The #NewNarrativesChallenge Rules

1. The Challenge

This challenge is a free grant award (the “Grant Award”) operated by the British Council to amplify plural narratives of countries of Africa and the UK.  The objective is to encourage and inspire young people to tell authentic stories about their countries (the “Challenge”)

2. Territory and eligibility

The Challenge is open to residents of Algeria, Botswana, Egypt, England, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Libya, Malawi, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Northern Ireland, Rwanda, Scotland, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, Wales, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Participants must be aged 18 to 35 years old. Participants may submit more than one entry; however, no participant may win more than one grant award.

Entry to the Challenge is free of charge although participants are responsible for their own costs of connecting to the internet.

3. Challenge dates

The opening date of the Challenge is 08.00 UK time on 12 August 2021 and the closing date is 23.59 UK time on 10 September 2021. Any entry received before the opening date or after the closing date will not be included in the Challenge. The British Council accepts no responsibility whatsoever for any technical failure or malfunction or any other problem with any system, server, provider, or otherwise, that may result in any entry being lost, delayed, or not properly registered.

The winners of the Challenge will be notified once the selection is completed. This notification will be made via the Instagram page used to apply and taken forward via the email address provided by the winning participant when registering for the Challenge in accordance with section 4 of these Challenge Rules. In this notification, the British Council will inform the Challenge winners of how to claim their Grant Award and of any additional information or steps required to enable the British Council to provide them with the Grant Award. The British Council reserves the right to award the relevant grant ward to another Challenge participant if the grant award is not claimed within two weeks after such notification.

4. How to enter

The Challenge will be promoted through the British Council website and via British Council social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.

  • participants are expected to create a one-minute Instagram video or a 30-seconds Instagram reel video that showcases new narratives of their countries (countries of Africa and the UK.) 
  • to enter, participants must share a one minute Instagram video or a 30-seconds Instagram reel video with the hashtag #NewNarrativesChallenge #NoToASingleStory on Instagram before 10 September 2021 at 23.59 UK time (a “Submission”)
  • in the Submission, the participant must ensure that their country is stated in their creative videos (this can be as an onscreen caption and/or in the main caption). Submissions should be creative and amplify new stories of countries of Africa or the UK
  • after the closing date for Submissions has passed, the British Council will review the videos and shortlisted participants will be contacted to fill a form online
  • to complete the form and continue in the Challenge, participants must accept the terms and conditions, and privacy notice
  • video submissions can be in any language, but the language needs to be specified in the caption.

Ten winners will receive a prize award of £500. Winners will be paid an equivalent of £500 in their local currency.

5. Grant awards and selection of winning entries

  • the final review panel will take place digitally following the closing date referred to in section 3 above
  • the entries will be judged by a panel of judges appointed by the British Council. The judges’ decision is final and binding
  • no correspondence will be entered into with the unsuccessful participants
  • each Challenge prize consists of a £500 grant award (subject to contract)  
  • the Grant Awards are personal to the winners and cannot be transferred to any third party. 

The British Council accepts no responsibility for failure to notify winning participants or failure to deliver Grant Awards where such failure results from the provision of inaccurate contact details by the participants or from the acts or omissions of any third party (including, without limitation, any internet or postal service provider) and shall have no liability to any participant if it is prevented from or delayed in delivering any aspect of the Challenge or the Grant Awards by acts, events, omissions or accidents beyond its reasonable control.

The British Council does not offer any insurance in connection with the Grant Award. Each Grant Award winner may arrange their own insurance in respect of the Grant Award, if applicable.

6. Personal data

The British Council will collect and store the names and email addresses of the shortlisted participants and the additional contact details of participants as anticipated by sections 4 and 5 above. The British Council will use this personal data for the following purposes:

  • managing the relationship between the participants and the British Council;
  • communicating with participants to answer their queries about the Challenge;
  • communicating with the Challenge winners and arranging delivery of their Grant Awards;
  • and marketing and publicity in accordance with section 7 below.

Where a participant has consented to the British Council doing so, the British Council may contact the Participant using the personal data collected to provide information about the goods, services, courses, or promotions that the British Council offers.

By participating in the Challenge, Participants consent to their personal data being processed by the British Council in accordance with, and for the purposes set out in, this section 6.

Participants can exercise their rights to access their personal data held by the British Council and withdraw their consent to the processing of their personal data by sending an email, accompanied by a scanned photocopy of their valid passport.

Read our privacy notice here

7. Publicity and rights

Upon contacting shortlisted applicants, The British Council will request photographs to be used in publicity materials. The British Council intends to publish the names and photographs of the winners on the British Council’s websites, social media channels (e.g. Facebook pages, Twitter pages, etc), press releases, and in other promotional and marketing material. In addition, the British Council may write and publish articles and produce videos about the winner’s Submissions. By entering the Challenge, each participant agrees to the use of their name and image and agrees to co-operate with any such publicity or marketing if they win the Grant Award.

Participants will retain copyright in the entry material that they submit to the British Council. By entering the Challenge, each participant grants the British Council, free of charge, permission to use the Submission material (including, without limitation, modifying and adapting it for operational and editorial reasons) in any media worldwide for purposes connected with the Challenge. Participants who win the Grant Award grant the British Council further permission to publish and exhibit their Submission material (including, without limitation, modifying and adapting it for operational and editorial reasons) in print and any media worldwide for any British Council purpose.

Each participant confirms that the Submission material is their original work, is not defamatory, and does not infringe any English or local laws, that they have the right to give the British Council permission to use it for the purposes specified above, and that all necessary consents for the submission of the Submission material have been obtained.

All rights in the British Council’s name and logo, websites, social media (e.g. Facebook pages, Twitter pages, etc.), press releases and other promotional and marketing material, and all course and examination content and materials (together with the “Council’s Materials”) shall vest in and remain with the British Council (or its licensors). By participating in the Challenge, participants agree that they will not use, broadcast, publish, export, exploit, reproduce nor copy part or all of the Council’s Materials.

8. General

The British Council may disqualify or refuse to accept the Submission of any participant who does not meet the eligibility criteria in section 2 or does not otherwise comply with these Challenge Rules.

These Challenge Rules shall be governed by and interpreted in accordance with the laws of England and Wales and the courts of England and Wales shall have exclusive jurisdiction over any disputes or claims (including, without limitation, non-contractual disputes or claims) arising out of or in connection with the Challenge.

9. Acceptance of Challenge Rules

By participating in this Challenge, participants are deemed to accept these Challenge Rules. Participating in this Challenge is also considered a release of Instagram by each participant and confirms that Challenge is not sponsored, endorsed, or affiliated with Instagram.

See also