Submission Guidelines and Contest Rules

Your voice has the power to make a difference. Whether you’re passionate about environmental sustainability, social justice, or civic empowerment, this contest is your platform to inspire change and reach a national audience. 

Please review the submission guidelines and rubric below to ensure your entry meets all requirements and has the chance to shine.

Categories

• Video
• Essay

Prompts

• What does civic engagement look, feel, and sound like in your community?
• What’s a local issue in your community that people aren’t paying attention to, but need to?
• Highlight a place where civics happens in your community.
• Find someone who disagrees with you on an issue and make a video together modeling civil discourse. (This is a video prompt only)

Specs and Requirements

• Videos must be up to 90 seconds long and shot vertically. Participants must upload their videos to YouTube and share the link in the submission form. The video should be unlisted (not public, but available to view).
• Essays should be 500 words or less. Participants must save their file as a PDF or doc, and upload it to the submission form. Files must be named as follows:  LASTNAME_FIRSTNAME (Ex. DOE_JOHN). 
• Submissions in both categories should answer one of the prompts provided above and be given a title. 
• Submissions will be disqualified when they:
  • Violate the rights of any person (including copyright or trademark rights).
  • Violate any law or governmental rule.
  • Contain obscenity or statements considered threatening, harassing, or dangerous.
  • Contain plagiarism or false claims.
  • Contain defamatory or slanderous statements.
  • Depict people who have not given permission to be featured.
  • Are created with the use of generative artificial intelligence technology as determined by the Sponsor at its sole discretion.

Submission Process

• Each category has its own submission form, which will be live on Retro Report’s Submission Page from Aug. 5 to Oct. 13, 11:59 p.m. ET. After successfully submitting an entry, participants will receive a confirmation email. Finalists and winners will be contacted via email in late October, and winners will be announced in early November.

Rubric

Learn how your entries will be graded by our judges below. 

CATEGORY	CRITERION	POINTS
Creativity/Storytelling	Does the submission present original ideas or perspectives on civic engagement? Does the submission engage the audience in a unique way? Does the submission include meaningful, relevant and powerful images and/or examples? Is the story told in a meaningful way?	25
Content/Relevance	Is the central message of the submission clear and effectively communicated? Is the issue presented in a coherent and logical manner? Does the submission address a real topic of concern related to the theme of civic engagement? Does the submission demonstrate a full and meaningful understanding of the civic issue or concern?	20
Persuasiveness/Impact	Does the submission demonstrate why the issue or topic is important to civic engagement? Does the submission have the potential to inspire and/or demonstrate a connection to the community?	20
Civility/Respect	Does the submission demonstrate consideration of multiple viewpoints? Is the content respectful of different ideologies?	20
Technical Aspects	For Video: Is the video clear and concise? Is the video at 90 seconds or less? For Essay: Is the essay 500 words or less? Is it free of grammatical errors and have you demonstrated proper writing conventions?	15
	TOTAL	100

Tips for Creating Video Content 

• Make sure your videos are clear and concise.
• Make sure you’re filming in a vertical format (the same as how you would take a selfie on your phone). 
• Have a concise intro and ending. Introduce yourself at the beginning and have a clear sign-off at the end of the video. 
• Is your audio clean? Make sure a viewer would be able to hear what you’re saying in the video and there isn’t too much distracting background noise. 
• Is your camera steady? If you are using your phone, make sure your video shots are stable and easy for the viewer to make out what you are filming.
• Get Creative and have fun with your videos! Consider:
  • Story Mapping: Conceptualize your video first, such as the shots and pacing that you’d like to have, before you start filming 
  • Using engaging storytelling techniques (a well-thought-out script or creative shot angles and transitions between scenes). 

