The NUS/Ecologist Communications Challenge Award is now open for any entries that promote engaging environmental activities and ideas through the production of a 1-minute video.

The Award is part of the Sound Environmental Impact Awards. Now in their fourth year, they are a unique environmental accreditation scheme designed to encourage, reward and celebrate best environmental practice at students’ unions.

An impressive 79 student unions took part in last year's awards.

To make sure your union takes part in the awards, act now! Speak to your most relevant student officer and sign up before 23 October 2009. For more information go to http://www.nussl.co.uk/template.asp?pageid=11109

Once your students’ union is signed up to Sound Impact, you can enter The Ecologist Communications Challenge Award.

We want you to maximise the true potential of viral media by uploading your video onto YouTube, whereby students will vote for their favourite video via the Ecologist website. You don’t need to be Spielberg’s protégé to apply, it doesn’t matter if the video is filmed on your scuffed-up old Samsung; we want a great idea that will have an impact on others. This is all about creativity, originality, clarity and vision.

How to enter

1. You must register your film entry by emailing us by Tuesday 01 December 2009.

2. Create a film of up to one minute in length and upload it to YouTube.

3. Email us with the following:
         1. A 100 word synopsis of the film
         2. The URL of the YouTube page where your film is loaded
         3. The text from the 'embed' field on the YouTube page
         4. Your name and email address
         5. Name of University/College

4. All films must be submitted by Thursday 31 Jan 2010.

The criteria for selecting the winner will be based on:
•         A public and student vote via the www.theecologist.org  
•         The number of hits each film achieves on YouTube
•         Clarity of the message as judged by the Ecologist team
•         Originality of message as judged by the Ecologist team

After you have entered:

Entries will be featured on www.theecologist.org where users of the Ecologist website and students will get an opportunity to view and vote on the best film.

The Prize:

The winners will receive the Ecologist Communications Challenge Award during the Sound Environmental Impact Awards ceremony held on Wednesday 31 March 2010, will be featured in a winner's article on the Ecologist site, and have their entry included in the Ecologist email newsletter.