2023 PLURAL+ Youth Video Festival

What is PLURAL+?

In a world often characterized by intolerance and cultural divisions, the PLURAL+ Youth Video Festival recognizes youth as powerful agents of social change and empowers them to share their creative vision with the world and foster respect for diversity.

Launched in 2009, PLURAL+ is a joint initiative of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), with a network of more than 50 partner organizations around the globe.

Every year, PLURAL+ gives young people around the world the opportunity to express their vision and their creativity through multimedia production. PLURAL+ invites young people of up to 25 years old to submit original and creative short films focusing on the themes of migration, diversity, social inclusion, and the prevention of xenophobia.

PLURAL+ Videos

PLURAL+ video entries are five minutes maximum and can be of any genre (animation, documentary, music video, comedy, etc.) as long as they convey a message that can contribute to making the audience think in constructive ways about the cross-cutting issues of migration, diversity, social inclusion, and the prevention of xenophobia. In addition, videos can be in any language as long as English subtitles are provided.

Selection

PLURAL+ video entries are organized in three age categories: 1) up to 12 years old; 2) 13-17 years old; and 3) 18-25 years old.

An International Jury then helps select three PLURAL+ International Jury Distinction Recipients in each age category. In addition, UNAOC and IOM will confer recognitions in three special categories:

The Special Recognition for Combating Xenophobia and Discrimination

 The Special Recognition for Combating Xenophobia and Discrimination will be conferred to a film that advocates for mutual respect and that illustrates the global issues of xenophobia and discrimination, particularly when based on ethnicity, religion or belief, such as antisemitism, Christianophobia, Islamophobia and other forms of religious intolerance.

The Special Recognition for Sport for One Humanity

The Special Recognition for Sport for One Humanity will recognize a video showcasing sports as a positive and essential tool for bringing individuals and communities together, as well as for its unique capacity to bridge cultural divides and foster inclusive and diverse societies.

The Special Recognition for Migrants’ Contributions to Societies

 The Special Recognition for Migrants’ Contributions in Societies will recognize the best film showcasing the social and economic benefits of migrants and diverse populations in host countries, as well as countries of origin. When well-integrated, migrants are an added value to their societies: they bring skills, strengthen the labor force, investment and cultural diversity, as well as contribute to improving the lives of communities in their countries of origin through the transfer of skills and financial resources.

PLURAL+ partner organizations also grant recognitions and professional opportunities to more than 20 videos every year.

PLURAL+ Recipients

Videos are chosen on the basis of their potential to have an impact on the audience, as well as on their artistic, innovative, and creative content. The recipients of the PLURAL+ International Jury Distinctions will be invited, all expenses paid, to participate in the PLURAL+ Ceremony, which will take place in New York City in late 20232.

You can find out more about past PLURAL+ Annual Ceremonies and other relevant news through the Press Room.

Goal

The primary goal of PLURAL+ is to support the creative vision of young people and the global distribution of youth-produced media on themes related to migration, diversity, social inclusion, and the prevention of xenophobia in order to foster respect for cultural diversity.

PLURAL+ in Numbers

Since 2009, videos recognized through PLURAL+ have been selected among thousands of video entries from more than 100 countries. They have been screened and broadcast in dozens of festivals, movie theaters and television networks around the world, as well as in schools and global conferences, and they have received more than one million views on various online platforms, including YouTube and Vimeo. With increasing interest and participation each year, PLURAL+ has become a premier global platform for youth media distribution.

Deadline

The deadline to submit videos to the 15th edition of PLURAL+ is Friday, 30 June, at 11:59 EDT (New York time).

Submission:

To submit a video for consideration, you must first complete the online form here.

Please provide all of the required information. Incomplete submissions will lead to disqualification.

The form will ask you to submit your videos in one of two ways:

1. Through a video-streaming website (e.g. YouTube or Vimeo). If submitting through this option, the entrant will be asked to include the URL of the video in the online form. The entrant must ensure that the video link is accessible and not private.
2. Through a file-hosting website (e.g. Google Drive, Dropbox, Box, etc.) where the entrant’s video is saved. If submitting through this option, you will be asked to include the URL of the video in the online form. The entrant must ensure that the video link is accessible and not private.

For more inforamation, click on the link.