Host: Society For Aids in Africa
Dates: July 31, 2025
Location: Finalists
Submission Format: Video, 4 minutes long
Language: Videos must be captioned in both French and English
Award: $3000 for the first winner and $2000 for the second winner for each category.

Overview

In celebration of its 35th anniversary, the Society for AIDS in Africa (SAA) is launching the ICASA 2025 Storytelling Competition for People Living with HIV (PLHIV). This initiative highlights the lived experiences, resilience, and voices of PLHIV across Africa.

As the custodian of ICASA, Africa’s largest HIV/AIDS conference, SAA aims to promote advocacy, research, and social justice in the fight against HIV, TB, and other infectious diseases. The competition will showcase powerful video stories, contributing to stigma reduction, policy dialogue, and improved understanding of life with HIV across the continent.

Objectives

To empower people living with HIV (PLHIV) to share their personal journeys, raise awareness, and inspire change by using the medium of video storytelling.

Eligibility

• Must be an African from the continent or the diaspora.
• Must self-identify as a person living with HIV (submission forms may include a declaration section while ensuring privacy and confidentiality).
• Must belong to one of the defined age groups: 18–35 or 36+ years.

Participants

People living with HIV (PLHIV) in Africa who fall into one of the two age categories:

• Category A: 18–35 years
• Category B: 36 years and above

Selection and Review Process

Stage 1: Screening

A preliminary review committee will assess all submissions based on the following criteria:

• Storytelling & Authenticity: How compelling, honest, and impactful is the narrative?
• Creativity & Originality: Use of creative storytelling techniques and originality in presentation.
• Technical Quality: Adherence to video length, clarity of audio/visual, and quality of bilingual captions.
• Relevance & Impact: The story’s potential to educate, inspire, and reduce HIV-related stigma.

Stage 2: Finalist Review Evaluation in Ghana

• Members of the selection committee will be carefully chosen from different regions of Africa. Selection criteria may include expertise in HIV advocacy, storytelling, media production, public health, and community leadership.
• The top two selections from each category will be showcased at ICASA 2025 in Accra, Ghana. Delegates at the conference will then vote to select the best entry from each category.
• The session will include in-person discussions, scoring based on detailed rubrics, and, ultimately, the selection of the best story.

Final Scoring Rubric:

• Narrative Impact (40%): Emotional resonance, clarity, and authenticity.
• Production Quality (25%): Visual and audio clarity, adherence to technical requirements.
• Bilingual Captioning (15%): Accuracy and ease of reading in both French and English.
• Overall Message and Social Impact (20%): Relevance to HIV issues and potential for community impact.

Logistics For Participants

• Guidelines & Support: Detailed submission guidelines, video production tips, and captioning instructions will be available. A dedicated helpline/email for technical or content-related queries.
• Data Privacy: Assurance that personal information and video content will be managed in compliance with data protection and confidentiality standards.

Terms and Conditions

• Intellectual Property: Participants grant the organizers a non-exclusive license to use the videos for promotional and educational purposes.
• Consent and Releases: Participants must ensure that any featured individuals have provided consent. Clear disclaimers about the use and distribution of submitted content.
• Disqualification Criteria: Entries that do not meet technical specifications (e.g., video length, captioning requirements) or violate content guidelines (e.g., hate speech, misinformation) will be disqualified.
• Award Details: $3000 for the first winner and $2000 for the second winner for each category.

Submission Details

Link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScq8DVcZfpooAZ0XItV6hN5YheAhlizJms1i23kNszi6qPcrQ/viewform

• Participants will upload their videos via a dedicated online link/platform.
• Submission form to include personal details (name, age, country, category), a brief synopsis of the video, and confirmation of consent regarding content usage.
• Upload your video now

For more information, please visit the SAA webpage: https://www.saafrica.org/pages/