Until March 7, creatives wishing to participate in the 2020 Census Challenge, announced by theU.S. Census Bureau at the beginning of the year, have the opportunity, where up to $30,000 can be earned for the first original video and in the language of their choice.
The challenge is to send a short audiovisual (30 seconds to 3 minutes) explaining the importance of the census, where elements such as entertainment, emotion, creativity and humour must be used to motivate people to count in the 2020 census.
The main economic incentive consists of $30,000, however, a first place is also awarded $10,000 and a student prize, also $10,000, in total the Census invests the sum of $50,000.
The challenge winners will be selected and announced in May 2020. Videos with the highest scores of the preliminary jury will be considered finalists and may be transmitted for further review by other experts or “VIP” judges of the government and industry.  The selection of winners is ultimately at the discretion of the U.S. Census Bureau.
The video must be designed for a platform such as YouTube and may meet the audience, duration, format, and accuracy requirements described above, along with a brief description of the equipment and video, as described below.
Format and shipping requirements
The material must be mailed to the census.accelerate@census.gov at any time before the closing of the challenge and write in the subject line: “Submission of the prize: [Team Name], [Video Title].” Include a web link to your video and the required written information as described in the “What to Send” section.
The material format must be compatible with YouTube,i.e. it can be filed:  WebM, MPEG4, 3GPP, MOV, AVI, MPEG-PS, WMV, FLV with the suggested look of 16:9.
Be fact-based and not contain any misleading or false information.
It must include all the shipping requirements items described above, including a video link, computer information, and video information. Videos or descriptions that exceed the duration requirements or are submitted after the stated deadline may not be reviewed.
Video eligible
You should be aware that the Census works for all U.S. residents without distinction of race, gender, community, or place of origin. That is why the Census Jury may take into account that:

  • Target at least one hard-to-count population,  such as (but not delimited to): racial and ethnic minorities, non-native English speakers, millennials/gen Z, families with young children, (see page 2 of the  Resource Guide for a complete list).
  • Have at least 30 seconds and have no more than 3 minutes in length.
  • Be digital and available online via a web link. Ideally, videos should be designed or available on platforms like YouTube.
  • They contain only precise and factual content about the census. A resource guide is available as a content guide, as well as all gov resources. Questions or clarifications on the facts of the census may be directed to  census.accelerate@census.gov; clarifying questions are encouraged and will not affect eligibility or the chances of winning a prize.

When sending the audiovisual material, you should also have a short description preferably in PDF format specifying:

  • Who created the video being sent? If it is a team, show names, project roles, and organizational affiliations of the people who participated in the production of the video.
    1. Who will receive funds if granted? Indicate which person(s) or organization(s) will receive prize funds if awarded.
    2. (Optional) Student Information: If you are a full-time student and wish to be considered for a student award, you must submit the following for each applicant: age and academic institution where the shipping team members are students (school and graduation year). If selected as a winner, you may be asked to check the student’s status; any personal information collected from candidates is subject to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Online Privacy Policy. If you are not a student or do not wish to be considered for a student award, you do not need to submit Student Information. Applicant students can still be considered for the grand prize or runner-up prize. Students under the age of 18 can apply for the Prize Challenge with a consent form signed by a parent or guardian; please send an email to accelerate@census.gov to request this form.

More things to consider.
In a PDF document that does not Romanexceed 2 pages with 1.5 leading and at least11 standard source points (Arial) in which it must be indicated:

  1. What is the hard-to-count community (HTC) the video directed?  Videos should be directed to at least one  HTC community listed on page 2 of the  Resource Guide and gov.
  2. How did you engage members of the target HTC community? Describes how you hired people from target HTC groups in the development or testing of video content, in the search for comments, then future in the video and/or their participation directly in the production. If you did not directly engage members of the target community, explain why you think this video will resonate significantly with the audience.
  3. How and when was this video made? Briefly describe the timeline and production process.
  4. How will you share this video widely with your target audience? Describe how, within the resources available to you, you will distribute this video, increase its virality, and make sure that members of the target audience watch the video.
  5. Include a transcript of the video. This will help the judges review the accuracy.

Optional: What inspired you? As an optional addition to their submissions, applicants can submit up to one (1) additional page, or up to 1 additional minute of video, explaining what or who inspired them to create this video.
Shipments can be changed until the deadline.  Application materials received after the deadline will not be evaluated.  Note that if computers submit patches or multiple versions of the same application, the last submitted application package will be the only one evaluated. Each video entry must be accompanied by the required written information, including equipment information and video information.
Do not forget to also mark your videos with these tags:

  • #2020Census
  • Count Me In / #countmein
  • Count Us In / #countusin
  • I Count / #icount
  • We Count / #wecount
  • Be Counted / #BeCounted
  • Stand Up and Be Counted / #standupbecounted
  • Come to Your Census / #cometoyourcensus
  • Shape Your Future. Start Here. / #ShapeYourFuture
  • Count on Me / #cuentaconmigo

For more details on this contest you can click here.
Here some examples:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwngsnIPgCg

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