Cuộc thi Thuyết Trình Kỷ Niệm 20 Năm Hoa Kỳ - Việt Nam.

Nhằm chào mừng kỷ niệm 20 năm bình thường hóa quan hệ ngoại giao giữa Hoa Kỳ và Việt Nam, Tổng Lãnh Sự Quán Hoa Kỳ tại TP.HCM thông báo tổ chức cuộc thi Thuyết Trình Kỷ Niệm 20 Năm Hoa Kỳ - Việt Nam.

Cuộc thi dành cho học sinh và sinh viên Việt Nam (15-22 tuổi) hiện đang cư trú tại Việt Nam. Người tham dự phải nộp một bài luận bằng tiếng Anh dài không quá 500 từ trình bày về sự thay đổi của Việt Nam sau 20 năm bình thường hóa quan hệ ngoại giao với Hoa Kỳ trong một trong bốn lĩnh vực (a) giáo dục, (b) văn hóa, (c) kinh tế, (d) kỹ thuật. Nộp bài luận tại https://goo.gl/CAkzue trước 23h59 ngày 14/7/2015. Vào ngày 17/7, danh sách 20 thí sinh được chọn sẽ được công bố.

Cuộc thi gồm một vòng loại và hai vòng thuyết trình. Thí sinh tham dự sẽ có cơ hội trình bày về sự thay đổi của Việt Nam kể từ khi bình thường hóa quan hệ ngoại giao với Hoa Kỳ vào năm 1995. Thí sinh cũng sẽ có cơ hội thể hiện kiến thức và kỹ năng thuyết trình, cũng như được kết nối với cựu sinh chương trình trao đổi của chính phủ Hoa Kỳ, những người sẽ hướng dẫn cho thí sinh trong vòng bán kết và chung kết.

Giải nhất cuộc thi là một ipad mini, giải nhì là điện thoại di động Nokia Lumia, giải ba là máy chụp hình Fujifilm.

20th Anniversary Pitch Contest

Contest Sponsors

The 20^th Anniversary Pitch Contest is sponsored by the U.S. Consulate General Ho Chi Minh City.

Description of the Contest

In celebration of the 20th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Vietnam, the U.S. Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City is pleased to announce the 20th Anniversary Pitch Contest.

The contest will consist of a preliminary round and two rounds of on-stage presentations. Contestants will have the opportunity to articulate how Vietnam has changed since the normalization of diplomatic relations with the U.S. in 1995. They will also have the opportunity to showcase knowledge and pitch skills gained from participation in a series of public speaking trainings at the American Center between April to June 2015. Finally, contestants will connect with Department of State program alumni, who will serve as mentors for shortlisted contestants in the semi-final and final rounds.

Platforms

Events from this contest may be announced and promoted on various social media platforms including U.S. HCMC consulate website, Eventbrite, Facebook, weekly newsletters to the American Center members, but contest entry and administration will take place through https://goo.gl/CAkzue.  Contest winners may also be announced by e-mail ( Địa chỉ email này đã được bảo vệ từ spam bots, bạn cần kích hoạt Javascript để xem nó. ). Contestants are reminded that by participating in the contest and submitting an essay, they are bound by the contest’s terms of service and any agreements with the contest platforms contained therein.

How to Enter

The contest is open for all Vietnamese high school and university students (15-22 years old) currently residing in Vietnam.  (See eligibility for more details.)

Preliminary Round: Interested participants should submit a short essay in English of no more than 500 words explaining how Vietnam has changed after 20 years of diplomatic relations with the U.S. in either (a) education, (b) culture, (c) economy, (d) technology. The essay must be submitted at https://goo.gl/CAkzue by 11:59 pm on July 14, 2015. Participation in the contest is deemed as acceptance of these official contest rules.  Once an entry is submitted, it is considered a final submission and may not be modified, edited, or replaced. On July 17, 20 short-listed contestants will be announced.

Semi-Final Pitch Round: Department of State program alumni in Ho Chi Minh City will help 20 short-listed contestants build a three-minute presentation highlighting the progress of U.S. – Vietnam relations. The semi-final pitch round will take place on July 24, 2015.

