Multimedia category included in HIV/AIDS art competition

The recently announced "2009 China HIV/AIDS Anti-discrimination Art Competition" is calling for original submissions of health promotion materials which address the problem of HIV-related stigma and discrimination. A wide range of materials are accepted, including several digital forms such as video clips, flash animation, and even SMS messages.

A web page (link in Chinese) has been created on SOHU.com's public service portal gongyi.sohu.com. Not only can entrants upload their submissions, but those submissions can also be viewed and voted on by the general public. Public voting will account for 40% of the final score for each submission.

The competition includes three categories: literature, graphic design and multimedia. The literature category includes not only such art forms as poems and drama scripts, but also SMS messages (which are limited to 70 Chinese characters). The multimedia category includes video clips, flash animation, or music recordings of up to 15 minutes in length.

The competition is open to all organizations and individuals in China. The closing date for submissions is October 15, and monetary prizes of up to RMB 10,000 are offered for the winning entries.

The competition is run by the Chinese Center for Disease Prevention and Control (China CDC), National Center for AIDS/STD Prevention and Control (NCAIDS), Global Fund China HIV/AIDS Programme, China HIV/AIDS Information Network (CHAIN), and Beijing Shangduo International Media & Advertising Co., Ltd.