1. CREATIVE BRIEF

When people talk, governments have to listen.

Background:

In the West, we have the luxury of saying what we want 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. But it only takes 24 seconds to say something to help bring a positive change in countries where freedom of expression is still a dream. It really doesn’t take much to register your unhappiness with a situation – a click of your mouse to turn your avatar green, a little time to sign up a petition or fill out an email to send to a newspaper, a few euros or dollars to send money to where it’s needed.

Small acts that when joined together become a movement for change that can’t be ignored. Because when a country or regime is being watched, it has to behave, or risk further censure from the international community.

When people talk, governments have to listen. Except that in some countries people aren’t allowed to talk. So we’ve got to talk for them. In the United States of America we’ve seen recently what the power of collective action can achieve. Now we must harness the same power to speak for those people who can’t call for change in their own countries.

Message:

The pen is mightier than the sword. Get people to make full use of their freedom of expression to change intolerant regimes.

2. ELIGIBILITY

The contest is open to everyone except members of the Poster4Tomorrow board and their families, who are prohibited from entering the contest. Any individuals connected to the jurors by any form of relationship are also unable to enter the contest.

3. DATES AND ENTRY SPECIFICATIONS

a) Contest Dates

The contest is open for entries from September the 3rd, 2009. The entries can be uploaded on the contest website from the same day at noon. The entries close on noon November the 15th, 2009 (CET time).

b) Entry specifications

An entry to the competition must consist of three (3) parts:

1. A poster addressing the proposed creative brief. All the entries must be 50x70cm (2953x4134 150DPI) RGB JPG, not larger than 4MB and previously unpublished.

2. A black and white picture of the author in a 1063x1597 300DPI RGB JPG format.

3. Either: a brief explanation from the author of the concept behind the poster or a short entry about the author’s thoughts or feelings about freedom of expression. This could take the form of a quotation or anything that inspired the author to produce the poster. This can be up to 800 characters long (spaces included). If an entry does not consist of all three parts, it will not be considered valid.

c) Selection

Any valid entry from an eligible participant will be submitted to the jury for selection. A valid entry is one that matches all the technical and content requirements and has been submitted via the Poster4Tomorrow website. Submitted posters must be relevant to the brief to be considered for evaluation. Posters not matching this criteria might be excluded from the competition, at the discretion of the jury.

4. ANONYMITY

a) Copyrighted material

By submitting an entry through the website the participant will be asked to state that the poster has not been published prior to the contest and that the design is his/ her their personal work.

b) Anonymous entries

No poster submitted shall be signed by the author or bear any other distinguishing mark. The poster, name and address of the participant will be numbered automatically in the contest database. Poster entry and personal data will be stored separately and reunited only after jury selection.

5. RESTRICTIONS

a) Delays

A poster shall be excluded from the competition if it is received after November the 15th, 2009 at noon (CET time) unless it has been delayed by a malfunction in the automated submission system, in which case it may be included at the jury’s discretion.

b) Clauses

A poster shall be excluded from the competition if it does not fulfil the binding clauses laid out in this document.

6. SHORTLISTED ENTRIES

a) No monetary prizes The contest is free to enter and aims to improve freedom of expression, thus it is endorsed by Reporters sans frontiéres rather a than profitable business. The contest itself is not profitable, for this reason there are no monetary prizes for the entrants.

b) Shortlisted entries

The jury will select 100 posters. All the selected posters are deemed equally good. Each one is published in the contest catalogue and exhibited at the same level of importance. As a reward for excellence, 5 posters will be selected to be part of the permanent collection of the Lahti Poster Museum in Finland.

c) Exhibition and catalogue

An exhibition with all the posters selected as finalists will be held in Paris no longer than 90 days after the contest has closed. Details about the exhibition location and dates will be announced through the contest website as soon as a definitive arrangement has been made. A catalogue containing the posters selected as finalists will be published and distributed free of charge to the finalists and the jury members. The finalists will have to cover the postage costs at their own expense.

7. COPYRIGHT

Participants retain full ownership of their entry. Participants agree to grant Associazione Culturale GoodDesign and the charities and the social initiatives that are associated with and approved by GoodDesign, an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, royalty-free, worldwide licence to use, copy, exhibit, publicly display and distribute their submitted entry for any activity hosted by GoodDesign or its partner charities.

Any other use must be specifically granted by the participant in the form of a written authorisation, and can be subject to a fee or a royalty, as eventually agreed with the participant.

Every participant is granted and guaranteed the right to be credited every time their entry is published or displayed. The name and surname of the participant will be printed on the poster upon publication.

8. DESIGN DEVELOPMENT

a) Poster Production

Whenever a partner charity intends to publish one of the submitted posters and requires further design development, the designer shall be commissioned to develop it to the desired stage of production.

b) Reproduction

It is not intended that the shortlisted designs shall necessarily be published, the final decision rests with the partner charities.

c) Inability to complete production

If a poster entry is going to be published and its designer does not possess the necessary experience or facilities available for the successful completion or production of the poster, or is unable to undertake such work within a reasonable period, then a consultant or design organization may be recommended by the jury to collaborate with the participant. Select winners will receive prizes including workshops at the école intuit/lab and subscriptions to graphic design magazine étapes.