Final Pitch Round: Five selected finalists will compete in the Championship Round on July 31, 2015. Finalists will receive further training and help from mentors, who are Department of State program alumni. The final pitch round will include a question and answer session after each presentation.

Content Requirements

1. Submissions must not contain obscenity, nudity, profanity, graphic violence, calls or incitement to violence, commercial solicitation or commercial promotion.  Submissions must conform to local law and must not contain content or images that could be considered abusive, inflammatory, denigrating, or disrespectful to any of the contest sponsors, or to any groups, individuals or institutions.  Submissions must adhere both in appearance and in fact to the norms of civil discourse.  In other words, the content of all submissions must be suitable for a global, public audience.
2. Submissions must be original content, created by the contestant and must not contain any elements that are protected by someone else’s copyright or otherwise subject to third party intellectual property or proprietary rights, including privacy and publicity rights (except as expressly permitted below in (d)).  Contest sponsors recognize no allowance for “fair use” of copyrighted material, nor do contest sponsors recognize allowance for use of licensed materials created or owned by a third party.
3. Contest sponsors reserve the right to disqualify, at their sole and absolute discretion, any submission that does not adhere to these criteria and to the intent and substance of these official contest rules.
4. In the event of any question or difference of views regarding compliance with, interpretation, or application of these content requirements or other provisions of these official contest rules, contest sponsors reserve the exclusive right to resolve such questions or differences of views in their sole discretion.
   
   

Eligibility

1. Contestants must be at least 15 years old and no older than 22 years old on the date of entry into the contest. Parental or legal guardian consent is required for individuals under the age of 18. Contestants must be residents and citizens of Vietnam may not be U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents.
2. The individual submitting the entry will be considered the contestant and will be the only individual eligible to compete for the prize.  Organizations are not eligible to compete for the prize, either as an entity, or through representation by an individual.  In order to be eligible for the prize, the contestant must provide complete and accurate information.
3. The following individuals are not eligible to participate in the contest:  Employees, current interns, directors, and officers of the contest sponsors, or the U.S. Government; or any employees, interns, directors, officers of any agencies, companies or entities involved in the administration, advertising, judging, creation, development, execution, and/or fulfillment of the contest, and the immediate family members (defined as spouse, recognized partner, parent, child, sibling, and spouse or "step" of each) and those living in the same household of each such individual.
4. Once a submission has been accepted for entry into the contest, the contestant’s name (or User ID, if the contestants wishes to remain anonymous) and country may be publicly identified at the sole discretion of the contestants.
   
   

Selection of a Winner

1. All submissions are subject to pre-screening by contest sponsors to ensure compliance with these official contest rules.  Contest sponsors reserve the right in their sole and absolute discretion to verify in the final analysis whether a potential finalist or potential winning submission has fully complied with these Official Contest Rules before posting to the contest site, awarding prize, recognizing as winner, etc.

1. Judges: The board of judges will select the semi-finalists, finalists, and the winners of the contest.

1. Judging Criteria: Contestants should demonstrate:

-          Deep understanding of the topic

-          Ability to discuss a topic publicly and critically

-          Excellent presentation skills

1. Winners:
   Each winner will be required to sign and return to contest sponsors a statement of eligibility, liability/publicity release,  a short bio (where applicable,) and a brief statement about the submission; otherwise, the winner and/or finalist will be ineligible for any prize.  The inability of contest sponsors to contact a potential winner may result in disqualification and/or selection of an alternate winner from among all remaining eligible submissions.

1. Winners and finalists will be notified via the e-mail address they provided upon entry.  Winners and finalists may be announced on the Consulate website and/or social media pages.  Winners and finalists may choose to use an alias instead of their real name and may request other identifying information be kept private.

Prize(s)

1. First place will receive an iPad mini; second place will receive a Nokia Lumia; and third place will receive a Fujifilm instant camera.
2. Any unused portion of a prize is not transferable, convertible, or exchangeable and cannot be taken as cash.  All taxes on or in connection with any prize, and the reporting consequences thereof, are the sole and exclusive responsibility of the winner.

