Award ceremony for the UNESCO Associated Schools Project Network laureates of "When sounds creates image" competition and screening of the 20 nominated short films

On the occasion of the Cannes Film Festival, Cannes will host the young laureates of the UNESCO Associated Schools Project Network (ASPnet) international school competition of the Week of Sound of UNESCO "When Sound Creates Image!". The 20 nominated short films will be screened and the laureates of the Grand Prize and Jury Prize will be presented with their prizes. 

Based on a short sound sequence (1 min 18 for this edition) by well-known composer Rone, ASPnet students were invited to create a short video as close as possible to the sound sequence, without adding subtitles or dialogue. Rone called his musical composition "Kodama", which means the spirit of the forest in Japanese, perfectly in line with ASPnet's priorities to promote peace and sustainable development. 

With 210 videos received from 32 countries, the third edition of the competition is a record success. Films from the following countries were preselected: Armenia, Brazil, Estonia, France, Lebanon, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea and Slovenia.

The aim of this competition is to encourage students to learn or re-learn how to listen to see better, going well beyond the simple creation of music. Through education in image and sound, in their relationship to each other and to creation, pupils are encouraged to develop skills of understanding and analysis that go far beyond the film itself: these skills will enable them to better grasp their environment, to better understand others, in all their differences and uniqueness, and to be enriched by these differences.

With the international dimension of this competition, the UNESCO Associated Schools Network and UNESCO's Week of Sound wish to convey the diversity and richness that a single soundtrack can create.

This year, students were invited to reflect on a theme related to ASPnet priorities when creating their video: "Acting for peace and sustainable development".

The jury met on Monday 11 March at UNESCO HQs and selected the following winners:

• Grand Prize: Lithuania: "Ladybug's Witness: Fragile World", Klaipėda Technology Training Center 
• Prix du Jury: Estonia: "The Race", Tartu Jaan Poska Gymnasium  
• Special Mention: 3 winners ex-aequo: Lebanon: "Acting for peace and sustainable development", Rawdat Al Fayhaa High School; Portugal: “Peace day”, Groupement d'Écoles Damião de Goes; Republic of Korea: "Line", Taejeon High School.

You can watch the 20 nominated films here. The Laureates of the Grand Prix and Prix du Jury will be in Cannes on 16 May to receive their awards. And the 20 short films shortlisted will be screened alongside the Cannes Festival. The Special Mention winners will send us a short pre-recorded video, which will also be screened there.

• Sobhi Tawil, President of the Jury. Sobhi Tawil (PhD) is Director of the Future of Learning and Innovation team at UNESCO where he currently leads the Futures of Education initiative, as well as work on technology and innovation in education. He has some 30 years of experience in teaching, education policy analysis, research and program management with diverse institutions and organizations, including the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the Graduate Institute for International and Development Studies (Geneva), as well as the Network for International Policies and Cooperation in Education and Training (NORRAG). 
• Christian Hugonnet. President and co-founder of the Week of Sound of UNESCO. In May 2017, in agreement with Cannes Film Festival Director Thierry Frémaux, he initiated the "Prize for the Best Sound Creation" as part of the official selection of the Cannes Festival.
• Aché Ahmat Moustapha. Chadian sociologist, author and film director, she has directed and produced several short films dealing with protection and emancipation of Chadian women and girls. She is also the founder and director of her own short film festival in Chad called FETCOUM.
• Rone. Musician, composer, producer, he is one of the most exciting acts in the electronic music scene and bestowed him high honours such as a Cesar and Cannes Film Festival award for best film score, and a Prix des Indés in the live category.
• Anne Daroux. Director of the Education Unit at France Televisions where she has launched a number of innovative programmes, including C'est la base, a programme in which sound and image combine perfectly to make poetic currents accessible to young pupils.
• Nadia Bédar. Author, advisor to the Education Unit at France Televisions. She created the International Youth for Peace Competition, in collaboration with UNESCO. She has written over 120 short films for television aimed at young audiences. Author of innovative concepts for the theatre, she was awarded the Fondation la Poste prize in 2010 for all her work at Studio Raspail in Paris.
• Alix Grousset. A rising star among the new faces of France Télévisions, the young Alix Grousset has been hosting L'entre-deux magazine on the Lumni educational platform for the past 2 years. This is the only society magazine aimed at teenagers, covering topics as fundamental as solidarity, the death penalty, mental health, and school bullying. She is also a web content creator.