2025 CCM Youth For Humanitarian Disarmament Multimedia Contest

Following on the success of the 2024 Youth for Humanitarian Disarmament Multimedia Contest, we are thrilled to announce the 2025 edition, and invite youth advocates everywhere to contribute to this vital conversation. The 2024 contest debut was instrumental to engaging humanitarian youth advocates in discussion on disarmament, the Convention on Cluster Munitions, and how the treaty contributes to universal peace, security and development goals. More than 60 multi-media submissions provided a rich perspective through which to view humanitarian disarmament successes, challenges, and grave concerns. We’re reprising the initiative for 2025, and we want to hear from young people age 18-29.

The 2025 initiative is a key component of the Philippines’ 13MSP Convention Presidency in conjunction with the CCM Implementation Support Unit (ISU) and reflects the Philippines’ longstanding commitment to strengthening the norms of humanitarian disarmament. This year’s iteration of the CCM Youth for Humanitarian Disarmament Multimedia Contest focuses on victim assistance and its larger societal impact, which is among the Philippines’ priorities for its presidency of the 13MSP to the CCM.

The contest is an open invitation to youth, aged 18-29, to share experiences and insights on how the CCM and humanitarian disarmament contribute to peace, security and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and specifically:

How a victim-centred approach to assistance, and life-saving Risk Education benefits the whole of society and promotes a comprehensive approach to human rights, disability rights, and economic and social rights.

Contestants are invited to develop multimedia submissions on this theme and what it means to you and your community. Materials should clearly illustrate connections between humanitarian disarmament, the SDGs, and personal experiences, hopes, and dreams. We welcome hearing and seeing your submissions!

Submission Criteria

Photography: Submit impactful photographs that capture how victim assistance and risk education efforts build strong communities and support humanitarian disarmament and sustainable development.
Visual Arts: e.g., Illustrations, Paintings, Digital Art.
Short Films/Animations: Entrants can create short videos or animations that tell a story, share information, or advocate for action regarding the promotion of the CCM, victim assistance, or risk education, and how these build strong communities, support humanitarian disarmament and sustainable development, and contribute to peace and security.

Submission Guidelines:

One (1) submission per person.
Submissions must be sent by an applicant acting in their own personal or organizational capacity and not on behalf of a commercial enterprise, company, or government.
All submissions must be original work by the applicant, with acknowledgment of referenced proprietary material such as quotes, which must be clearly indicated and acknowledged as such. Any use of artificial intelligence must be based on the applicants original concept and content.
Any materials submitted for the competition will undergo a thorough review for plagiarism and may be disqualified if any evidence of plagiarism is found.

Format: All submissions must include a freely accessible file of work being submitted (no passwords or other limitations on downloading and transferring), and be accompanied by a brief written description.

Length: Video shorts/animations must be under 3 minutes in length.

Language: Submissions can be submitted in any UN language. Entrants are encouraged to send their submission in their native language and should provide a courtesy translation in English.

Non-Politicization and contextualization: All contest entries must adhere to the principle of non-politicization. The purpose of this creative contest is to foster understanding, awareness, and dialogue on the broader issues of assistance to victims, risk education, humanitarian disarmament, peace, security and development.

Note: Contestants agree for their contribution to be used by the organizers for public outreach efforts including web-based communications, webpages, social media, and on-site exhibitions/public presentations. Any use of the materials will automatically include acknowledgment of the author. Only entries submitted by the June 2025 closing date (TBC) will be considered.

Participants are kindly requested to:

Promote Inclusivity – Entries should aim to be inclusive and encourage a global perspective. Emphasize the shared humanity and collective responsibility in addressing issues related to humanitarian disarmament. Submissions from, about, and including survivors of cluster munitions and communities directly impacted by cluster munitions, are highly encouraged!

Highlight Universal Values – Entries should focus on universal values such as peace, human rights, and cooperation. The intention is to create a space for constructive dialogue and understanding that transcends specific geopolitical contexts.

By adhering to these guidelines, participants contribute to the creation of an inclusive and constructive dialogue that transcends political boundaries, promoting a shared commitment to strengthening humanitarian disarmament and addressing the challenges posed by cluster munitions.

