Regulation in Other Languages:
GENERAL RULES FOR THE EUROPEAN ART CONTEST
“STEP INTO EUROPE”
Introduction
This European Art Contest is part of the project “Step into Europe”, an initiative developed jointly by the Associação Juvenil Rota Jovem (Portugal), Xena – Centro Scambi e Dinamiche Interculturali (Italy), Nexes – Interculturals de Joves per Europa (Spain), Buurthuis Princensluis (Netherlands), B*COME – powered by you(th) vzw (Belgium) and Eesti Erinoorsootöö Ühing noOR (Estonia).
This project is developed with the support of the programme “Europe for Citizens: Promotion of Active European Citizenship” of the European Commission and it aims to promote active youth participation and to raise awareness to the topics of Human Rights, Intercultural Dialogue and the important role of the youth in European society.
In addition to this contest, the project also involves other events such as a “Partners Meeting” and a “Citizenship Week” with workshops in schools and exhibitions on European Information and Citizenship to be held in various European cities. At the end of the week there will be a “Day of Europe Party” (9th of May 2009) in the various participating countries. During this event, the winners of the European Art Contest will be officially announced.
Objective
The European Art Contest “Step into Europe” aims to promote reflection about European identity, European values and Youth participation and to allow for the artistic and individual expression of their ideas. The result of this contest will be exhibited throughout at least six countries and will show visitors different views on these topics, thus promoting debate around the subject. We expect this event creates a higher sense of community within Europe by connecting the participants and their countries.
GENERAL CONDITIONS OF THE CONTEST
Art.1 – Purpose of the contest
This European Art Contest aims to award the best art pieces (created by youth residents of the countries stated below in Art. 3) based upon the 5 following categories: Photography, Cartoon, Micro-film, Graffiti and Song. Art pieces must be closely related in content and meaning to the one or both of the 2 themes: European Values and Youth Participation.
Art.2 – Periodicity
The contest will take place between the 25th of January and the 20th of April 2009. The names of the winners will be announced on the 9th of May 2009 after the panel’s deliberation.
Art.3 – Participants
a) Participants
All citizens residents between the ages of 16 and 30 years of age in the participating countries may enter the contest, either individually or in groups.
Participating countries are:
All 27 European Union countries
EFTA / EEA countries (Iceland, Norway, Lichtenstein)
South East Europe (Croatia, FYROM, Turkey, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, Kosovo)
Youth belonging to the staff, the board of the organizations promoting the event and close relatives of the Panel are excluded from entering the contest.
b) Deadline to submit art pieces
All art pieces must be delivered until the 20th of April 2009, before 24.00 (GMT) by e-mail or post.
c) Means of delivery
Participants must send their art pieces and application form through one of the following means:
By e-mail in digital format to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
By registered post in digital format (CD, DVD or USB stick) to the address:
Rota Jovem
Largo do Mercado – Edificio Rota Jovem
2750-431 Cascais
PORTUGAL
Art pieces should be sent with the fully completed Personal Information Form and one Art Piece Form for each piece submitted (available for download at www.stepintoeurope.eu)
Participants should carefully read the section on Specific Conditions (page 6) regarding each category to know the particular required specifications and details about the means of delivery.
Upon delivery of each art piece(s), the staff will notify the youth artist of its arrival within 5 working days via e-mail. However, it is the participants’ responsibility to seek the confirmation from the staff that their work has been safely delivered.
The organization will not return any CDs, DVDs or USB sticks received from participants.
d) Number of art pieces
Each participant, either as individual or as a member of a group, may present a maximum of 3 art pieces in total. However, it is allowed to participate in more than one category up to the limit of 3 pieces. Only original, unpublished and non-previously awarded work will be accepted.
Art.4 – Exclusion Rules
Submitted art pieces will be excluded if:
Art piece is sent without the Personal Information Form and Art Piece Form fully completed
Art piece is delivered after the deadline or sent through other means than the ones defined
The limit of 3 pieces allowed is exceeded
Art piece does not comply with specifications established for the respective category in the Specific Conditions section of these regulations
Art piece is not original or has previously been awarded a prize
Art piece does not fall within the categories or themes of the contest
There is inappropriate or offensive content (pornography, violence, etc.)
Art.5 – Panel
For each category, a panel composed of 3 international members will be appointed. The promoters of the Step into Europe project will appoint people linked to youth associations, to the subject of European Citizenship and artists in each artistic category. The panel is independent and has no information about the participants’ identity. The appointed panel members will be announced on the contest website (www.stepintoeurope.eu)
Art.6 – Evaluation of art pieces
Art pieces received will be evaluated by the panel who may require extra information of the participant. The panel will have the following evaluation criteria: artistic qualities & approach to the themes of the contest (European Values and Youth Participation).
The jury may not award any prize if it is considered that the items presented do not reconcile with the quality standards required for a prize.
Art.7 – Announcement of Winners and Prizes
Winners of the contest will be individually notified by e-mail until the 9th of May 2009 and publicly announced at the “Day of Europe Party” to be held in all the six promoting countries. After the official announcement, all the awarded art pieces and their authors (names and country of residence) will be published in the contest website (www.stepintoeurope.eu), and will be held on display for in the course of the 12 months following and will be included in the project’s final DVD.
For each of the categories, one winner and also two (2) special distinctions will be selected, one for “approach to the themes” and one for “artistic qualities”. A prize will be given to the winner of each category. There is one prize per category, even for participants in groups. Participants awarded a special distinction will receive a certificate testifying this distinction.
