YVA info video 25

Summary

The Young Voices Awards 2025 encourages young Australians to share stories of hope, aligning with the Jubilee theme, 'Pilgrims of Hope.' Open to secondary and senior primary students, the competition offers categories in writing, photography, and digital media, aiming to inspire creative and socially-conscious contributions. The video details entry guidelines, including requirements and advice for educators, to prepare students for successful submissions across various formats.

Highlights

• The 2025 Young Voices Awards focuses on 'Voices of Hope.' 🌟
• Open to students from grades 5 to 12, with three main categories: articles, photographs, and digital media. 🎥
• Students are encouraged to choose inspiring topics that reflect the theme and engage audiences. 🌟
• Judges look for creativity, compelling storytelling, and adherence to submission guidelines. 📝
• Teachers are encouraged to integrate the competition into classroom activities. 🍎

Key Takeaways

• Exciting opportunity for young creators to showcase their talent! 🎨
• Themes of hope and community are at the heart of this year's competition. 🌍
• Open to students in grades 5 through 12, offering various entry categories. 📚
• Winners get a chance to be featured in the Australian Catholics magazine! 🏆

Overview

The Young Voices Awards for 2025, organized by the Australian Catholics magazine, is a fantastic platform for young students to express themselves creatively. This year, under the theme 'Voices of Hope,' participants are invited to narrate stories that inspire hope and reflect their personal perspectives on pressing issues. The competition is open to secondary and senior primary students, segmented into junior, intermediate, and senior categories, and spans across writing, photography, and digital media.

Entering the competition involves selecting a theme-related topic, crafting engaging content, and adhering to specific guidelines, such as word count and submission formats. Students are encouraged to be bold and imaginative with their entries, leveraging creative media to convey their messages effectively. The judges are particularly impressed by good storytelling, meaningful content, and well-executed presentations.

Aside from individual creativity, teachers play a crucial role in guiding students through this process. They can integrate the competition into classroom curricula, enabling students to develop their projects as part of their academic activities. This collaborative effort not only enhances the learning experience but also increases the quality and impact of the submissions. The judges look forward to diverse and compelling entries that echo the spirit of hope and community engagement.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Introduction to Young Voices Awards 2025 The chapter introduces the Young Voices Awards for 2025. It begins with a welcoming note accompanied by music, serving to set the atmosphere for the information video. The chapter then reveals the theme for the awards, 'Voices of Hope,' which aligns with the year's Jubilee theme, 'Pilgrims of Hope.' This part of the video promises to provide detailed information about the awards, setting the stage for what is to follow.
• 00:30 - 01:00: Entering the Awards The chapter discusses the significance of entering awards, specifically in the context of young people using media to effect positive change. Laura Kings, the assistant editor of education and youth at Australian Catholics magazine, wishes participants the best of luck and introduces the topic. Michelle Frankini, the Australian Catholics editor, is also mentioned, albeit briefly. The focus is on understanding what constitutes a winning entry and the potential impact of media engagement.
• 01:00 - 01:30: Importance of Passion and Commitment The chapter titled 'Importance of Passion and Commitment' delves into the impact and significance of passion and dedication, especially among students involved in social justice and fairness initiatives. Each year, student entries in an awards context are evaluated, and the consistent observation is their profound commitment to these causes. The chapter highlights a mutual learning experience, where the educators and evaluators are equally inspired and informed by the students' fervor and concerns, emphasizing that the process is as much about teaching as it is about learning.
• 01:30 - 02:00: Theme and Participation The chapter titled 'Theme and Participation' discusses the theme for the current year's Awards, which is 'Voices of Hope.' It encourages participants to share stories about people, places, and communities that embody hope. The emphasis is on storytelling from local communities because Australian Catholics value and enjoy sharing these narratives. The chapter outlines who is eligible to enter the competition.
• 02:00 - 02:30: Sections and Categories The chapter discusses the structure of sections and categories in a secondary school competition. The school is divided into three sections: junior (years 5-6), intermediate (years 7-9), and senior (years 10-12). The competition features three categories: articles, photographs, and digital entries (videos or podcasts). Awards will be given this year.
• 02:30 - 03:00: Tips for Crafting Winning Entries The chapter offers guidance on entering the Young Voices Awards, emphasizing the importance of selecting an inspiring topic that aligns with the theme. It encourages participants to make their entries thought-provoking by considering elements such as interviews and inspiring stories. Winners will have their entries published in the magazine with appropriate permissions.
• 03:00 - 04:00: Requirements and Suggestions for Writing The chapter explores the different formats and creative strategies one can employ to capture an audience's attention effectively. It emphasizes the importance of choosing a medium that not only aligns with the message but also with the creator's personal enjoyment and strengths, such as writing, photography, podcasting, or video making. Furthermore, it offers suggestions on how to craft an engaging and successful piece, though specific tips are not detailed in the transcript snippet provided.
• 04:00 - 05:00: Photography Section Guidelines The chapter titled 'Photography Section Guidelines' outlines what judges will be looking for in writing submissions related to the theme 'Voices of Hope.' Emphasis is placed on engaging storytelling, compelling arguments, creative flair, precise language, genre control, and adherence to accurate spelling and grammar standards.
• 05:00 - 06:00: Digital Section Guidelines This chapter discusses the different formats a journalistic article can take, such as interviewing people and sharing their perspectives, writing a persuasive essay to call for change, making a compelling argument to highlight an important issue, or being a personal reflection that shares one's own ideas and experiences. It also suggests using imagination in creating engaging stories or poetry to captivate people. The chapter emphasizes writing about something you are passionate about or that piques your interest. It ends with a few tips on writing effectively.
• 06:00 - 07:30: General Advice and Audience Impact This chapter focuses on general advice for writing and its impact on the audience. It emphasizes taking pride in one's work and being bold, creative, and willing to take risks. The writing process is outlined as planning, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing. It highlights the importance of being informed, conducting research, and ensuring that one's work is original to avoid plagiarism. The chapter concludes with a brief mention of the required word length for written pieces.
• 07:30 - 08:30: Teacher's Role and Submission Guidelines The chapter discusses the importance of brevity in journalism, particularly emphasizing word limits for different sections. For the junior section, submissions should not exceed 400 words, while the intermediate and senior sections have a maximum of 600 words. This calls for disciplined editing to meet the required length. Additionally, in the photography section, judges will assess the impact of images, looking for powerful visuals that evoke strong reactions.
• 08:30 - 09:30: Submission Deadline and Process The chapter titled 'Submission Deadline and Process' focuses on the elements required for crafting a compelling narrative that aligns with the theme 'Voices of Hope'. It highlights the importance of thoughtful composition, audience appeal, effective messaging, and creativity in submissions. Additionally, it provides specific tips for the photography section, encouraging consideration of the story conveyed through images, and factors like composition, shot size, angle, depth of field, lighting, and the rule of thirds.