Participation criteria:

Age-range: 18-29 years old by June 16th 2025 (exact date to be confirmed).
We encourage applications, without distinction, on the basis of gender, racial, ethnic or social origin, language, religion or belief, political or any other opinion, membership of a national minority, disability, nationality, sexual orientation or gender identity.
The organizers have the right at any time to require proof of identity and/or eligibility to participate in the competition. Failure to provide such proof may result in disqualification. All personal and other information requested by and supplied to the organizers for the purpose of the competition must be truthful, complete, accurate, and in no way misleading.
If selected, contestants should be available to travel to Geneva in September 2025 during the 13th Meeting of States Parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

Evaluation Criteria:

Entries will be judged by an expert panel based on the following criteria:

Creativity and originality: How well does the entry engage the audience and present unique perspectives on the topic?
Clarity and coherence: Is the message clear, and does the submission effectively convey the links between cluster munitions and risk education; humanitarian disarmament and the Sustainable Development Goals
Impact and emotional resonance: Does the entry evoke emotions, inspire empathy, and encourage reflection?
Relevance to the theme: How well does the entry address the specified theme of assistance to victims, risk education, humanitarian disarmament and Sustainable Development Goals?

PRIZE:

The winner will be invited to present their submission in-person at the 13th Meeting of States Parties (13 MSP) in Geneva in September 2025, with travel related expenses and lodging to be paid by the contest organizers.

Selected submissions will also be portrayed in an exhibition at the Palais de Nations during the 13 MSP.
The winner will be announced in summer 2025.

Submission Instructions:

Submit via email: info@ccmconvention.org . Larger multimedia files can be shared to this email via WeTransfer (https://wetransfer.com/ ). Please indicate your country of residence, any organizational or work affiliation of relevance, and social media tags for acknowledgment of your work. If you do not receive a confirmation email, please do resend to ensure your submission is accounted for (we do not want to miss your contribution!).

Further resources

1) Cluster Munition Risk Education:

“Explosive ordnance risk education (EORE) activities seek to reduce the risk of injury from explosive ordnance (EO) by raising awareness of the risks and promoting behavioural change among women, girls, boys, and men in affected communities [1]”. Imagine you’re playing a game with your friends, and you come across something that looks like a toy, yet it turns out to be a dangerous object. Risk education regarding cluster munitions is about being thought about dangers and learning how to recognize and avoid these explosive remnants of war to stay safe. Risk education teaches about the dangers of cluster munitions so that people can protect themselves and their communities from harm.

2) Humanitarian Disarmament and Cluster Munitions

Humanitarian disarmament seeks to prevent and remediate arms-inflicted human suffering and environmental harm through the establishment and implementation of norms. This approach to disarmament is people-centered in substance and process. Humanitarian disarmament standards have often been adopted in international treaties. They can also be promulgated through other means, such as political commitments or domestic legislation [2]. It emphasizes the humanitarian consequences of weapons that are inhumane and indiscriminate by nature, such as cluster munitions. The Convention on Cluster Munitions is a humanitarian convention.

3) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Cluster Munitions:

Cluster munitions pose significant challenges to achieving several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) due to their humanitarian impact and long-lasting effects on communities. Here’s how they intersect with some of the SDGs:

SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being: Cluster munitions cause severe injuries and fatalities, leading to long-term health issues and disabilities among survivors. Addressing the harm caused by cluster munitions is crucial for achieving this goal by ensuring access to healthcare services and rehabilitation for affected individuals.

SDG 5: Gender Equality: Persons of different gender identities and expressions may be impacted differently by cluster munition remnant contamination. Because of social and economic roles, men and boys are much more likely to be killed or injured in cluster munition remnant accidents. Women and girls are more often indirect victims. Because of predominant gender norms, they are often expected to take on a caregiving role for survivors and provide financial support for their families when the main provider is injured or killed [3].By integrating a gender perspective into disarmament efforts and humanitarian responses, we can better address the gender-specific impacts of cluster munitions and advance the goals of gender equality and women’s empowerment outlined in SDG 5.

SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities: Cluster munitions contaminate land and pose significant risks to civilian populations, hindering efforts to create safe and sustainable urban environments. Clearing affected areas of explosive remnants of war is essential for ensuring the safety and well-being of communities and promoting sustainable development.

SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions: Cluster munitions contribute to instability and undermine efforts to build peaceful and inclusive societies. Eliminating these weapons and promoting disarmament initiatives are essential for achieving sustainable peace, reducing violence, and strengthening institutions. Addressing the humanitarian and environmental consequences of cluster munitions aligns with the overarching goals of sustainable development by promoting peace, protecting human rights, and building resilient communities free from the threat of explosive remnants of war.

[1] https://www.gichd.org/our-response/explosive-ordnance-risk-education/

[2] https://humanitariandisarmament.org/about/#:~:text=Humanitarian%20disarmament%20seeks%20to%20prevent,centered%20in%20substance%20and%20process

[3] https://www.gichd.org/fileadmin/uploads/gichd/Publications/GICHD-DIG_Factsheet_CCM_updated.pdf