Liability and Rights

1. Contest sponsors do not endorse any submissions or messages expressed therein, and contest sponsors expressly disclaim any and all liability in connection with the submitted essays including disputes between collaborators related to a submission.
2. The contest and its sponsors do not permit copyright-infringing activities or infringement of any other intellectual property rights. Contest sponsors reserve the right to remove and disqualify any submission they deem to be in violation of another party's copyright or other intellectual property rights.
3. Contestants retain sole ownership of their original work.  The submission remains the intellectual property of contestant, and the contest sponsors make no claim of copyright as to the work of any individual who enters the contest.  Contestant specifically agrees to give the contest sponsors permission to use all content submitted for purposes of judging the contest.  Finalists and/or winners will be required to grant contest sponsors, with proper attribution through whatever means they deem appropriate, a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sub-licensable and transferable license to use, reproduce, distribute, prepare derivative works of, and/or display the submission in any media formats and through any media channels in perpetuity in connection with the activities and operations of the contest.
4. Contestant assumes sole responsibility for the contest submission and the material contained in it, and for any consequences of submitting or posting it.
5. Contest sponsors reserve the right at any time to verify the validity of entries and of contestants and to disqualify any contestant or entry deemed not in compliance with these official contest rules.  Contest sponsors also reserve the right to request further documentation, at their sole and absolute discretion, to verify eligibility and compliance with these official contest rules.
6. If a prize or any portion thereof is unavailable, contest sponsors, in their sole discretion, reserve the right to substitute the prize with another prize of equal or greater value and/or specification.
7. Contest sponsors reserve the right, at any time and in their sole discretion, to disqualify and/or deem ineligible any individual who they reasonably believe (i) has violated the official contest rules; (ii) has violated the terms of use of platform, or (iii) is acting in a bad faith, or in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner, or with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass any other person.
8. Contest sponsors reserve the right to modify, suspend, terminate or cancel the contest at their discretion for any reason.
9. Contestant agrees to indemnify and hold harmless contest sponsors, their parent, subsidiary and affiliated companies, officers, directors, employees, interns,  and agents, from and against any and all claims, damages, obligations, losses, liabilities, costs or debts, and expenses (including but not limited to attorney's fees) arising from (i) violation of these official contest rules; (ii) violation of any third party right, including without limitation any copyright, trademark, intellectual property, privacy, publicity, or other proprietary right in connection with the contest; or (iii) any claim that a contest submission caused any harm, including financial, to any third party.  These indemnification and hold harmless obligations will survive indefinitely beyond the conclusion of the contest.
10. The conduct, judging, and awarding of prizes will be carried out in full compliance with applicable U.S. law and host country law.  In the event of a conflict between U.S. law and host country law, U.S. law shall apply.
11. Contest sponsors will take reasonable measures to protect privacy data, personally identifiable information, and other sensitive data of contestants.  Contact information provided by contestants may be stored by the American Center and may be used to contact contestants for other purposes in the future.
12. Contest sponsors assume no liability or responsibility for any loss or harm resulting from any user’s participation in or attempt to participate in the contest or ability or inability to upload, download, or otherwise access any information in connection with participating in the contest.  Contest sponsors assume no responsibility or liability for technical problems, or technical malfunctions arising in connection with the operation of the contest, including: hardware or software errors; faulty computer, telephone, cable, satellite, network, electronic, wireless or Internet connectivity, or other online communication problems; errors or limitations of any Internet service providers, servers, hosts or providers; garbled, jumbled or faulty data transmissions; failure of any email transmissions to be sent or received; lost, late, delayed or intercepted email transmissions; inaccessibility of the contest site in whole or in part for any reason; traffic congestion on the Internet or the contest site; unauthorized human or non-human intervention in the operation of the contest, including without limitation, unauthorized tampering, hacking, theft, virus, bugs, worms; or destruction of any aspect of the contest, or loss, miscount, misdirection, inaccessibility or unavailability of an email account used in connection with the contest.
13. Use of contest site is at user’s own risk.  Contest sponsors are not responsible for any personal injury, property damage, or losses of any kind which may be sustained to computer equipment resulting from participation in the contest, use of the contest site or the downloading of information from the contest site.  By participating in the contest, the contestant releases contest sponsors from any and all claims arising from or relating to such contestant’s participation in the contest, whether directly or indirectly.
14. Contest sponsors are not liable in the event that any portion of the contest is cancelled or delayed due to weather, fire, strike, acts of war or terrorism, or any other reason.