Green Europe Challenge
The Green Europe Challenge was a transatlantic dialogue competition organized by The George Washington University French Embassy Center of Excellence in partnership with the Georgetown University BMW Center for German and European Studies. During the competition U.S. and European students from George Washington University, King’s College London, and Sciences Po Paris worked together in transatlantic teams to produce video responses to a lecture by Sciences Po Lyon Professor Jerome Blanc on the economics of sustainability and solidarity.
Green Europe was an international lecture series that brought together leading scholars, officials, and experts to discuss transatlantic environmentalism and sustainability. The students submitting the top-ranked video response to the Green Europe Challenge were invited to serve as respondents to the series in December 2020 and their video was published to conference participants.
Specifically, the U.S. and European students enrolling in the competition were be paired with teammates to produce a video responding to Professor Blanc’s lecture, “Economics of Sustainability and Solidarity.”Jerome Blanc is an economics professor and president of the scientific committee at Sciences Po Lyon where he specializes in economic policy, sustainable development, and monetary theory. Video responses were 5 minutes in length and took the form of narrated powerpoint/slideshows, basic video presentations, or any creative video formats.
Click here to view the schedule and instructions for the 2020 Green Europe Competition.
Schedule:
October 2 - Registration Deadline: Click here to register for the program!
October 7 - Team Announcement: We will send emails to all registered students connecting them to their partners from the other schools. Teams should then create a team name which they can submit here.
October 19 - Green Europe Lecture by Professor Jerome Blanc (link forthcoming)
October 23 - Draft Outlines: After watching Professor Blanc's lecture, all participants should work individually to prepare, submit and circulate to their teammates a proposed outline for a video responding to and/or reflecting on the lecture. These are meant to be brief documents and are intended to ensure all team members invest time preparing to contribute to their team's project. Each participant is required to submit their proposed video outline to competition administrators and to circulate their individual outline to their teammates. Teams are not required to hold to their outlines but should instead use the outlines as the starting points for discussing and negotiating your team project during your first team planning conference. Click here to submit your outline!
October 28 - First Team Planning Conference: By Wednesday, October 28, all teams must confirm that they have held at least one online conference involving all three team members to discuss and begin development of their video submissions.
November 9 - Final Video Submission: Click here to submit your video!
December 2 - Student Panel: On December 2nd, winning students will present their video as part of a panel during the Green Europe Series.
How to Make Your Video
Step 1: Discuss the topic and video plan with your team. Find an approach that inspires you. Your video can be material or presentations that you have filmed, with your own voice and comments, or a combination of your own material and additional content.
Step 2: If you wish to insert additional content, think about what you might use. Are there publicly available graphs or photos that could be included in your video?
Step 3: Write your script (what you plan to say during your video) and practice it with your team members.
Step 4: Now you're ready to film. You can use any video format to film your video. That means you can use a voiced-over presentation, a virtual roundtable discussion, or anything else in between.
Step 5: Once your video has been recorded and edited, watch it back one time. Is it within the time limit? Did you say everything you wanted to say? If so, you’re ready to upload the video.
Keep in mind that:
Videos should vividly illustrate your team’s thesis
Videos should rely on genuine facts and researched data
Preferably videos should demonstrate your creativity by multimedia means
Be creative! We encourage you to use computer software or apps to add effects to your video. Some app options include iMovie (Mac), Movie Maker (Windows), Wondershare Filmora, or Lightworks. There are many other options out there as well!
Uploading the video
Step 1: Once the video is on a computer, we recommend using youtube.com and finding the upload button in the top right hand corner.
Step 2: When uploading the video please select “unlisted”, this means that only those with the link to the video can view it.
Step 3: The title for your video should be [Your Team Name] Green Europe 2020".
Step 4: Wait! it might take a few minutes for your video to upload, the site will let you know when it’s done.
Step 5: Once your video is uploaded you are ready to submit!
Go here to fill out the form to submit your video.
Green Europe Challenge: Judging Rubric
As part of the Green Europe Challenge, students are tasked with creating a 5 minute video response to Professor Jerome Blanc’s lecture on the economics of sustainability and solidarity. The response took many forms and each team has room for creativity in how they best feel the response should look. The videos will be judged through two major criteria:
Substance: Students should clearly and succinctly explain their main thesis through their response. Judges will be looking for well developed and defended primary arguments using logic and evidence as necessary. Videos which are well organized, easy to follow, and presented in a manner that keeps the judge’s attention will showcase creativity and command of the subject matter.
Quality of Video Presentation: Though the format of the video is up to each team, students should incorporate effective visuals, videos, or any other aid as needed to strengthen their presentation. Additionally, all videos should include each member of the three person team to hear the collection of arguments and perspectives rather than one voice.
We look forward to your responses!
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