Writing Tips 

• When writing an essay, start with an outline.
  • Work on your thesis and outline your intro paragraph, body paragraphs and conclusion.
• Proofread your work.
  • Make sure your essay addresses all aspects of the prompt and has proper grammar. Have a friend or family member read over your work before you hit submit. 
• Stand out from the crowd.
  • Don’t be afraid to think outside of the box when answering to the prompt you chose, and use creative storytelling techniques. 

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Rules

FIRST ANNUAL RETRO REPORT CIVIC ACTION CHALLENGE

OFFICIAL RULES

1. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN.  BY ENTERING THIS CONTEST, ENTRANTS AND THEIR PARENTS AND LEGAL GUARDIANS AGREE TO ALL OF THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS SET FORTH IN THESE OFFICIAL RULES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE GRANT OF RIGHTS BY ENTRANTS IN PARAGRAPH 9 OF THESE OFFICIAL RULES AND THE RIGHT TO OPT OUT OF SUCH GRANT IN PARAGRAPH 10 OF THESE OFFICIAL RULES.
2. HOW TO ENTER: Beginning on August 5, 2024 at 12:01am EST (the “Start Time”) through October 13, 2024 at 11:59pm (the “End Time”), log on to bit.ly/civicengagementchallenge (the “Entry Page”) for the First Annual Retro Report Civic Action Challenge (the “Contest”) and follow the on-screen entry instructions. You must fill in all required information accurately. You may enter only once and you may not revise your submission once it has been submitted. Use of any robotic, automatic, programmed, or similar entry method or entering more than the number of times permitted will void all entries and result in disqualification. You may not enter more times than indicated by using multiple email addresses, identities, or devices in an attempt to circumvent the rules. 
3. ELIGIBILITY: Open to residents of the 50 United States and D.C., who as of the Start Time are between the ages of thirteen (13) and eighteen (18). Notwithstanding the foregoing, employees of Retro Report Inc., a New York not-for-profit corporation (“Sponsor“) and its affiliates, subsidiaries, independent contractors and agencies (collectively “Promotion Parties“), and members of their immediate family or persons living in the same household are not eligible to enter. All entrants under the age of majority in the entrant’s state of residence must have the permission of their parent or legal guardian to enter the Contest and be bound by these Official Rules.  By entering the Contest, entrants represent and warrant to Sponsor that they have such permission and agree to be bound by these Official Rules and the decisions of the Sponsor, which shall be final in all matters. Void where prohibited.
4. CONTEST ENTRY: The Contest may only be entered by submitting an original text or audio/visual piece that: (i) meets the content and formatting requirements set forth on the Entry Page; (ii) does not contain any material prohibited by Paragraph 5 of these Official Rules; and (iii) is properly submitted to Sponsor as set forth in the Entry Page between the Start Time and End Time (a “Submission”).  The process of judging the Submissions shall begin after the End Time and shall consist of two rounds, both of which shall be based exclusively upon the judging rubric set forth on the Entry Page (the “Rubric”), which shall be applied with a sufficient level of detail such that no ties may occur in either round.  All Submissions will be evaluated in the first round of judging, which shall be conducted by a panel of employees or independent contractors of Sponsor who are knowledgeable about civics (as determined by Sponsor).  The twenty-five (25) Submissions with the highest scores out of all of the Submissions after the first round of judging shall proceed to the second round of judging.  The entrants whose Submissions proceed to the second round of judging (the “Finalists”) will be notified of the same.  The Finalists’ Submissions shall then be judged de novo by a panel of persons knowledgeable about civics who are not employees or independent contractors of Sponsor (as selected by Sponsor), and each Finalist whose Submission receives one of the ten (10) highest scores in the second round of judging shall be a potential winner of the Contest (a “Potential Winner”).  Each Potential Winner must then fully comply with the terms and conditions of Paragraph 6, and if such Potential Winner so complies, such Potential Winner shall be an actual winner of the Contest (an “Award Winner”).  If a Potential Winner does not comply with the terms and conditions of Paragraph 6 for any reason whatsoever, such Potential Winner shall be disqualified from the Contest entirely and the Finalist with the next highest scoring Submission who was not previously a Potential Winner shall become a Potential Winner (in replacement of the disqualified Potential Winner) and upon fully complying with the terms and conditions of Paragraph 6 shall become an Award Winner.  This process shall be repeated as necessary until there are ten (10) Award Winners or no more eligible Finalists.  Each Award Winner shall receive an award as set forth in Paragraph 8 (an “Award”).
5. PROHIBITED MATERIALS:  No materials may be submitted as part of an entry to the Contest that:
   1. Contain obscene or indecent as determined by the Sponsor in its sole discretion;
   2. Contain any threatening, harassing or dangerous statements or materials as determined by the Sponsor in its sole discretion;
   3. Are not completely original works of the entrant or are the product of plagiarism as determined by the Sponsor in its sole discretion;
   4. Are created with the use of generative artificial intelligence technology as determined by the Sponsor in its sole discretion;
   5. Contain any false claims or defamatory or slanderous statements, remarks or innuendo;
   6. Contain depictions of any individual (including, but not limited to, such individual’s, name, image, likeness or voice) who has not expressly granted permission to be featured in such materials;
   7. Violate of the rights of any other person or party (including, but not limited to, copyright or trademark rights held by such person or party);
   8. The entrant does not have sufficient legal rights in to grant the license to Sponsor set forth in Paragraph 9(b) (unless the entrant has properly opted out of the grant of such license, in which case this sentence shall not apply);
   9. Violate any law or governmental rule applicable to a Submission or the Contest; or
   10. Are of such a nature that they cause the entrant to violate any of the terms and conditions of the Contest set forth herein or on the Entry Page.

