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THE CHALLENGE: Make a Video for Your Senators

This month, make a 90-second video telling your senators to fight global poverty in 2010. Specifically, ask them to increase funding for these critical programs:


  1. Fighting HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria through the Global Fund
  2. Saving kids' lives with vaccines through the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI)
  3. Building sustainable agriculture through the President's new Global Hunger and Food Security Initiative

We also encourage you to talk about debt relief for Haiti in your message to your senators.


If you don't have a video recording device, track down your school's audio-visual department. Chances are they have something you can check out. If you're still having problems, contact your Campus Outreach Ambassador (COA).


If you want to make the top 3, make sure your video:

  1. Introduces your school and ONE
  2. Addresses one or both senators from your school's state (not from your home state if that's different than where your school is located)
  3. Mentions all three programs: The Global Fund, GAVI and the President's new Global Hunger and Food Security Initiative
  4. Doesn't use music illegally (music guidelines here)
  5. Doesn't use copyrighted images
  6. Stays under the 1:30 mark for time
  7. Doesn't reference celebrities whose approval we'd have to get before we could post your video ;)
  8. Is submitted before January 29, 2010

Outside of these basic parameters, we want you to get creative. Think about who your senators are and what kind of message might get their attention. You can submit two different videos for your school, one for each senator (although only one entry per school will be allowed in the top 3). If your senator is awesome on ONE issues, you might want to include a thank you, or invite her/him to speak on your campus. And if you can work in a comment on debt relief for Haiti, that might make your video more timely and relevant.


Submit your video here.



THE PRIZES:

You get 7,500 points for submitting a video, and the 3 best videos selected by our ONE staff judging panel will get a bonus of 2,000 points and a chance to win through popular vote on the OCC website: 25,000 points for first place, 12,500 for second place, and 6,250 for third place.


In addition to 25,000 points, the campus with the best video message to its senators will receive:

  1. New, customizable OCC T-shirts for your team, with your choice of color print, and some other ONE gear
  2. A visit to your campus by a VIP ONE staff member (we'll announce who soon)

For more info on prizes, check our Prizes page.




THE ISSUES:

With 2010 upon us, I'm sure you've all taken some time to think through your New Year's resolutions. But for many people in developing countries, 2010 could be a year of strife. That's why this month we've asked you to create a message to your senators asking them to take action to create new opportunities for people in developing countries.


In particular, our senators have the opportunity to make a huge difference this year by increasing funding for critical programs in the Fiscal Year 2011 budget and appropriations process. In early February, President Obama will release his budget to Congress, and it will be up to the Senate and House to meet his numbers -- or fall short, and the potential cost of many lives in the developing world.


The three programs we're most concerned about funding are the Global Fund, the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), and the President's new initiative on Global Food Security. The first two programs have proven track records of saving and improving lives in Africa and beyond. Before you make your video, be sure to get the latest, important facts and stats on the Global Fund and GAVI here.


For the third point, the President's new Global Food Security Initiative, you'll have to do some extra digging. Check out our blog entry, and then apply what you learned during our Hunger theme last October, and check out the White House's page on food security. Basically, the U.S. has announced a coordinated approach towards food security assistance, focussing on agricultural development. The U.S. approach is to:


  1. Comprehensively address the underlying causes of hunger and under-nutrition
  2. Invest in country-led plans
  3. Strengthen strategic coordination
  4. Leverage the benefits of multilateral institutions
  5. Make sustained and accountable commitments

If you've explored the ONE website and you're still having trouble deciding what you want to say about the Global Fund, GAVI or agricultural development, contact Emily at emily.stivers@one.org and we'll try to get you some additional guidance. Good luck with your videos!