Past Projects |
Past Projects
+ Click on any stickers below to see all finalist entries from the competition of your choice.
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In 2008, over 2300 artist, designers, poets, and activists registered to compete for awards and cash prizes in flash animation, spoken word, digital video, and best entry. Their task was to create short multimedia pieces that can inspire, amuse and activate people who believe that a better world is possible.
The contest's elective theme was "Failing Darfur Five Years On..." but contestants could also submit entries on any global issue that they cared about and could give a solution to. Contestants submitted pieces on world hunger and poverty, environmental issues, nuclear weapons, the arms trade and other global issues. |
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We tried something new with the '07 Slam. We kicked the whole project off with a live (filmed) poetry slam showcase hosted at the Busboys and Poets lounge on March 30th, 2007. Not only did this generate buzz and energy for the contest in our local area (for the first time, we had a winner from Washington DC), it set the bar high for entries in this contest. We saw a steep competition between some incredibly talented poets. 5500 new people registered to participate in this project! |
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Over 5,600 individuals registered to participate in the 2007 flash contest and we received submissions from all over the world, from Pakistan, Mexico, the Ukraine and back again. We also saw the greatest age range in our contest participants than ever before, from ages 11 to 60, as well as some of the highest calibur flash coding to come our way since we started these projects back in 2004! |
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Another experiment in youth outreach; 4500 participants. First time using a professional judging panel for the top twenty entries to determine the winners. The panel consisted of Buddy Wakefield, two time individual poetry slam champion of the world; Andy Shallal, peace activist and owner of Busboys and Poets café in Washington DC; Nigel Greaves, leader of the DC chapter of the Blackout Arts Collective; Shadia Wood, long time environmental activist and advocate of environmental justice, who currently works for Kids Against Pollution; and Beth Neary, representing the Grassroots Leaders Council of Citizens for Global Solutions. |
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After the success of the first Flash contest, and with many lessons learned, we had an easier time spreading the word about the second Flash Movie Contest. This time, we had more than 9,000 registrants ranging from age 10 – 36 (more than tripled the previous year); Entries from at least 14 countries and 5 continents; 1/3 of the entrants were first-time Flash users; 600 teachers and professors from around the United States received Flash kits (“how to” guides to use with their classes; the majority of winners/finalists represented underserved communities (U.S. and abroad). |
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Over 550 people (primarily students) from all over the United States, and even Latin America, participated in the summer games competition. The level of difficulty in creating interactive Flash-based web games is arguably much greater than creating a Flash movie. So we were definitely wondering if we had bitten off more than we could chew with this one. The top nine entrants, who were chosen as general "Winners" by a panel composed of Citizens for Global Solutions staff and Board Members, each received a $300 cash prize. |
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The 2004-05 contest was our first multimedia youth outreach project. In previous years we conducted an annual essay contest for students. It awarded scholarship money to the best essays about various global issues. In a good year, we could receive 40-50 essays. Over 3,000 young people participated in the 2004-05 Flash Movie Contest. Clearly a successful paradigm shift in youth outreach for CGS, and the start of something big (and different from other NGO's!). |