Art.8 – Copyright
All the art pieces awarded a winning prize or a special distinction and others selected by the promoters will be on exhibition for the course of the 12 months following the announcement of the results. All the exhibitions will be organized by the promoters and take place in institutions related to European Citizenship and Youth. These art pieces will also be published on the website of the contest (www.stepintoeurope.eu). A selection of the art pieces accepted to the contest shall be included in the final DVD of the project, which will be distributed to various organizations linked to European Citizenship and Youth.
Winners and participants receiving special distinctions will be invited to provide their biography and a photo to be included in the exhibition and DVD but they have the right to refuse to disclose this information.
The name of the participant and the country of residence will always be referenced when publishing and exhibiting the competing art pieces. The following conditions apply:
By participating in the contest, the participant gives to the promoters of this contest freely and without charge the copyrights of the art pieces submitted, including the right to public exhibition, reproduction and dissemination of the art pieces. The right to sell or to make a profitable commercial use of the pieces is not given to the promoters.
These rights will remain for a minimum period of two years. After this period the assignment of rights remains owned by the promoters unless participants reclaim the copyrights by requesting it to Rota Jovem – Portugal (www.rotajovem.com) by registered mail.
The promoting organizations will keep the confidentiality of all participants’ contacts and will not publish or disclose such information to third parties without the full consent of the participant.
Participants are not allowed to use in their art pieces any materials (images, video, sound,…) that are protected by copyright laws, unless authorized by authors.
Art.9 – Final Rules
The promoting organizations reserve the right to add amendments to the present Regulations, to alter the composition of the Jury and to decide over the acceptance or not of submitted items that do not fully comply with the regulations. All situations not foreseen in the present regulations shall be solved by the promoting organizations, without an appeal to their final decision.
The participation in this contest implies full acceptance of the present Rules and Regulations
Specific Conditions of the Contest by Categories
Categories
Photography
Cartoon
Micro-film
Graffiti
Song
All participants must send the Personal Information Form and Art Piece Form duly completed together with their art piece(s) (download at www.stepintoeurope.eu)
Specific Conditions – Photography
Specifications for acceptance of art pieces:
Only photographs submitted in digital format are accepted (they can be scanned).
These may be either in colour or black and white.
Photographs digitally manipulated are not accepted.
Information must be given indicating the place, date and brand and model of the device used to take the picture.
Means of delivery:
Photographs should be sent in JPEG format in a file up to 10 MB.
All pieces must be sent together with the corresponding Art Piece Form fully completed.
Specific Conditions – Cartoon
Specifications for acceptance of art pieces:
Only cartoons submitted in digital format are accepted (they can be scanned).
The art pieces can be single-panel cartoon or comic strips but they must be understandable if printed in an A4 page size.
These can be presented either in colour or black and white.
Cartoons may or may not contain text, if they have text this can be in any language but a complete translation to English is required.
Means of delivery:
Cartoons should be sent in TIF or JPEG format (minimum resolution of 300 dpi) in a file up to 10 MB.
All pieces must be sent together with the corresponding Art Piece Form fully completed.
Specific Conditions – Micro-Film
Specifications for acceptance of art pieces:
Micro-films must not exceed a maximum duration of five minutes and thirty seconds (5’ 30’’).
Micro-films containing voice sound may be spoken in any language but must have subtitles in English text if spoken in any other language.
These may be done by cell phone, camera, digital video camera or by any other technical means for the purpose.
Information must be given indicating the place, date and brand and model of the device used to make the film.
No images, video fragments or sound covered by copyright laws can be used, unless with proven authorization.
Means of delivery:
Micro-films must be delivered in the following settings:
H.264, MPEG-2 or MPEG-4 format
640x480 (SD) or 1280x720 (HD) for 4:3 & 16:9 aspect ratios.
Frame rate should be the same as original video
Sampling rate: 44.1KHz for MP3/AAC audio
All pieces must be sent together with the corresponding Art Piece Form fully completed.
Specific Conditions – Graffiti
Specifications for acceptance of arts pieces:
Graffiti pieces include making a legal graffiti in any support and taking pictures of the process (5 different moments from the first sprays to the end showing the artists in action) and pictures of the final product (one covering the whole graffiti and 5 of detailed parts)
It is preferable to have the graffiti in a board, canvas, etc. so it can be transported to the exhibitions but it not mandatory.
Digital colour photos of the process and final product should be sent for the contest.
Graffiti may or may not contain text, if so, this may be in any language and a complete translation in English must be provided.
Means of delivery:
Photographs of the process (min. 5) and of the final product (one total and 5 details) should be sent in JPEG format in files up to 10 MB.
All pieces must be sent together with the corresponding Art Piece Form fully completed.
Specific Conditions – Song
Specifications for acceptance of art pieces:
Songs must have lyrics.
Lyrics in any language are accepted but a complete translation to English is required.
Both music and lyrics must be the original creation of the participants.
Songs should have a maximum duration of 4 minutes.
All styles of music, techniques and instruments are accepted and also live recorded music or synthesized music will be accepted.
Means of delivery:
Songs should be sent in format OGG or MP3 (minimum of 44 KHz and 192 Kbps) in a file up to 10 MB.
All pieces must be sent together with the corresponding Art Piece Form fully completed.
