Philadelphia Education Fund and PhillyGoes2College are thrilled to announce that we are partnering with the Wawa Welcome America Festival to bring you “I Am Philadelphia: A Young Voices Spoken Word and Video Contest.” Find out below how to support a student in entering for the chance to win exclusive prizes and to have their voice heard.
Contest #1: Great Things Are Happening In Philadelphia Video Challenge
- In one minute or less, show us how you plan to make Philadelphia’s future brighter.
- Judges: Your video submission will be reviewed by an expert panel of judges to include Andrew Greenblatt, CEO & Executive Director of the Philadelphia Film Society; Professor Paul Swann of Temple University’s Department of Film and Media Arts; and Dave Silver, a founder of Rec Philly.
- Prizes: The winning contestant will receive studio time at Rec Philly, two preferred seating area tickets to the July 4th Wawa Welcome America Festival Concert, and the chance to have their video shown at select festival events. Past performers at the July 4th Wawa Welcome America Festival Concert have included Jason Derulo, Pitbull, and John Legend.
Contest #2: I Am College Bound Spoken Word Performance Contest
- In an original spoken word performance of no more than three minutes, share what inspires you to want to pursue college in the city of Philadelphia and highlight what you will bring to a college campus that only you can offer.
- Judges: Your video submission will be reviewed by an expert panel of judges to include Quentin The Poet and current Philadelphia poet laureate Trapeta Mayson.
- Prizes: The winning contestant will receive the chance to perform their poem at select Wawa Welcome America Festival events. The winner will also receive a mentorship with Quentin The Poet– Philadelphia poet, documentarian, journalist, and Founder and Executive Director of DragonTree Media and We The People Stage.
Important Dates:
- All submissions are due by April 30th.
- Winners will be announced by June 1st.
- The Wawa Welcome America Festival will be held from June 25th-July 4th.
Rules for Entry:
- You must be a high school student in the city of Philadelphia to enter.
- Entries that contain profanity or otherwise discriminatory language will be disqualified.
- Entries that contain plagiarism will be disqualified. While your submission must be your original work, you may ask a teacher or other adult for guidance or feedback as you craft your piece. If you would like feedback on your work and are not sure who to ask, please reach out to kstaskel@philaedfund.org.
- If you plan to submit an entry in a language other than English, please contact kstaskel@philaedfund.org.
How to Enter:
- Click here to submit your video.
- If you are submitting videos to both contests, complete one form for each entry.
- The form will ask you to submit your video via a shareable Google Drive link. You can upload your video to Google Drive on any phone, tablet, or computer. If you are unsure how to do so, this article provides a helpful guide.
- If you have any questions, please contact kstaskel@philaedfund.org.
Tips for Success:
- Show us who you are: be specific, be original, be you!
- Choose a topic you are passionate about and make viewers feel that passion too.
- Illustrate your ideas using descriptive, precise, and concrete imagery or examples. As writing teachers the world over would say, “show instead of tell!”
- Ask your friends, teachers, or tutors for feedback. Make revisions and try out a few drafts before you decide you’ve arrived at your best work.
- For the “I Am College Bound Spoken Word Performance Contest,” try to memorize your poem. This will allow you to perform your piece instead of simply reading it out loud.
Contest Presented By:
- PhillyGoes2College is the Philadelphia Education Fund’s online college access solution. Through this online platform, Philadelphia-area current and prospective students can gain access to critical information on the college and career going process.
- The Wawa Welcome America Festival gathers together residents and visitors for multiple days each summer to celebrate America’s birthday in America’s birthplace through free multicultural and multigenerational programming and performances.
Right to Share: By submitting my video to the I Am Philadelphia contest, I grant the following entities the right to publish, reproduce, and/or adapt my entry and its contents (including for promotional purposes) online and/or in-person: PhillyGoes2College, the Wawa Welcome America Festival and festival partners, The Philadelphia Education Fund, The City of Philadelphia, NBC10 Philadelphia, Telemundo 62, Comcast NBCUniversal, and DragonTree Media Group/We The People Stage.
