NASPAA Presents The MPA|MPP YouTube Public Policy Challenge

IMMIGRATION ISSUE TOPIC OF WINNING YOU TUBE VIDEO!
CREATIVE VIDEO IS ‘POWERFUL IN ITS SIMPLICITY’

One of the hottest political debates in the nation is the topic of the winning entry in the 'MPA/MPP You Tube Public Policy Challenge: Change the World in 1 Minute' contest. The winning, one-minute-long-policy-video, is titled 'Crossing Lines'. It was created by Jon Hickey who is an MPA (Masters of Public Administration) student at the Evans School of Public Affairs at the University of Washington in Seattle.

"Immigration has become an important issue in the United States. I was tired of hearing the same old arguments on TV, so I wanted to make a video that made people look at immigration from a different point of view,” Hickey says.

Hickey also tried to be creative and different and chose to create his video by color cartoon instead of filming real people or places.

“Simplifying things seemed to be the best way to communicate. While I don't believe watering down issues is the best way to handle the problem, I found there is a certain advantage to breaking an issue down to its component parts.”

Crossing Lines: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxhLjizL6qY

One of the judges, Chris Wolz (who holds an MPA degree from Harvard’s Kennedy School and is President and CEO of Forum One Communications; an internet strategy and technology consulting firm), remarked about the winner: It’s "clear and compelling development of the issue…emotional and very well done. Very creative. Powerful through simplicity," says Wolz.

Iraq is the backdrop for the 2nd place video "Battle on the Home Front" by Jenny Frasco an MPA student at Grand Valley State in Rockford, Michigan.

Frasco found combining passion and technology will help her career ahead:

"passion has its place in public administration as well as the ability to apply that passion into practical application. Passion is essential to making change and technology plays an important role in reaching out to those we inspire. As a student it will be important to know and understand the use of technology when I begin my career in public administration.”

Battle on the Home Front:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-dqySvADr4

The issue of sex trafficking is the topic of the third place video: "Modern Day Slavery. Slaves Among Us" by Patrick Bell, an MPA student at Seattle University.

Bell found it challenging to convey his views onto video but worthwhile in doing so: “Having an idea about how to solve a problem is one thing. Translating that into a workable public policy solution, or an activist movement, is quite another. Overall, it was a fun and exhilarating process, especially when I saw that the video had received over 1,000 views!”

Modern Day Slavery. Slaves Among Us: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rE2AJTIzyo

The contest was organized by the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA). Fifteen MPA/MPP students were finalists and officially entered in the competition. Their videos have been viewed over 6,000 times so far. One of the motivations for the 'MPA/MPP You Tube Challenge' was to make public policy come alive so prospective students can learn about the important issues that exist and the abilities of MPA/MPP students to communicate them in a modern media environment. NASPAA Executive Director Laurel McFarland believes “the next generation of professionals in public service will have grown up completely immersed in the culture of "new media"-- using the web to gather and exchange information. NASPAA is pleased to support this contest to challenge our students to communicate public policy issues concisely and effectively in this fast-changing video web environment. The serious and topical theme of immigration chosen by the winner-- and all the issues covered by the finalists-- show how important professional training for public service remains. The medium may change, but the message still matters. Those MPAs and MPPs skilled in public policy analysis and public management can be effective leaders and change agents in this new media era.” NASPAA represents 255 Master's of Public Administration & Public Policy Schools in 49 states. Our schools train graduates for a career in professional public service in government, nonprofits, consulting, environment and international sectors. www.naspaa.org. TO VIEW TOP 3 WINNING VIDEOS: CROSSING LINES: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxhLjizL6qY BATTLE ON THE HOME FRONT: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-dqySvADr4 MODERN DAY SLAVERY: SLAVES AMONG US: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rE2AJTIzyo TO VIEW ALL FINAL VIDEOS ENTERED: http://www.youtube.com/group/mpachallenge

CONTEST DETAILS: WINNING PRIZE $1,000 prize and an expense paid trip to attend NASPAA’s national conference including air, hotel and luncheon.* Your winning video will be shown at NASPAA's national conference in October. Attending are deans, directors, faculty and students from NASPAA member MPA/MPP schools across the country. JUDGING CRITERIA & JUDGES Topic Choice and Solution=40% Creativity and Originality= 30% Overall Appeal and Quality=30% JUDGES Kathryn Newcomer, President of NASPAA Chris Wolz, MPA & Founder of Forum One Communications Jeremy Bronson, Producer with Chris Matthews 'Hardball' on MSNBC THE CHALLENGE! "Select a public policy problem, current topical issue or societal challenge and offer your solution on video in 60 seconds or less. The topic choice can be local, national or international in scope. The winning videos will be judged on creativity, content, topic choice and your proposed solution to the problem/challenge."
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