Maine schools are invited to enter a free digital storytelling competition that asks students to share their visions for the future.
Meridian Stories’ statewide challenge called Down the Road: The Search for Maine’s Top Ten Youth Visionaries invites middle and high school students to work in small teams or individually to produce a one- to two-minute video addressing their hopes and ideas for the future. Suggested prompts for students include : if you secured $1 million to help make Maine a better place, what would you do; create a portrait of a current role model and articulate the qualities from them you would like develop in yourself; or if you could build a high school from scratch for future generations, what would it look like?
The students then choose from a variety of formats – documentary, dramatic scenario, visual portraiture, TED Talk, etc. – to step into the future and share their vision, leveraging the power of film to imagine and communicate their desired future.
The entries will be posted on a graphically designed digital map of Maine, where users can click all around the state to see and hear what Maine youth are saying about their perceptions of their own futures.
The top 10 visionary videos will be featured in a variety of venues and awarded prize seed money – between $75 and $200 per entry, depending on the vision – to help take their idea to the next step.
Middle and high schools from across the state are invited to sign up for Down the Road at no cost by the Feb. 15 registration deadline at www.meridianstories.com. Video submissions are due by April 15.