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The Challenge

Democracy is not a given. It depends on robust civic engagement.

To sustain our democracy and preserve our fundamental values, young people must feel they have a voice and are empowered to affect change through voting and civic action. Young people have boundless potential, fresh ideas, and they care deeply about their communities, but they need opportunities to learn and practice engaged citizenship. That’s why we created the Democracy Youth Film Challenge. 

Democracy Youth Film Challenge is a global film competition for students to generate civics-oriented videos that ultimately create a groundbreaking movement to get engaged in Democracy—to bring youth together as a community and provide a digital platform for them to be heard. Over 1,000 films that critically examine pressing social and political issues have been submitted to the Democracy Youth Film Challenge, our flagship program and film festival, with a total $37,000 awarded to youth film makers.

The next Democracy Youth Film Challenge will launch in the Fall of 2023!

Deadlines

The Democracy Youth Film Challenge will launch in 2024! Please stay tuned for the official announcement. In the meantime, we encourage you to use our tools and resources to create more video works!