MAKE YOUR SPEECH
Quick facts:
We'll start accepting contest entries Tuesday, Mar. 16 at noon Central Time. All videos must be received by 11:59 PM Central on Monday, April. 26, 2021.
To be eligible to win, you must be between the ages of 8-18.
To enter: Upload a VIDEO of you performing your original 2-3 minute presidential speech to our Google Drive folder HERE. Follow the prompt to include your name, age, and contact information. Alternately, email your video and contact information to info@kidizenship.com.
Contests will be judged in two age categories 8-12 and 13-18. 1st prize in each contest & category: $1000 | 2nd: $750 | 3rd: $500.
Please make sure to check our tips and guidelines at the bottom of this page!
this contest is co-hosted by:
& YMCA Youth and Government Programs
Kidizenship Contest #3 : MAKE YOUR SPEECH
It’s official: YOU won the 2020 election!! It’s April of 2021, and instead of President Biden, YOU are the current President of the United States. You’re magically old enough for the job and about to take the stage.
Congratulations, POTUS!
Now step up to the podium: What do you want to say? Will you inspire us? Unify us? Educate us? Motivate us? The platform is yours.
Make a 2-to-3-minute video of your first presidential address. We know you can’t fit everything into that time so give us the highlights! Tell us the MOST important things on your agenda for the next four years.
What is your plan? How will YOU change America? How will you inspire your fellow citizens?
Tell us your vision for the country under YOUR administration!
Our judges can't wait to hear what you've got to say and we can't wait to share your voices.
Your truths, your values, your stage.
Our all-star judges for this contest are speech-making and speech-writing pros: Julia Louis-Dreyfus played the Vice President and the President in HBO’s VEEP; Jon Favreau was a head speechwriter for President Barack Obama and now co-hosts political podcast Pod Save America; Baratunde Thurston is a writer, comedian, and host of the podcast How To Citizen; and former U.S. Representative Will Hurd (R-TX) made many great congressional speeches.
When you hear the words "presidential speech" what comes to mind?
Is it Lincoln and the Gettysburg Address -- “Four score and seven years ago . . . .”? Barack Obama telling us, “We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.” Or is it Reagan announcing: "It's morning again in America."
What would you say if you had the same platform? This is your chance to speak to America and share your vision of what this country can be.
Presidential speeches are milestones in political history. We study them and quote them (and sometimes comedians like Sarah Cooper and Trevor Noah even make fun of them). George Bush, Ronald Reagan, John Kennedy, Barack Obama--they’ve all given speeches that were meant to unite and inspire all Americans, no matter their political party, race, religion, or hometown. Presidential speeches can educate us about national events, console us after tragedies, and spur us to take action as citizens. They can be like the lessons of your best teachers: sometimes they lift us up, sometimes they push us forward. Sometimes we need them to remind us who we are and who we can become.
In 1989, George H.W. Bush spoke of the future at his inauguration, saying "I do not mistrust the future. I do not fear what is ahead. For our problems are large, but our heart is larger. Our challenges are great, but our will is greater." The same could be said of our current moment in history and the challenges ahead as a democracy. A great political speech meets the moment and also stands the test of time.
When Presidents make speeches, they are speaking to all Americans. But sometimes their words have a very personal effect on those who are listening. In 1961 John Kennedy said in his inaugural address:
“And so, my fellow Americans: Ask not what your country can do for you -- ask what you can do for your country.”
Kennedy’s words hit 19-year-old Donna Shalala “like a splash of water.” The next year, Donna joined the Peace Corps. She became a professor. Then she became the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services. Then she served in Congress, and was later awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Words spoken by a president changed the course of her life.
In 2015, President Barack Obama spoke at the 50th Anniversary of the march of civil rights workers across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama. That march was led by young people--high school and college students, including John Lewis--and President Obama honored those children who had become national heroes in his speech. “America is not some fragile thing,” Obama said to the crowd. “We are boisterous and diverse and full of energy, perpetually young in spirit . . . And that’s what the young people here today and listening all across the country must take from this day. You are America . . . And it is you, the young and fearless at heart, the most diverse and educated generation in our history, who the nation is waiting to follow.”
Now step up to the podium: What do you want to say? Will you inspire us? Unify us? Educate us? Motivate us? The platform is yours.
We know you can’t fit everything into that time so give us the highlights! Tell us the MOST important things on your agenda for the next four years. Record the part of your vision that means the most to you.
Our judges can't wait to hear what you've got to say and we can't wait to share your voices. Your truths, your values, your story, your stage.
We are ready and listening!
Here are a few guidelines:
Tips and guidelines for filming your video:
Your speech should be your own words, with little to no adult input.
2 minutes is the minimum and 3 minutes is the maximum! Aim for that sweet spot between 2-3 minutes!
Film in front of a clean, simple background without a lot of visual distractions.
Make sure we can see you clearly! Good lighting helps a lot.
Be sure you (or someone else) is holding the camera level with your eyes (not from down below) so you’re looking directly at viewers.
It’s ok to read from a script but please record without headphones and make sure the audio is clear before you send!
You don’t have to stand on a stage or be in front of a microphone, but we do want you to speak like you are addressing the country. Remember, you are the President, and presidential speeches are important events. Practice a few times before you make your video.
You don’t have to wear a suit or any other kind of costume, but do so if you want! We will be listening to your words, not looking at your clothes.
Please don’t use profanity or words intended to hurt other people.
Please check out our official rules before you enter.
If speeches aren’t your thing, check out our upcoming contests: Sing your anthem. Champion your cause. Build Your Monument.
We are Kidizenship, and we want to hear what you have to say. Enter our contests and share them with your teachers, friends and neighbors. Want to learn more? Follow us on Instagram , Twitter and Facebook.