ASIAN AMERICAN SCHOLAR FORUM’S
YOUTH AMBASSADOR FOR SCIENCE CONTEST 2024
OFFICIAL RULES
Important: Please read these Official Rules before entering this Contest (the “Contest”).
By participating in this Contest, you agree to be bound by these Official Rules and represent that you satisfy all of the eligibility requirements below.
NO PURCHASE IS NECESSARY TO ENTER THIS CONTEST. Contest void where prohibited by law. Subject to applicable federal, state, and local laws.
1. Eligibility:
The Contest is open only to legal residents of the 50 United States or District of Columbia who are 14 to 18 years old at the time of entry, and whose parent or legal guardian agrees that the parent or legal guardian and entrant have each read, understood, and agreed to these Official Rules with the entry, and that such agreement constitutes acceptance of these Official Rules on behalf of the parent or legal guardian and entrant. Officers, managers, and employees of the Asian American Scholar Forum (“Sponsor”), Instagram, Inc., TikTok, Inc., YouTube, LLC, and any of their respective parent companies, affiliate companies, subsidiaries, agents, professional advisors, sponsors, advertising, promotional, public relations, and fulfillment agencies, consultants, legal counsel, website providers, web masters, and immediate family members (spouses, parent, child, sibling, grandparent, and “step” child, wherever they may live) of each are not eligible to win any prize. IF YOU DO NOT MEET ANY OF THESE REQUIREMENTS, OR ANY OTHER ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS IN THESE OFFICIAL RULES, YOU ARE NOT ELIGIBLE TO WIN A PRIZE. To be eligible to win a prize, entries must be completed and received by Sponsor in the manner and format designated below. CONTEST IS IN NO WAY SPONSORED, ENDORSED, ADMINISTERED BY, OR ASSOCIATED WITH, YOUTUBE, LLC, INSTAGRAM, INC., OR TIKTOK, INC.
2. Contest Period:
The Contest starts at 12:00:01 a.m. Eastern Time (ET) on May 1, 2024 and ends at 11:59:59 p.m. (ET) on July 8, 2024 (the “Contest Period”). All entries must be received during the Contest Period and meet other requirements in these Official Rules to be eligible to win a prize. Sponsor’s or its designee’s computer is the official time-keeping device for the Contest.
3. How to Enter:
Scientists of Asian-American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) descent have contributed numerous technological innovations and scientific breakthroughs that influence your daily life. Yet, the general public often finds it difficult to name any of these accomplished individuals. AAPI Month presents a valuable opportunity to explore and commend the accomplishments of AAPI scientists. This “Youth Ambassador for Science” competition invites high schoolers to make videos and post them on social media to highlight five scientist(s) to be honored with the Asian American Scholar Pioneer Award by Asian American Scholar Forum (AASF).
To enter, complete the following steps during the Contest Period:
(1) Visit https://aasforum.org/video-competition to learn about and identify one of five eligible AAPI Scientists (or scientist pairs in the case of Simon Sze and Dawon Kahng), (a) Nasir Ahmed, (b) Frank Chang, (c) Teresa Meng, (d) Raj Reddy, or (e) Simon Sze paired with Dawon Kahng (each a “Scientist Submission Category”), to create a video about.
(2) Create a video profiling the scientist for your chosen Scientist Submission Category and highlighting their contributions to the world (the “Video”). We recommend reviewing the Judging Categories identified in Section 5 below, as there will be 8 prizes awarded for each Scientist Submission Category, with each prize having its own Judging Criteria.
(3) Submit your Video to Sponsor via both a Social Media Posting (choose at least one method of Social Media Posting below) and a Contest Website Submission as instructed below:
a) Social Media Posting: Post your Video to social media via one of the following methods of entry:
Instagram Method of Entry: (i) Log-in or join Instagram at www.instagram.com and set your account to “public” (joining Instagram is free); (ii) follow @aasforum on Instagram; (iii) post your Video to Instagram, along with the hashtag #aasf_contest (these required hashtags must appear in the post caption, NOT in the comments, for the submission to be valid) and tag @aasforum. Submissions CANNOT be posted as Instagram Stories.
TikTok Method of Entry: (i) Log in or join TikTok (account must not be set to “private”; creating a TikTok account is free); (ii) follow @aasforumon TikTok; and (iii) post your Video to TikTok and, in the description section of your Video, include the hashtag #aasf_contest and tag @aasforum. Entrants must not use TikTok to cross post their Video to other social media platforms without including the hashtag in the other social media platform post.
