Introduction
We’re happy to present Dites-le en vidéo : a new contest for students across Canada to showcase their French speaking and video making skills!
This hugely successful online competition was first piloted in spring 2020 to offer an alternative event during the COVID-19 pandemic, when many in-person opportunities were cancelled. While most in-person events have now returned, many students told us that they really enjoyed the more casual and accessible virtual format.
We’re inviting students from across Canada to submit videos in French on anything from their favourite hobbies to their takes on current events – we want to learn all about what students are passionate about!
October 16th, 2023: Submissions open
November 19th, 2023 at 11:59 PM PACIFIC TIME: Submissions close
December 18th, 2023: Winners announced
Prize Details
Dites-le en vidéo Jr: Kindergarten–Grade 5
- All participants will receive a digital certificate of participation.
- All participants will be entered into a draw to win prizes.
Dites-le en vidéo Sr: Grades 6–12
- All participants will receive a digital certificate of participation.
- Winners will receive a digital certificate indicating their placement.
- Cash prizes will be awarded to the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd-place winners in each group.
- Cash prize amounts:
- Grades 11 & 12
- 1st place: 150$ cash
- 2nd place: 125$ cash
- 3rd place: 100$ cash
- Grades 9 & 10
- 1st place: 125$ cash
- 2nd place: 100$ cash
- 3rd place: 75$ cash
- Grades 6, 7 & 8
- 1st place: 100$ cash
- 2nd place: 75$ cash
- 3rd place: 50$ cash
- Grades 11 & 12
Students are invited to make and submit a 1-3-minute video in French, which can be on a topic of their choice. Entries for Grade 6-12 categories must meet the following requirements in order to be eligible for judging and prizes.
Video Requirements
- Must be presented entirely in French.
- Does not have to be presented as a formal speech, but should demonstrate the participant’s ability to speak in French, including full sentences.
- Entries must be a minimum of one (1) minute and a maximum of three (3) minutes in length, with a minimum of one (1) minute of French speaking.
- Entries under one (1) minute in length, or that do not include at least one (1) cumulative minute of French speaking by the participant will be disqualified from competitive assessment.
- A penalty of one (1) point will be applied for every 30 seconds by which a video exceeds the maximum length of 3 minutes.
- Creativity is welcomed and encouraged. Video editing and music is allowed.
Submission Requirements
- All entries must be submitted via the submission form between October 16th, 2023, and November 19th, 2023. The submission form can be found at DitesLeEnVideo.ca beginning October 1st 2023.
- Submissions will close at exactly 11:59 PM Pacific time on November 19th, 2023. No late submissions will be accepted. Please plan ahead and submit your video early, and keep in mind that videos may take some time to upload.
- All videos must be accessible through a web link. The video can be hosted on any platform, as long as it can be accessed without requiring any login and/or permission. Videos may be password protected, as long as the password is given when submitting your entry.
- For students who do not wish their videos to be public, but who would still like to participate, we recommend posting on YouTube as an unlisted video or Vimeo as a password-protected video. Both allow videos to be privately shared through links – that way the judges can still count them in the contest! For more instructions on how to do this for Youtube, click here. For Vimeo instructions, click here.
Social Media Posting Guide (OPTIONAL)*
Students/Parents/Guardians are encouraged to share their videos through social media and tag Canadian Parents for French BC & Yukon on Facebook (@CanadianParentsForFrenchBCYK), Twitter (@CPFBC), Instagram (@CPFBCYK), and/or YouTube (@CPFBCYK). Share and follow the hashtag #DitesLeEnVideo.
If you wish, tag some of your friends and challenge them to make a video too!
If you are submitting your entry privately, we would encourage you to make a social media post or story about your participation in this Concours, including the above elements.
*Social media sharing is entirely voluntary and not considered in contest eligibility or evaluation.
Privacy Note
At the time of submission, we will ask if you give permission for the video to be shared publicly. If you do not give permission, the video will only be viewed internally for evaluation and judging purposes.
Dites-le en vidéo is coordinated by the Canadian Parents for French British Columbia & Yukon Branch, but is open to students residing in any Canadian province or territory.
Contest Eligibility
All Canadian students in Kindergarten through Grade 12 are welcome to participate.
- Students must reside in Canada.
- Students must be enrolled in Kindergarten through Grade 12 in the 2023-2024 school year.
- All students require parental consent to participate in Dites-le en vidéo.
Competition Categories
Dites-le en vidéo Jr: Kindergarten–Grade 5
- Submissions for this age group will not be judged competitively.
Dites-le en vidéo Sr: Grades 6–12
- Submissions will be judged by impartial volunteer judges from across Canada using the Evaluation Rubric.
- Categories may be split or combined to balance the number of participants in each group for judging:
- Categories with many submissions may be split into multiple groups. An equal number of participants will be assorted randomly into each group.
- Categories with few submissions may be combined with adjacent grades into one larger group.
- 1st, 2nd, and 3rd-place winners will be selected in each group. This may result in multiple sets of winners categories with many submissions.
- Levels (Grades 6-8):
- Core French
- Late French Immersion, Intensive French & Extended French
- Early French Immersion
- Francophone
- Levels (Grades 9-12):
- Core French
- French Immersion
- Francophone
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
- How do I submit my video?
Entries can be uploaded to a video hosting site of your choice, as long as they can be accessed by anyone with a link. Once you’ve uploaded your entry, please submit a link to it in the Submission Form, along with your contact information. Please see “How to Enter” for more details.
- What if I’m not comfortable posting my video on social media, where anyone will be able to see it?
Several video hosting sites have the option to upload videos privately (ex: YouTube, Vimeo). Your entry does not have to be posted publicly, as long as it can be accessed via a direct link, which you will submit in the Submission Form. We will not share privately submitted entries in any way, except for with the impartial Concours judges for evaluation (Grade 6-12 only). However, we would encourage you to still tell your friends about your participation in Dites-le en vidéo. Maybe they would like to participate too!
- Can I include other people (or pets) in my video?
Yes, as long as they give you permission to include them in your video.
- What if I’m not in K-12 or a student in Canada? Can I still participate?
Anyone and everyone is welcome to participate by sharing a video on social media! Just use the hashtag #DitesLeEnVideo so we can all follow along. That said, only Canadian students in Kindergarten through Grade 12 can submit their videos to be eligible for prizes.
5. Can I use props, music, etc. in my video? Can I edit my video to make it even cooler?
Bien sûr! Feel free to get creative with your video using any technology skills you may already have, and this might even be a fun opportunity to learn new techniques! If there is music in your video, please make sure that you have permission to use it according to the video hosting website you’ve chosen, or else your video could be taken down by the site and the Dites-le judges may not be able to access it, which would be très triste !
We’ve collected many videos from Concours virtuel, the precursor to Dites-le en video, that you can check out for inspiration!
You can also find many Concours virtuel entries in playlists on our YouTube Channel (youtube.com/user/cpfbcca):
Volunteer Judges will watch and evaluate students’ Dites-le en vidéo video submissions, and select the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd-place winners with their judging team (three volunteers), according to the Dites-le en vidéo 2023 Evaluation Rubric.
Still Have Questions?
Please contact Robin at projects@cpf.bc.ca with your specific inquiry.