules & Guidelines
General Rules
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Applicants must be official residents of Egypt.
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All the work submitted must be original work.
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You can only use work from your archives if it was never published before.
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Any stolen work will be removed and the applicant will be banned from participating with future activities by ImagineIf.
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There is a grace period after the deadlines above of three days only. Any work submitted after the grace period deadline will not be accepted to the competition.
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All work uploaded is subject to a moderation process before it becomes visible on the contest page. imagine.if reserves the right to assess and disregard any submitted work at our discretion.
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Works that portray or otherwise include inappropriate and/or offensive content, including provocative nudity, violence, human rights and/or environmental violation, and/or any other contents deemed to be contrary to the law, religious, cultural & moral traditions and practices of Egypt, are strictly prohibited and will be immediately discarded.
Technical Rules
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All pictures to be submitted in Horizontal 1920 × 1080 resolution or any other horizontal high-resolution size you want to use.
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All videos to be submitted in resolution no less than 360P.
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All videos to be submitted in Horizontal format.
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For Video Submissions, private, downloadable links are welcome.