Any entrant submitting an entry containing materials prohibited in this section shall be disqualified entirely from the Contest and such entry will not be judged as part of the Contest.

6.  AWARD WINNER STATUS: Each Potential Winner will be notified by email at the email address provided (and Sponsor shall have no further notice obligations if such email is returned as undeliverable).  In order to receive an Award, each Potential Winner and, if the Potential Winner is under the age of majority in his or her state of residence, the Potential Winner’s parent or legal guardian, MUST sign and return an Affidavit of Eligibility and Release prepared by Sponsor and any other documents requested by Sponsor (including, but not limited to, IRS Form W-9), within fifteen (15) days of the date notice is sent or such other date set by Sponsor. Failure to respond within the applicable time period will result in forfeiture of the Award and such Potential Winner being disqualified from the Contest in all respects.  All income taxes resulting from acceptance of an Award and fees of any kind incurred in claiming an Award are the responsibility of the recipient thereof. All federal and state laws apply.
7. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY: By entering this sweepstakes, entrants and their parents or legal guardians waive all right to, and agree to indemnify and hold the Promotion Parties and their employees, independent contractors, agents, members, directors, officers or other representatives, harmless from, any claim, liability, loss, damage (including punitive, incidental, and consequential damages), or expense (including attorneys’ fees) arising out of or in connection with: (i) participation in the Contest; (ii) the acceptance, use, or misuse of any Award; (iii) the use by the Promotion Parties of the rights granted to them in Paragraph 9 of these Official Rules; (iv) any material submitted by the entrant that infringes any copyright, trademark, trade secret, trade dress, patent or other intellectual property right of any person or defames any person or violates their rights of publicity or privacy; (v) any misrepresentation made by the entrant in connection with the  Contest; (vi) any non-compliance by the entrant with these Rules; and (vii) acceptance, possession, misuse or use of the Award or participation in any Contest-related activity or participation in the Contest. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATIONS OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO THE ABOVE MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. Promotion Parties will not be responsible for: late, incomplete, or incorrect entries or Submissions; an entrant’s failure to receive prize notices due to entrant’s spam, junk e-mail, or other security settings or for entrants’ provision of incorrect or otherwise non-functioning contact information; technical, hardware, or software malfunctions, lost or unavailable network connections, or failed, incorrect, inaccurate, incomplete, garbled, or delayed electronic communications whether caused by the sender or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or used in the Contest; any human error which may occur in the processing of the entries in the Contest; or any typographical, technological, or other error in the publishing of the offer, administration of the Contest, or announcement of the Award. If, in the Sponsor’s opinion, there is such an error, or there is any suspected evidence of tampering with any portion of the Contest, or if technical difficulties (including viruses and bugs) compromise the integrity of the Contest, Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, cancel or modify the Contest in a manner deemed appropriate by Sponsor. In the event a dispute arises as to the identity of a potentially winning entrant, entries will be declared made by the name on the online entry form. In addition, the Promotion Parties are not responsible for any injury or damage to an entrant’s or any other person’s computer related to or resulting from entering the Contest or downloading or printing any material for the Contest. Without limitation of the foregoing, everything on the Entry Page or any related webpage is provided “as is” without warranty of any kind, either express or implied.
