Peace Corp Contest Generates Awareness

The National Peace Corps Association, a nonprofit organization supporting Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs) and their community, announced the launched of a contest for the best short video on YouTube in honor the Peace Corps’ upcoming 50th anniversary.

Called “My Piece of the Peace Corps,” the contest invites people to submit one- to two-minute videos about how the Peace Corps, or a Peace Corps Volunteer, present or returned, has changed their lives.

Erica Burman, director of communications for the National Peace Corps Association and returned volunteer herself, said the idea behind the contest is to generate awareness about the Peace Corps’ upcoming 50^thanniversary.

“We expect the videos to be as diverse as the people who serve in the Peace Corps,” said Erica Burman, who served in The Gambia. “A video could be about a high-school teacher whose stories from overseas inspired you, or a Volunteer whose service taught you new skills, or maybe a Returned Volunteer who continues to be a community leader here at home.”

The contest will culminate just in time for the celebrations at the University of Michigan in October where the idea of the Peace Corps first began fifty years ago. The hope is that the contest will inspire people to reflect on this important anniversary, whether or not they’ve served in the Peace Corps.

Those interested should upload their videos to NPCA’s contest group on YouTube between July 1 and Sept. 30. Submissions must be less than 120 seconds and cannot have been previously submitted to another contest. Further contest rules and details are available online. Winners will receive $500, $1,000, or a grand prize of $2,500.

“Like the Peace Corps, YouTube has brought the world closer together,” said Burman. “It’s only natural that we would use this new technology to showcase the ways that Peace Corps Volunteers and Returned Volunteers have affected tens of thousands of people around the world.”