The Commonwealth Vision Awards entered its fifth year yesterday with the launch of the 2005 competition on the theme Health And Vitality - The Commonwealth Challenge.
The awards, jointly organised by the Royal Commonwealth Society and the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association, recognise excellence in the making of a short film on a Commonwealth theme.
The theme this year highlights the relevance of health, as illustrated in the United Nations Millennium Development Goals adopted in 2000 and endorsed by 191 countries, which set out the goals to be achieved by 2015.
The eight goals set out a commitment to reduce poverty and tackle ill-health, lack of education, gender inequality, lack of access to clean water and environmental degradation. Three of the goals, namely reducing child mortality, improving maternal health and combating HIV/AIDs, malaria and other diseases relate directly to health.
This is of particular relevance to the Commonwealth, as two-thirds of the 40 million people living with HIV/AIDS are Commonwealth citizens and nine of the most heavily infected countries are in the Commonwealth. In addition, seven Commonwealth countries are among the 20 countries with the highest maternal mortality rate and 60 per cent of maternal deaths are in Commonwealth countries.
The theme's reference to vitality also captures the spirit of the XVIII Commonwealth Games, due to be held in Melbourne, Australia from March 15 to 26, 2006. This is the Commonwealth's most high-profile and spectacular event, in which it is anticipated that some 4,500 elite athletes from 71 countries and territories will participate.
Broadcasters and independent filmmakers across the five regions of the Commonwealth are invited to submit initial entries for the awards by providing a written scenario based on the chosen theme for 2005.
Thereafter, up to 15 applicants will be short-listed by an independent selection panel and awarded £1,000 each to assist in the production of the finished film, which is to be between 30-90 seconds in length.
Judging of the short-listed films will take place in October and the awards announced and presented at a Gala Awards Ceremony. The winner will receive £2,500 and a trophy.
The winning entries will, from January 2006, be broadcast Commonwealth-wide, particularly on Commonwealth Day (where the theme is expected to be Health and Vitality - The Commonwealth Challenge).
The initiative is supported by the Commonwealth Secretariat, the Commonwealth Foundation, the British Council, the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the BBC World Service.
An application form and brochure may be received by sending an e-mail to VisionAwards@rcsint.org, or by fax +44 (0) 20 7930 9705 or by writing to Alice Kawoya, Project Manager, The Commonwealth Vision Awards, c/o The Royal Commonwealth Society, 18 Northumberland Avenue, London WC2N 5BJ, United Kingdom. Applications may also be made online at www.rcsint.org/vision.
2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004 short-listed entries may be viewed on www.rcsint.org/vision.
The closing date for applications is July 29.