YouTube Method of Entry: (i) Log-in or create an account YouTube at www.youtube.com (joining YouTube is free); (ii) post your Video to YouTube and, in the description section of your Video, include the hashtag #aasf_contest.
b) Contest Website Submission: Visit https://aasforum.org/video-competition/submit and submit (1) a publicly accessible URL link to where you Video can be viewed; and (2) a publicly accessible Google Drive URL to a screenshot of your Video appearing posted to social media and showing the number of “likes” it received in total, and any other information requested by the submission form.
If the same video is posted on multiple social media platforms, you can choose any one of them. We recommend that you choose the one with the most likes.
The screenshot must clearly show the number of likes (or the equivalent figure, e.g., “hearts” on Instagram) the video has received on the social media platform of your choice. You will be able to edit your submission including updating your screenshot for an unlimited number of times until the end of the Contest Period.
If you create multiple videos, you must make separate submissions, one submission per video. For each submission to be eligible for any prize, the submitted URL to your video must remain publicly accessible until the announcement of winners.
Raw video files are not needed at the time of the submission, but must be provided to Sponsor upon request by Sponsor, prior to the announcement of winners.
By submitting a Video as instructed above (a “Submission”), you agree that your Submission conforms to the Guidelines and Restrictions detailed below. Sponsor may choose to remove any Submission or disqualify you from the Contest if it believes that your Submission fails to conform with the Guidelines and Restrictions. Upon completion of entry steps and compliance with the Guidelines and Restrictions, you will automatically receive one entry into the Contest.
Submission Guidelines and Restrictions
Your Submission must be less than 45 seconds in total length.
Your Submission must not supply untruthful, incomplete, inaccurate or misleading information.
Your Submission must be your original creation and be owned 100% by you.
Your Submission must not (in Sponsor’s discretion): (i) violate any third-party rights, including copyrights, trademark rights, or rights of privacy and publicity; (ii) contain disparaging or defamatory statements; (iii) include threats to any person, place, business, or group; (iv) be obscene, offensive, or indecent; (v) depict any risky behavior; (vi) contain material that promotes bigotry, racism, hatred or harm against any group or individual or promotes discrimination based on race, gender, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation or age; and/or (vii) contain unauthorized third-party trademarks or logos.
You represent and warrant that: (i) the Submission does not violate any applicable law, rule or regulation; (ii) to the extent the Submission depicts any real individual or features any other qualities of any real individual (apart from the AAPI scientist you selected for your Scientist Submission Category), you are the individual pictured, heard, or otherwise featured in the Submission, or, alternatively, that you have obtained written permission from each person appearing in the entry to grant the rights to Sponsor described in these Official Rules, and will make written copies of such permissions available to Sponsor upon request; and (iii) the Submission complies with all requirements of these Official Rules.
If participating in this Contest via your mobile device (which service may only be available via select devices and participating wireless carriers, and is not required to enter), you may be charged for standard data use from your mobile device according to the terms in your wireless service provider’s data plan. Normal airtime and carrier charges and other charges may apply to data use and will be billed on your wireless device bill or deducted from your pre-paid balance. Wireless carrier rates vary, so you should contact your wireless carrier for information on your specific data plan.
4. Identity of Entrant:
All Submissions must be submitted by the individual entrant. Bulk or automated entries will be disqualified (including entries made using any script, macro, bot, or promotional service). Multiple participants are not permitted to share the same email account. Any attempt to obtain additional entries through fraud or other illegitimate means will result in disqualification, at Sponsor’s discretion.
In the event of a dispute about the identity of the entrant using the online entry method, entries will be declared made by the authorized account holder of the email address submitted in connection with the Submission. An “authorized account holder” means the natural person who is assigned to an e-mail address by an Internet access provider, online service provider or other organization (e.g., business, educational institution, etc.) that is responsible for assigning e-mail addresses for the domain associated with the submitted e-mail address. The potential winner may be required to provide Sponsor with proof that the potential winner is the authorized account holder of the email account associated with the winning entry.
5. Selection and Notification of Winner:
From July 9, 2024 to about July 16, 2024, a panel of judges (“Judges”) selected at Sponsor’s discretion will score each Submission based on the Judging Criteria below.
“Judging Criteria” for Submissions
Interestingness (100 points): How captivating is the Submission? That is, to what extent can the Submission hold a viewer’s attention and make them want to watch from start to end?
