Terms and Conditions

Voices of Mutirão: Empowering Communities and Cities through Capacity-building
Video Pitch Contest 2025

This video pitch competition is an initiative of Transformative Urban Coalitions, led by the United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS), German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS), World Resources Institute – Ross Centre for Sustainable Cities (WRI) and the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), in collaboration with the Paris Committee on Capacity-building. With the support of the International Climate Initiative of the German Government, we aim to spotlight positive urban transformations and inspire collective action toward a more sustainable future.

To confirm participation, each participant will have to share their video pitch and story and fill out the related short questionnaire through the Transformative Urban Coalitions website by 23:59 CEST on 24 October 2025.

Content of videos

Your video pitch should bring the spirit of the Mutirão to life, the collective effort that links neighbourhood initiatives to city plans, city plans to national strategies and national strategies to shared global goals.

We invite you to pitch your capacity-building initiative in 60 seconds. Tell us about the action, idea or project that is helping transform your city or community. Share how it empowers people, strengthens collaboration or builds knowledge and skills to create a more sustainable, inclusive, and resilient place to live.

Your video pitch must:

Be no longer than 60 seconds.
Showcase a collective effort for capacity-building and highlight the people, partnerships and actions driving change.
Show how your initiative connects to the bigger picture by explaining how it contributes to a stronger, more inclusive and more climate-resilient city and how it links to global action.
Inspire others to act by sharing why this transformation matters and how it empowers your community.
Be accompanied by a short-written story (100–150 words) that briefly describes the initiative and its impact.

Only minor modifications to the videos will be accepted (e.g., basic editing, cropping, light adjustments, subtitles) and must be clearly indicated in the description. Videos that appear overly processed or heavily produced may be disqualified at the judges’ discretion.

Eligibility

The video pitch contest is open to everyone, regardless of country of residence or skill level. For minors to participate, they must provide written permission from their legal guardian(s). No minor’s participation will be accepted by the organization without their legal guardian’s written permission.

To confirm participation, each participant will have to follow the instructions outlined below by 23:59 CEST on 24 October 2025.

By sending the video(s), stories and related information via the Transformative Urban Coalitions website, participants agree to these terms and conditions. Participation in the video contest implies full acceptance of these terms and conditions and all their provisions. Non-compliance with these terms and conditions will result in disqualification of the entrant.

Participation is strictly personal, and the entrant cannot enter the contest on behalf of another person.
Videos must not contain elements that are defamatory, offensive, pornographic, racist, insulting, unlawful or contrary to good morals.
Watermarks, signatures, names or copyright notices in the video are not permitted.

Intellectual Rights

Each participant in the video contest certifies that he or she is the sole copyright holder of all submitted videos and they are original to him/her.
Each participant in the video contest certifies that all submitted videos do not violate or infringe on any existing copyright or any other third-party rights and contain nothing otherwise unlawful.
If the video contains images of a person or persons, entrants agree that they have obtained the permission of those persons, or if such person or persons are under the age of 18, of their respective parent or legal guardian, for submission of their video to the contest, as well as for the use of the video as described herein.
By submitting a video through the Transformative Urban Coalitions website, the entrant in the video contest authorizes its release (as well as the creator’s full name, pseudonym, city and country of residence), on the website of the Organizers, as well as social networks (including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Threads, YouTube and LinkedIn), on digital communication or media (presentations, exhibitions, videos), and as part of different physical and virtual exhibitions without any form of compensation.
The participant grants the Organizers the right to use his or her name, video, image or likeness in the context of any recording, any presentation, speech or other form of publicity for the United Nations and partners. The following credit shall be given: © NAME OF CREATOR / UNU-EHS.
The creator holds the copyright to the videos submitted, but the Organizers retain the unlimited right, free of charge, to use the submitted videos and related information from the accompanying questionnaire in any format for the purposes indicated above, and for awareness-raising, capacity-building, public information and communication purposes in their efforts to promote sustainable development and human security. Any other use of the videos will be reported to the author, who is free to give or refuse consent for their use.
The participants grant the Organizers the permission to crop, subtitle or re-size videos as necessary, to fit predefined formats, for the use stated in the paragraph above.
The Organizers will use videos and related information exclusively for non-commercial purposes, which include education and communication materials, website, social media, press and other communication materials at no cost. The creator will be credited as indicated above.
The participation in the video contest is free of charge. The Organizers are not responsible for any expenses that the participants may incur in the creation and submission of the video.
The Organizers reserve the right to modify, extend, shorten, suspend or cancel the video contest without notice and without liability incurred thereby (fortuitous event or “force majeure” and any other events that are considered as making it impossible for the execution of the video contest as initially planned). No compensation will be awarded to the participants.
The Organizers reserve the right to verify the eligibility of any entry and/or entrant (including an entrant’s identity and address) and to disqualify any entrant who submits an entry that is not in accordance with these rules or who tampers with the entry process.
The Organizers will ensure an appropriate level of protection for the personal data of entrants and participants to the video competition in accordance with their respective regulations, rules, policies and procedures. For any questions or concerns about processing of personal data, participants may contact tuc@ehs.unu.edu.
The participant agrees to indemnify, defend, hold and save harmless, at his or her expense, the Organizers, including their officials, employees, consultants, contractors and agents, from and against all suits, proceedings, claims, demands, losses and liability of any kind or nature, including, but not limited to all litigation costs and expenses, attorney’s fees, settlement payments and damages, based on, arising from, or relating to any acts or omissions of the participant, or anyone directly or indirectly employed by him or her, which give rise to legal liability to third parties, including, without limitation, allegations or claims that the use by the Organizers of any copyrighted material, in whole or in part, separately or in combination, constitutes an infringement of any patent, copyright, trademark or other intellectual property right of any third party.
Any dispute between the participants to the present initiative and UNU or UNU-EHS concerning the interpretation or application of these Terms and Conditions, which cannot be settled amicably, shall be submitted, at the request of either party to the dispute, to arbitration in accordance with the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Arbitration Rules then obtaining. The parties agree to be bound by the arbitration award rendered under this paragraph as the final adjudication of the dispute.
The participant acknowledges that nothing in these Terms and Conditions shall be deemed a waiver, express or implied, of the privileges and immunities of the United Nations, United Nations University or UNU-EHS accorded to them by international or applicable national law.