YVA info video 25 Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 [Music] welcome to the information video for the Young Voices awards for 2025 this is a place where Young Voices soore this year the theme of the awards is Voices of Hope echoing this year's Jubilee theme pilgrims of Hope in this video we will tell you all about how to
• 00:30 - 01:00 enter the awards and what makes for a winning entry we wish you all the best of luck hi I'm Laura Kings the assistant editor education and youth at Australian Catholics magazine and today I'm going to talk about one way that young people can use the media to make a positive difference in the world but first let's hear from Australian Catholics editor Michelle frankini we've been doing this for a
• 01:00 - 01:30 number of years we value the contributions from the awards entrance um every year I say it but every year it's true um we're just amazed and delighted by the passion that students bring to their entries um you know they're obviously very committed to uh social justice and fairness um and it's an old truism but we learn as much from them and their entries and what they're concerned about is perhaps we might teach them
• 01:30 - 02:00 the theme for this year's Awards is Voices of Hope We want you to tell us a story about people places and communities that embody hope in this competition we are asking you to share a story from your community because at Australian Catholics we love telling stories and we want to hear your story so who can enter the yv is open to
• 02:00 - 02:30 secondary school and Senior Primary School students we have three sections there's a junior section for years 5 and six an intermediate section for years 7 to 9 and a senior section for years 10 to 12 the competition has three categories one for articles one for photographs and one for digital that's video or podcast entries this year prior will be awarded
• 02:30 - 03:00 for each category and a selection of the best entries will appear in the magazine with permission from the Creator and their parents so how do you enter the Young Voices Awards before you start choose a topic that inspires you and considers the theme consider how might you get other people thinking about your topic is there someone you can interview is there an inspiring story you can share how can
• 03:00 - 03:30 you be creative so you can catch people's attention with something different what format works best do you need to write an article or could you present the topic through photographs could you record a podcast or film a video what will you have the most enjoyment doing now I'd like to offer you a few tips on Crafting a winning entry
• 03:30 - 04:00 tree our judges will be looking for writing that engages readers from the outset and presents a compelling story or argument around a particular issue related to the theme Voices of Hope judges value great storytelling compelling arguments creative flare precise language Choice control of genre and accurate spelling and grammar
• 04:00 - 04:30 you could write a journalistic article interviewing people and sharing their perspectives a persuasive essay calling for change a compelling argument putting an important issue on the agenda a personal reflection sharing your own ideas and experiences or an imaginative piece engaging people with the power of stories or poetry I also have a few tips for you write about something you feel p passionate about or that pequs your
• 04:30 - 05:00 interest enjoy your writing take pride in your work be bold creative and take risks follow the writing process plan draft revise edit and then publish be informed conduct research include evidence in your writing and make sure your work is your own plagiarism results in disqualification now let's talk about required word length for the written
• 05:00 - 05:30 section brevity is really important in journalism and so for the junior section we require no more than 400 words and in the intermediate and Senior section we require no more than 600 words so you will need to be very disciplined with your editing process to make sure that your work is the required length now let's talk about the photography section our judges will be looking for powerful images that affect
• 05:30 - 06:00 how we see a particular issue related to the theme Voices of Hope we look for thoughtful composition audience appeal effective messaging and creativity I can also offer some tips on entering the photography section consider what story your image or images tell consider composition shot size angle depth of field lighting and rule of thirds
• 06:00 - 06:30 use the caption to guide the judges in the direction of your story or argument consider using a file sharing system like Google drive or Dropbox to submit your entry and when you do that consider your sharing permissions make sure you give the judges a link that allows them to access your work easily share a link that grants access to anyone who has the link and photo files need to be larger than one uh megabyte in size to published in the