Impact (100 points): How influential is the Submission on social media in terms of the number of likes it receives, as reported on the submitted screenshot? 1 point per like for the first 80 likes; 0.1 point per like for the remaining likes; the maximum score is capped at 100 points. For example, a Submission with 80 likes will receive 80 points; a submission with 90 likes will receive 81 points; a Submission with 300 likes will receive 100 points. The submitted screenshot can be updated to report the latest number of likes until the end of the Contest Period (therefore, it is recommended that entrants update their screenshot on the final day of the Contest Period if their likes have increased since originally submitted). Sponsor reserves the right to disqualify a submission if Sponsor, in its discretion, determines that the number of likes in the screenshot has been falsified.
Informativeness (100 points): How informative is the Submission regarding the contribution(s) to the world of the scientist for your chosen Scientist Submission Category? (e.g., a high score could be obtained by being highly informative about a specific contribution or informative about the scientist’s broader contributions as a whole).
Creativity (100 points): How creative and unique is the Submission? Creativity can be in storytelling, visual presentation, audio, editing, and/or other artistic/technical aspects of the Submission.
Science exposition (100 points): How clear and accessible are the explanations and presentations of the scientific contributions in the Submission?
[Where applicable] Original music criterion 1 (100 points): How well does the music make the video more engaging and interesting?
[Where applicable] Original music criterion 2 (100 points): How well does the music synchronize and cohere with the visual content?
[Where applicable] Animation (100 points): How effective is the use of animation in the Submission?
[Where applicable] AI use (100 points): How impressive and effective is the AI generated content in the Submission?
[Where applicable] Humor (100 points): How humorous is the Submission?
Judges will then weigh the Submission’s scores in the manner outlined below for each of the Judging Categories identified below to identify a final weighted score for each Submission in each eligible Judging Category.
“Judging Categories” for Submissions
Best video
Interestingness (25%)
Impact (15%)
Informativeness (20%)
Creativity (20%)
Science exposition (20%)
Best ultrashort video (20 seconds or less).
Interestingness (70%)
Impact (15%)
Informativeness (5%)
Creativity (5%)
Science exposition (5%)
Best science exposition.
Interestingness (15%)
Impact (15%)
Informativeness (15%)
Creativity (5%)
Science exposition (50%)
Best use of AI. Eligible if the Submission contains a total of 10 seconds or more of AI generated content such as script, narration, audio, and video.
AI use (50%)
Interestingness (20%)
Impact (15%)
Informativeness (5%)
Creativity (5%)
Science exposition (5%)
Best animation. Eligible if the Submission contains a total of 10 seconds or more of content consisting primarily of animation (any form of animation qualifies).
Animation (50%)
Interestingness (20%)
Impact (15%)
Informativeness (5%)
Creativity (5%)
Science exposition (5%)
Most Creative.
Interestingness (25%)
Impact (15%)
Informativeness (5%)
Creativity (50%)
Science exposition (5%)
Best original music. Eligible if the Submission contains a total of 10 seconds or more of original music.
Original music criterion 1 (26%)
Original music criterion 2 (24%)
Interestingness (20%)
Impact (15%)
Informativeness (5%)
Creativity (5%)
Science exposition (5%)
Best comedy.
Humor (50%)
Interestingness (20%)
Impact (15%)
Informativeness (5%)
Creativity (5%)
Science exposition (5%)
In the unlikely event of a tie, the winner will be determined by the Judges based on highest score in the most highly weighted Judging Criteria for the applicable Scientist Submission Category. Odds of winning a prize depend on number and quality of eligible entries received.
For each Scientist Submission Category, the one eligible Submission that receives the highest scores in each Judging Category will each be deemed a potential winner. Odds of winning a prize depend on number and quality of eligible entries received.
Each potential winner will be notified via email on or about July 16, 2024. All prizes will be awarded in the name of the winner's parent or legal guardian on behalf of the winner. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, Sponsor will require each potential winner and his/her parent or legal guardian to sign and return, within seven days of being notified, an Affidavit of Eligibility and Liability/Publicity Release in order to claim his/her prize. If (i) the attempted notification is returned as undeliverable without a forwarding address; (ii) any required documents are not returned within seven days, such as the Affidavit of Eligibility and Liability/Publicity Release; or (iii) if potential winner is otherwise unable to accept the prize as stated, the prize will be forfeited and will be awarded to the next highest scoring Submission in accordance with the Judging Criteria, subject to Sponsor’s verification. Judging will occur until all prizes are awarded. If, by reason of a print or other error, more prizes are claimed than the number set forth in these Official Rules, the prize(s) will be awarded to the Finalist or Runner Up (as the case may be) with the highest scoring Submission in accordance with the Judging Criteria from among all eligible claimants making purportedly valid claims to award the prizes available.