8. AWARD: Each Award Winner shall receive one and only one Award, which shall be Five Hundred U.S. Dollars ($500.00). Limit one Award per family or household. No substitution or transfer of Award permitted by Award Winner. Sponsor reserves the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater value. No more than ten (10) Awards shall be awarded.  Sponsor reserves the right to cancel the Contest at any time prior to the selection of Award Winners for any reason or for no reason at all without notice to any entrant or such entrant’s parent or legal guardian, in which case no Awards will be given.  Promotion Parties reserve the right to have the public vote on or otherwise indicate preference regarding the quality of the Submissions at any time; however, such public participation shall be entirely separate from the Contest and shall not in any way influence the judging of the Submissions or the outcome of the Contest.
9. GRANT OF RIGHTS TO PROMOTION PARTIES:  By entering the Contest, each entrant, and such entrant’s parent or legal guardian, grant the following rights to Promotion Parties (which rights may be assigned, transferred, or otherwise alienated by the Promotion Parties without any further consent from such entrant or parent or legal guardian of such entrant):
   1. Unrestricted permission to use such entrant’s name, likeness, image and biographical information for marketing purposes without further compensation or right of approval; and
   2. A non-exclusive, irrevocable, fully paid up, royalty-free, perpetual and worldwide license to use, duplicate, display, publish, disseminate, broadcast, stream, post on the internet (including but not limited to any social media platforms) and otherwise make available such entrant’s Submission or any part thereof in all media now known or hereafter invented or discovered.
10. OPT OUT OF GRANT OF RIGHTS: Any entrant or such entrant’s parent or legal guardian may opt out of the grant of rights set forth in Paragraph 9 (but may not opt out of any other term or condition of these Official Rules) by sending an email indicating the same to the following email address: challenge@retroreport.com. 
11. CHOICE OF LAW AND FORUM: Entrant agrees that all matters arising out of or relating to the Contest and the Official Rules are governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of New York, without giving effect to any of its conflict of laws provisions thereof. Entrant further agrees that any legal suit, action, or proceeding arising out of or relating to the Contest and these Official Rules shall be brought exclusively in the applicable federal or state courts located in New York, New York and that any and all disputes, claims, controversies and causes of action arising out of or connected with the Contest or the Award shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action.  
12. PRIVACY:  Information submitted with an entry is subject to the Privacy Policy stated on https://retroreport.org/privacy-policy/. To read the Privacy Policy, click here. 
13. AWARD WINNERS LIST: For the names of all Award Winners, available after November 1, 2024, send a self-addressed, stamped #10 envelope to: Retro Report, Inc., 633 Third Avenue, 16^th Floor, New York, NY 10017. 
14. SPONSOR: Retro Report, Inc., 633 Third Avenue, 16^th Floor, New York, NY 10017.

The Retro Report Civic Engagement Challenge is made possible with support from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.