“Learning a language is the key to understanding a country.” The number of African young people learning Chinese has increased significantly in recent years, which can serve as a bridge for them to learn about China. Many of them use their cameras to capture the heartwarming moments of the China-Africa friendship that they see in China.
Under the guidance of the Center for Language Education and Cooperation of the Ministry of Education of China, the African Chinese Education Practice and Research Base in Zhejiang Normal University initiated the “Extraordinary Talent Award” short video competition in September 2022, encouraging Chinese learners from Africa to share their stories of Chinese learning and China-Africa friendship and express their understanding of “China-Africa Exchange” and “Contemporary China”. Chinese learners from Africa are welcome to participate in the competition with their short videos. The competition aims to build a platform of idea-sharing and mutual learning through short video creation, which highlights youth vibrancy, promotes people-to-people exchanges, and enhances mutual understanding between China and Africa.
The winners will receive professional training in creating short videos, and further creation is encouraged. We will leverage the “China-Africa Chinese International Education Alliance” initiated by Zhejiang Normal University to provide a platform for “Chinese + vocational skills” development and facilitate talent exchanges for Chinese businesses in Africa.
By using the language of the camera to tell stories of China-Africa friendship, the entries can be created based on the experiences of Chinese learners from Africa, depicting their connection with China and Chinese learning. The entries are expected to bring positive energy and the power of empathy with original content and vivid expression.
(1) Submit to the Official Website and Publicize via We-media
Participants can visit the official webpage of the “Extraordinary Talent Award” Short Video Competition for Chinese Learners from China (etaa.chineseplus.net), complete the registration process, and upload works in accordance with the requirements.
(2) Email
The entries should be submitted to etaa2022@163.com, specifying “Author Name – Video Title – Contact Information” in the subject line. Participants are required to complete the information regarding their works and submit entries by email attachments or web disk links (Baidu/Google Drive).
This competition is open to Chinese learners from Africa. Both individuals and teams are welcome to participate. The forms of entries include creative promotional videos, VLOG, minidramas, etc. It is encouraged to use sound and graphic design techniques, editing, special effects, etc.
Format: MP4, FLV, MOV, MPG, MPEG, AVI, and other video file formats; Video length: less than 5 minutes; Resolution: 720*576 or higher (highest resolution is recommended for mobile shooting). If video narration is used, it should be narrated in Chinese with subtitles in simplified Chinese. The video should not contain corner marks, tv show marks, watermarks, or other digital on-screen graphics. Each video script submission should contain at least 200 words.
One Outstanding Prize, 5000 RMB reward;
Three First Prizes, 3000 RMB reward;
Five Second Prizes, 1,500 RMB reward;;
Ten Third Prizes, 1,000 RMB reward;
Popular Award(s), Dissemination Award(s), 1,000 RMB reward;
Excellent Organization Award(s) for Institution/Individual, 2,000 RMB reward
The organizing committee will assemble a group of experts to evaluate and select the best works of each category. Online voting on the official website will be used to choose the Popular Award winner. Quantitative metrics, such as clicks, likes, and reposts, will be used to decide on the Dissemination Award winner. Reviewers will score works based on their concepts, originality, aesthetic qualities, and recognition.
Following the evaluation, all winning works will be posted on the short video competition's official website for one week. These announcements are only final if there are no objections. Awards and certificates will be issued afterwards.