[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 68 (Tuesday, April 9, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21180-21181]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-08179]


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SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION


Announcement of the 2013 SBA-Visa Export Video Contest Under the 
America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2011

AGENCY: U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and Visa U.S.A. 
Inc. (Visa) (collectively the ``Cosponsors'') announce a video contest 
for eligible small businesses to showcase the advantages of exporting 
and increase awareness of government assistance available to support 
small business exporters. This Federal Register Notice is required 
under Section 105 of the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2011.

DATES: The submission period for entries begins 12:00 p.m. EDT, 
February 25, 2013 and ends 5:00 p.m. EDT, April 22, 2013. Winners will 
be announced no later than May 31, 2013.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christopher Eskelinen, Office of 
International Trade, U.S. Small Business Administration, 409 Third 
Street SW., Washington, DC 20416; Telephone (202) 205-6726; 
[email protected]

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Competition Details

    1. Subject of the Competition: The U.S. Small Business 
Administration (SBA) and Visa U.S.A. Inc. (Visa) (collectively the 
``Cosponsors'') are cosponsoring an export video contest that seeks to 
inform small businesses about the advantages of exporting and increase 
awareness of government assistance available to support small business 
exporters. The Cosponsors are looking for creative videos from small 
businesses that show how they became successful exporters. Videos can 
focus on how the small business became a successful exporter. Videos 
must highlight at least one of the following: Important lessons 
learned; factors that influenced the decision to become an exporter; 
advice for small businesses considering exporting; or a favorite 
exporting story.
    2. Prizes: Five prizes are available: First place: $10,000 cash 
award; Second place: $8,000 cash award; Third place: $6,000 cash award; 
Fourth place: $4,000 cash award; and Fifth place: $2,000 cash award. 
Only one prize will be awarded for each winning submission, regardless 
of the number of Contest participants that created the winning video. 
Visa will issue the prizes directly to the Winners.
    The Cosponsors (SBA and VISA) may choose to cohost an awards 
ceremony to announce the Winners. To the extent the Cosponsors cohost 
an awards ceremony, Winners that choose to travel to such award 
ceremony for the announcement of the Winners will each receive $1,000 
for travel expenses per winning entry, regardless of the number of 
Contest participants that created the winning video. Any necessary 
travel arrangements are the sole responsibility of the Winner. Winner 
will not receive $1,000 for travel expenses if the

[[Page 21181]]

Cosponsors do not cohost an awards ceremony or if Winner does not 
attend the awards ceremony. All federal, state and local taxes are the 
sole responsibility of the Winner.

Competition Rules

    1. Eligibility to participate: The contest is open to small 
businesses in the United States and its territories including, but not 
limited to, Puerto Rico, the U. S. Virgin Islands and Guam. You must be 
a small business as determined by SBA's size standards (www.sba.gov/size); have successfully completed at least one export transaction; and 
used at least one Federal program or service to support an export 
transaction. The small business owner(s) must be a U.S. citizen or 
permanent resident and at least 18 years old to enter and win the 
Contest. Small businesses who have won any prize in the SBA Visa Export 
Video Contest within the past two years are not eligible. Eligible 
small businesses may submit only one video. Any videos developed with 
federal funding, either grant, contract, or loan proceeds, are not 
eligible to win. Federal employees and their immediate families, Visa 
U.S.A. Inc. employees and their immediate families, current SBA 
contractors and SBA grant recipients may enter the Contest but are not 
eligible to win. ``Immediate family members'' include spouses, 
siblings, parents, children, grandparents, and grandchildren, whether 
as ``in-laws'', or by current or past marriage, remarriage, adoption, 
co-habitation or other familial extension, and any other persons 
residing at the same household location, whether or not related.
    2. Process for participants to register: All Contest Participants 
must enter the Competition through the Competition Web page on the 
Challenge.gov portal http://exportvideo.challenge.gov/by 5 p.m. EDT on 
April 22, 2013. Submissions will be accepted starting at 12 p.m. EDT on 
February 25, 2013. Contest participants should review all contest rules 
and eligibility requirements. In order for a video to be eligible to 
win this Contest, the entry must meet the following requirements:
     Contest participants must create an original video.
     Contest participants must end their video with the 
following words: ``That's my exporting story. Where will your next 
customer come from?'' This statement can be spoken, written, embedded 
or delivered in any appropriate way deemed effective by the submitter.
     All videos must have a unique title or they will not be 
judged (i.e., not ``My Export Story'').
     Videos must highlight one of the following: Important 
lessons learned; factors that influenced the decision to become an 
exporter; advice for small businesses considering exporting; or a 
favorite exporting story.
     Videos must be 3 minutes or less (no more than 180 
seconds) in length and produced in a high-resolution format.
     Videos must be educational, not promotional in nature 
(i.e., a commercial for the small business' products or services). 
Videos should tell a story.
     Only one video may be submitted per business.
     Videos must not contain violence, profanity, sex, images 
of a prurient nature, or direct attacks on individuals or 
organizations. SBA will disqualify any entries it deems to contain 
offensive material.
     Contest participants may not use the SBA seal or logo or 
the Visa trademark in the video.
     The video must be the contest participant's own original 
creation and must not infringe on any third party rights. No 
copyrighted music, video, or images may be used in submissions to this 
contest without appropriate permission. Entrants are responsible for 
obtaining all necessary permissions. Videos previously developed for 
other organizations may be submitted. Videos must not have been 
previously produced for compensation, posted on any SBA page, or 
submitted to SBA prior to the contest.
     All Contest submissions must adhere to the Challenge.gov 
Standards of Conduct (http://challenge.gov/terms#standards).
    3. Basis on which the winners will be selected: Prior to judging, 
all Submissions will be screened for Contest participant eligibility 
and video eligibility. All videos will be judged by a panel of senior 
officials from SBA, Visa, and other member Federal Agencies from the 
Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee Small Business Working Group, 
selected by SBA in its sole discretion. The Judging Panel will rate 
each Submission approved by the screening panel on the following 
criteria: Inspirational nature of the message for potential exporters 
and effectiveness in promoting exporting; Creativity and uniqueness of 
video concept; Value of lessons learned/communicated; Use of U.S. 
Government program/service; Innovative means of delivering the message 
and Audio and visual quality of the video. Winners will be selected 
based on an overall score. All judging is in SBA's sole discretion and 
all decisions are final.

    Authority:  Public Law 111-358 (2011).

    Dated: April 3, 2013.
Jonathan Swain,
Chief of Staff.
[FR Doc. 2013-08179 Filed 4-8-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8025-01-P