Entry Guidelines

Entries are accepted from youth age 13 – 34. All participants must be living in South Africa.

Use your creative talents in one of the 4 creative categories:

• SONG
• DANCE
• WORD (spoken word/speech/poem)
• ART (any form of artwork/photography)

Create your entry to inspire and motivate people living in South Africa to be the power of one, and to take the necessary steps to move themselves, others and our country forwards and upwards together!

Your entry must reflect our mission statement: “Up We Go Mzansi” is a movement calling every person in South Africa to harness our  collective talents and strengths, and to move South Africa upwards together.

As much as possible keep the following goals in mind to inform your thinking. The overall goal of the Social Cohesion Advocates Programme is to mobilize society in its entirety, to work together to build a caring and proud society, based on shared values and a vision informed by:

• Advancing constitutional democracy, human rights and equality;
• Promoting non-racialism, non-tribalism, non-sexism, ubuntu and social solidarity;
• Building unity in diversity amongst South Africans, as well as with the region, continent and the international community;
• Encouraging healing of individuals and communities, and more intercultural and intercommunity cooperation;
• Improving inclusivity and a sense of belonging for all, and striving for transformation, redress and social justice in all areas of society;
• Inspiring empowered, inclusive and active citizenship that will define our National consciousness and identity.

Competition entries are accepted in 4 categories:

1. Song – recorded audio or video file of performed piece, as well as written document with lyrics. No longer than 4 minutes.  Max 12MB file size.
2. Dance – Recorded dance choreographed to all or part of the Up We Go Mzansi anthem, “Bayete Mzansi”. No longer than 4 minutes. Max 12MB file size. If you want to re-record the song’s pre-chorus and chorus with your own beat and added lyrics, you are welcome to do so, if it serves your dance piece better.
3. Spoken Word (Speech/poetry) – recorded audio file and written document. No longer than 2 minutes in length. Max 12 MB file size.
4. Art/Photography – digital image of your original finished artwork to be submitted, no bigger than 6MB in .pdf or .jpeg format. The original must be kept safe as it may be physically required/collected, if you make Top 10.

Note: Words utilized in any entry will be welcomed in all languages spoken in South Africa, including sign language. It is recommended that you incorporate both English and your chosen language where possible,
and supply an English translation attached to your entry for judges not familiar with your language.

• The competition opens for submissions on 3 May 2021 and will close after 6 weeks on 14 June 2021.
• The winners and placements in each category will be announced once they have been audited and the announcement date will be posted on our website www.upwego.org.za on the competition page.

Prize money allocations are as follow per category:

1. 1st place = R25,000 prize money per category
2. 2nd place = R12,500 prize money per category
3. 3rd place = R5,000 prize money per category

Prize money to be paid within 6 weeks of winners being announced (at the latest), and will be paid into an E-wallet or nank account provided to us by each winner, via the cell number/email address that they used to enter the competition with.

Make sure your entry follows the submission guidelines below.

1. The submission must be relevant to the “Creative Challenge and Purpose” outlined above.
2. All entries must be ORIGINAL pieces. Plagiarism will not be accepted in any form. You can use existing speeches or art pieces to inspire you, and even include some inspiration from lines from speeches/songs you have heard but they must be used in an original piece of writing/music/art/dance.
3. Applicants may submit entries in more than one category but each work will be considered as a stand-alone entry.
4. Every submission must be submitted with the following contact details (in WhatsApp or email)
   – Applicant’s name (a single contact person for a group entry)
   – Contact phone number 1
   – Contact phone number 2 (backup)
   – Email address
   – Physical address
5. Up We Go Mzansi cannot be held responsible for lost or poorly named files that fail to be included in the judging process.
6. Entries can be submitted by a group but one contact person must be assigned to apply on behalf of the group. Should a group win any prize money, this money will be sent to the contact person who will have full responsibility to share the prize money with their group according to their internal agreement. Up We Go Mzansi will bear no liability once prize money has been sent to the contact person who handled the entry.
7. All applicants give permission for their submissions to be displayed and utilised without payment, in all media forms related to the Up We Go Mzansi campaign. These submissions will form part of this campaign to get people watching, reading, hearing and talking about how we come together to take ourselves, others and South Africa forwards and upwards.
8. Up We Go Mzansi is a campaign being run by volunteer activists called Social Cohesion Advocates (SCA). These SCAs were invited by the Minister of DSAC to serve voluntarily to assist reach the Social Cohesion goals as laid out in the National Development plan Outcome.
9. While the DSAC has powered this campaign, by entering, you indemnify the Social Cohesion Advocates Programme and individuals involved, gold Youth Development Agency and the DSAC of any claim
   against them arising from this competition.

Entries will be judged against the following criteria:

1. Relevance to inspirational content and themes:
   • Promotes unity and cooperation to make a difference for South Africa’s future
   • Inspires individuals to awaken their personal power to make a difference where they are
   • Promotes non-racialism, non-sexism, equality and solidarity
2. Tone and attitude:
   • Conveys hope, positivity and ambition
   • Is inspiring and uplifting
   • Is accessible and understandable to diverse audiences
   • Highlights empathy, compassion and servant leadership
3. Creativity and Quality
   • Quality of creativity in chosen art form – language, tone, visuals, writing, dance etc.
   • Usability as nationwide promotion for Up We Go Mzansi campaign
4. Language and Physicality:
   • Language used should not be offensive, derogative or discriminatory
   • Dress in videos should be appropriate and not sexually revealing
   • Should show a unifying objective
   • Promote respect and tolerance
   • Embrace diversity

• Every week entries will be evaluated using a mix of social media popularity and the judging panel.
• In the week(s) following the closing of the entries, the top 5 will be announced per category.
• A Voting line will be opened to receive public votes for the 5 finalists per category.
• On closure of the Voting line, the public votes will determine the final score per entry.
• The top 3 place winners per category will be announced before or on 30 June 2021.
• The judges’ decision will be final and cannot be contested.

To the extent permitted by law, on entering the Up We Go Mzansi Creative Competition, you hereby indemnify and holds harmless the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture and/or the Social Cohesion Advocates Programme (SCAP) and/or Gold Youth Development Agency, and their parent, subsidiary and affiliated companies, their officers, agents, directors, volunteers and employees against all liabilities, costs, expenses, damages and losses (including, without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage or loss of profits) arising out of or in connection with and arising from you entering into this competition or the breach by Department of Sports, Arts and Culture and/or Social Cohesion Advocates Programme (SCAP) and/or gold Youth Development Agency, and their parent, subsidiary and affiliated companies, their officers, agents, directors, volunteers and employees of any warranty, representation or other material term of or obligation they may have in terms of this competition.