Hobart and William Smith Colleges

19 September 2013 Justice Matters: Video Contest

This fall, the Centennial Center for Leadership (CCL) is sponsoring a new video competition centered on issues of justice as part of the offices 2013-2014 theme, Justice Matters: Intersections of Leadership.

Open to all students, faculty, staff and alums, the Justice & Leadership Video Competition calls for video submissions that tackle a relevant justiceissue, consider related ethical implications, provide solutions and offer a direct inroadto leadership. All entries must be submitted by Friday, Oct. 11, and should be no longer than five minutes.

The intent of this competition is to provide a platform for those who are interested in either raising awareness about an issue or using their voice to shed some light on injustice, says CCL Global and Community Leadership Fellow Solome Rose.

Rose, who is facilitating the program,says the competition seeks participants from the entire HWS community to highlightmultiple perspectivesabout injustices and engage in a broader understanding of the issue. The competition encourages participants to think about the relationship between leadership and action,she says.

Those interested in participating in the contest have the option of pursuing submissions in one of two categories. Inspired by the popularTEDTalk series, the first category, REAL Talk, requires applicants to use oratory expression to discuss an injustice. The second type, REAL Short, is a more artistic, documentary-style video that should explore themes of justice and leadership in an artistic fashion.

All video submissions are subject to an initial screening process. A panel of judges will select the finalists. As part of the competition, the HWS community also will be able to take part in the voting process in order extend the reach of the important topics raised in the videos.

The nature of the competition encourages applicants to think critically about an issue, as well as how they can create positive change in light of it. The task of each applicant, Rose says, is to convince viewers of a particular justice issueand provide an actionable solution to the problem at hand.

Through the competition, the Centennial Center for Leadership aims to educate the community on the relevance of being engaged citizens, and that incorporates an awareness of justice, Rose says.

At the conclusion of the competition, the CCL will host a symposium on Justice and Leadership to examine issues and discuss solutions raised by the top videos in each category.

In addition to these fall events, several spring events focused on Justice, Art and Leadership will be organized by the CCL.

For video competition guidelines and applications, please visit: http://www.hws.edu/academics/leadership/theme.aspx. For more information, contact Solome Rose at srose@hws.edu or 315-781-4555.