Jan. 24, 2014

The Institute for Policy Research & Catholic Studies (IPR) is sponsoring a video contest on the topic "Solidarity." The grand prize winner of the contest, which is open to all current undergraduate and graduate students, will receive $1,000.

Contestants are asked to examine the concept of solidarity in the most creative manner they can. Videos must be two to five minutes long and will be judged on creativity, relevance to the topic, and overall presentation.

Daniel Petri, a Ph.D. student concentrating in political theory and graduate IPR fellow, said the solidarity theme was chosen in part because of Pope Francis, who has spoken in detail on the subject.

"Part of the purpose of this contest is to help [students] engage with Catholic social thought, given that we are The Catholic University of America and Catholic social thought is the foundation to Catholic public life," Petri said.

Videos will be accepted through March 15. Finalists will be selected and announced on the IPR website no later than the week of March 25. CUA students, staff, faculty and friends will be able to view entries and vote for their favorite finalist on the IPR blog, iprcua.com. Winners will be selected from a combination of online votes and scores from a panel of judges. Finalist videos will be showcased and contest winners will be announced April 5.

Entries must be submitted to CUA-IPRstaff@cua.edu . For more information, visit ipr.cua.edu .