• 06:30 - 07:00 magazine in terms of submission requirements for the photography section you're allowed to submit between one and four original photos and you can include a 30 to 50w caption when submitting your photos include original file photos do not embed them in a document or slid show name and number them in the file name and include the captions in a separate word or text
• 07:00 - 07:30 document for the digital section our judges will be looking for podcasts or videos that understand how these media can Inspire and influence people to create an argument in response to the theme Voices of Hope We value effective design high production values effective editing sound and visuals that combine to tell a story and creative flare
• 07:30 - 08:00 in the digital section you could create a profile of someone from your community sharing their story have a single presenter unpacking a topic in an interesting or imaginative way or you could make a short film or animation that tells a story or creates an argument creatively or you could do something else that you've been exploring at home or at school we also have a few tips for entering the digital section make sure
• 08:00 - 08:30 you consider how you might use different audio or visual elements to keep the audience's attention you need to show some evidence of editorial choices Beyond just submitting a piece of raw footage or audio use royalty free images and sound render out your package to MP4 or MP3 to submit use a file sharing system like Google drive or Dropbox and when you do this consider sharing permissions make sure you give the judges a link that
• 08:30 - 09:00 allows them to access your work easily share a link that grants access to anyone who has the link there are some particular requirements for the digital section entries whether they are audio or visual should be no more than 3 minutes long if you're in the junior section and no more than 5 minutes long if you're entering the intermediate or senior section and they should be accompanied by a transcript
• 09:00 - 09:30 for all projects we'd like you to consider what will have an impact on the audience of the magazine our audience is Catholic parishioners Catholic families students and teachers at Catholic schools what do people need to see or hear what will best tell the story you want to tell and what might inspire people to do good be good Andor share the good news and you can be creative in your response to that Fe but you also
• 09:30 - 10:00 need to be thoughtful and actually make an effort to respond to the theme um uh one of the things that we use to get this across is it I I had Ned to C it the coffee shop uh test if you're meeting friends and you've got something to tell them you don't start by saying that you got up at six o' and had breakfast unless that's the point of the story you know you want to get straight to the point um and it's the same with any
• 10:00 - 10:30 article we also have some advice for teachers teachers are encouraged to incorporate this theme into classroom planning so that students can submit their assessment to the competition or interested students can submit original projects individually if all the entries from a class are identical in topic and form please just submit the best one if responses vary in topic then choose a selection of the best up to five
• 10:30 - 11:00 consider running your own competition to vote on the best five entries to be submitted to get the whole class involved and if you are sharing from the school system check that the students entries can be accessed by people outside of the school Community Schools have increased security to protect students and staff using their it systems that can prevent the judges from accessing entries we're basically looking for interesting stories that I told well um
• 11:00 - 11:30 it's not enough to just interview someone and send in the interview um it has to form part of a cohesive hole we need a beginning a middle and end but having said that it's not an essay brevity is prized uh unlike an essay we're looking for the point of the article to be made early and then backed by information and interview quotes entries are due by 5:00 p.m. a Alan Eastern Standard Time on Friday the
• 11:30 - 12:00 9th of May 2025 in order to submit um your submission to the Young Voices award you'll need to fill out an online entry form and to find that form follow the link for your age group in the article about the Young Voices Awards on the education Hub and you'll actually find that under the menu item called engaging
• 12:00 - 12:30 students if you have any more questions or queries you can contact us on the following email address that is editor Australian Catholics or onew word.com AU [Music]