Verification of Potential Winner: EACH POTENTIAL WINNER IS SUBJECT TO VERIFICATION BY SPONSOR, WHOSE DECISIONS ARE FINAL AND BINDING IN ALL MATTERS RELATED TO THE CONTEST. SPONSOR MAY DISQUALIFY SUBMISSIONS THAT ARE POTENTIALLY INFRINGING THIRD-PARTY RIGHTS. AN ENTRANT IS NOT A PRIZE WINNER UNLESS AND UNTIL ENTRANT’S ELIGIBILITY HAS BEEN VERIFIED AND ENTRANT HAS BEEN NOTIFIED THAT VERIFICATION IS COMPLETE AND NO FURTHER ACTION IS NEEDED.
6. Prize:
Forty (40) winners, the parent/guardian of the entrant with the highest scoring eligible Submission from each Judging Category for each Scientist Submission Category, will each receive one $1,000.00 visa gift card. Total ARV of all prizes in the Contest: $40,000.00.
Sponsor may also choose in its discretion to invite, or not invite, select entrants to AASF Asian American Pioneer Medal Symposium/Ceremony at Stanford, CA on July 27, 2024. Winning a prize does not guarantee such an invitation.
Prize Restrictions: ALL FEDERAL, STATE AND LOCAL TAXES ASSOCIATED WITH THE RECEIPT OR USE OF ANY PRIZE ARE THE SOLE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE WINNER. Prizes are not transferable. No substitutions or exchanges of any prize (including for cash) will be permitted, except that Sponsor reserves the right to substitute a prize of comparable or greater value for any prize at Sponsor’s discretion. Sponsor will not replace any lost or stolen prizes or prize components. Only the number of prizes stated in these Official Rules are available to be won in the Contest.
Except for applicable manufacturer’s standard warranties, the prize is awarded “AS IS” and WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, express or implied (including any implied warranty of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose).
7. Disclaimer:
Sponsor and any of their parent companies, subsidiaries, affiliates, directors, officers, professional advisors, consultants, contractors, legal counsel, public relations firms, employees and advertising, fulfillment and marketing agencies (collectively, the “Released Parties”) will not be responsible for: (a) any late, lost, misrouted, garbled or distorted or damaged transmissions or entries; (b) phone, electronic, hardware, software, network, Internet, or other computer or communications-related malfunctions or failures beyond Sponsor or the Released Parties’ reasonable control; (c) any Contest disruptions, injuries, losses or damages caused by events beyond the reasonable control of Sponsor or the Released Parties by non-authorized human intervention; or (d) any printing or typographical errors in any materials associated with the Contest.
8. Limitations of Liability; Releases:
By entering the Contest, you and your parent or legal guardian release Sponsor and all Released Parties from any liability whatsoever, and waive any and all causes of action, related to any claims, costs, injuries, losses, or damages of any kind arising out of or in connection with the Contest or delivery, misdelivery, acceptance, possession, use of, or inability to use any prize (including claims, costs, injuries, losses and damages related to rights of publicity or privacy, defamation or portrayal in a false light, whether intentional or unintentional), whether under a theory of contract, tort (including negligence), warranty or other theory.
YOU AND YOUR PARENT OR LEGAL GUARDIAN FURTHER AGREE TO INDEMNIFY EACH OF THE RELEASED PARTIES FROM ANY CLAIMS, COSTS, INJURIES, LOSSES, OR DAMAGES DESCRIBED IN THE PRECEDING PARAGRAPH WHICH MAY BE SUFFERED BY YOU.
TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, IN NO EVENT WILL THE SPONSOR OR THE RELEASED PARTIES BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, INCLUDING LOSS OF USE, LOSS OF PROFITS OR LOSS OF DATA, WHETHER IN AN ACTION IN CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE) OR OTHERWISE, ARISING OUT OF OR IN ANY WAY CONNECTED TO YOUR PARTICIPATION IN THE CONTEST OR USE OR INABILITY TO USE ANY EQUIPMENT PROVIDED FOR USE IN THE CONTEST OR ANY PRIZE, EVEN IF A RELEASED PARTY HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.
TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, IN NO EVENT WILL THE AGGREGATE LIABILITY OF THE RELEASED PARTIES (JOINTLY) ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO YOUR PARTICIPATION IN THE CONTEST OR USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE ANY EQUIPMENT PROVIDED FOR USE IN THE CONTEST OR ANY PRIZE EXCEED $10. THE LIMITATIONS SET FORTH IN THIS SECTION WILL NOT EXCLUDE OR LIMIT LIABILITY FOR PERSONAL INJURY OR PROPERTY DAMAGE CAUSED BY PRODUCTS BOUGHT FROM THE SPONSOR, OR FOR THE RELEASED PARTIES’ GROSS NEGLIGENCE, INTENTIONAL MISCONDUCT, OR FOR FRAUD.
9. Use of Name, Likeness, etc.:
To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, entry into the Contest constitutes permission to use your name, grade, hometown, school, aural, and visual likeness, prize information, and any other information included in your Submission without further permission or compensation in connection with the Contest (and in a public-facing winner list). By entering this Contest, you consent to being contacted by Sponsor for any purpose in connection with this Contest.
10. License to Submission:
By entering the Contest and providing your Submission in connection with the Contest, you hereby grant to Sponsor a perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free, worldwide, nonexclusive license to publish, reproduce, publicly display, perform, distribute, adapt, edit, modify, translate, create derivative works based upon, and otherwise use and sublicense your Submission, or any portion thereof (including your name, grade, hometown, school, and likeness as shown and conveyed in the Submission), in connection with the Contest. You agree that it is your sole responsibility to obtain all permissions and releases necessary for the grant of the rights contained in this paragraph. You agree to take, at Sponsor's expense, any further action (including execution of affidavits, tax forms, and other documents) reasonably requested by Sponsor to effect, perfect or confirm Sponsor's rights as set forth above in this paragraph. You will not be entitled to compensation for any use by Sponsor, or its agents, licensees or assignees, of your Submission.
11. Winner List; Rules Request:
To see the winner list, visit https://aasforum.org/video-competition after July 27, 2024 and before July 27, 2025. To obtain a copy of these Official Rules, visit https://aasforum.org/video-competition/official-rules.
12. Intellectual Property Notice:
ASIAN AMERICAN SCHOLAR FORUM is a trademark of Asian American Scholar Forum. The Contest and all accompanying materials are copyright © 2024 by Asian American Scholar Forum. All rights reserved.
13. Disputes:
EACH ENTRANT AND THEIR PARENTS OR GUARDIANS AGREE THAT ANY DISPUTES, CLAIMS, AND CAUSES OF ACTION ARISING OUT OF OR CONNECTED WITH THIS CONTEST OR ANY PRIZE AWARDED WILL BE RESOLVED INDIVIDUALLY, WITHOUT RESORT TO ANY FORM OF CLASS ACTION, AND EXCLUSIVELY BY THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK OR THE APPROPRIATE STATE COURT LOCATED IN NEW YORK, NEW YORK. THESE OFFICIAL RULES ARE GOVERNED BY THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, WITHOUT REGARD TO CHOICE OF LAW OR CONFLICT OF LAWS RULES. YOU WAIVE ANY AND ALL OBJECTIONS TO JURISDICTION AND VENUE IN THESE COURTS AND HEREBY SUBMIT TO THE JURISDICTION OF THOSE COURTS.
14. General Conditions:
Entrants agree to be bound by these Official Rules and by the decisions of Sponsor, which are final and binding in all respects. Sponsor reserves the right to change these Official Rules at any time, in its discretion, and to suspend or cancel the Contest or any entrant's participation in the Contest should viruses, bugs, unauthorized human intervention or other causes beyond Sponsor's reasonable control affect the administration, security or proper play of the Contest, or Sponsor otherwise becomes (in its discretion) incapable of running the Contest as planned. Entrants who violate these Official Rules, violate any law, rule or regulation in connection with participation in the Contest, tamper with the operation of the Contest or engage in any conduct that is detrimental or unfair to Sponsor, the Contest or any other entrant (as determined in Sponsor's discretion) are subject to disqualification from the Contest. Sponsor reserves the right to lock out persons whose eligibility is in question or who have been disqualified or are otherwise ineligible to enter the Contest. Sponsor reserves the right to disqualify any entries received that contain inappropriate or offensive content. Sponsor’s failure to enforce any term of these Official Rules will not constitute a waiver of that provision. Any provision of these Official Rules deemed unenforceable will be enforced to the extent permissible, and the remainder of these Official Rules will remain in effect. The use of the terms “include” or “including” in these Official Rules is illustrative and not limiting.
15. Sponsor:
Asian American Scholar Forum, 1776 Broadway, Suite 1101 New York, NY 10019.