Yoga My Pride

About

The “Yoga My Pride” Photography Contest, will be organised by MoA and ICCR to raise awareness about Yoga and to inspire people to prepare for and become active participants in the observation of IDY 2023. The contest will support participation via the MyGov (https://mygov.in) platform of the Government of India (GoI) and will be open to participants from all over the world.

This document gives the guidelines for the Indian Embassies and High Commissions, for coordination of the event in their respective countries.

Event details

Event Name	“Yoga My Pride” Photography Contest
Duration	9th June 2023 to 10th July 2023 17.00 hrs
Contest Link	https://innovateindia.mygov.in/yoga-my-pride/
Contest Hashtagfor Promotion	Country specific hashtag YogaMyPride_Country Eg: #yogaMyPride_India
Contest Categories	Female Categories Youth (below 18 years) Adult (18 years and above) Yoga Professionals Male Categories Youth (below 18 years) Adult (18 years and above) Yoga Professionals
Prizes	For each of the above categories: Stage 1: Country-specific prizes First Prize -To be announced by the Indian Mission in the respective country. Second Prize -To be announced by the Indian Mission in the respective country. Third Prize -To be announced by the Indian Mission in the respective country. Stage 2: Global prizes Global prize winners will be selected from the winners of all the countries. Details will be announced on the MyGov (https://mygov.in) platform of GoI.
Announcement of Prizes	Date to be decided by the respective country embassies
Co-ordinating Agency	India Co-ordinator: MoA and CCRYN

Evaluation and judging process for the country-specific prizes

Judging will be carried out in two stages viz. shortlisting and final evaluation by a committee constituted by MoA and CCRYN . The Indian Missions in the respective countries will finalize three winners in each category of the contest, and this will be a shortlisting process in the overall context of the contest. The winners from each country will go on to figure in the list of the entries for global evaluation to be coordinated by ICCR. The Indian Missions may carry out the evaluation based on the contest guidelines, and finalize the winners of their respective countries. In case, a large number of entries are expected, a two-stage evaluation is suggested, with a larger Committee for the initial screening. Prominent and reputed Yoga experts of the respective countries may be roped in for the final country-specific evaluation to select three winners for each category, after the submission is closed on 10th July 2023 at 17.00 hrs .

The Country-specific winners shall become eligible for the Global prizes, details of which will be announced shortly.

Activities to be carried out by the Embassy/High Commission

Coordination with MoA and ICCR for getting details and updates about the contest, and publishing the details through various social media and other platforms.
Promotion of the contest in their respective countries, evaluation of the submitted photo content, and declaration of the country winners as per the specified guidelines.
Publishing the contest guidelines on the embassy’s website and social media platforms, in English and the national language of their host country.
Following the UN guidelines, as contained in the relevant resolution pertaining to IDY, as well as GoI’s directions on the subject.
Promoting IDY observation through different platforms, including the social media platforms of the Embassy/High Commission.
Notifying the participants, of the details including the terms and conditions of the contest, theme, categories, prizes, guidelines for submission, contest calendar and other details as specified in the accompanying Guidelines for the Contestants (Appendix A).
Promoting the use of the hashtag YogaMyPride followed by the country’s name. Ex.#yogamypride_India,#yogamypride_UK
Deciding and allocating the prize money for various categories in consultation with the approval of the competent authority.
Responding to the participants’ queries and emphasizing the importance of Yoga among various categories of the contestants.
Refer to Guidelines for Contestants for further details (Appendix A)
Evaluation and judging process-related guidelines

Familiarizing with the evaluation and judging process as in these guidelines.
Creating a Screening Committee and an Evaluation Committee consisting of prominent Yoga professionals and Yoga experts.
Carrying out evaluation and declaration of results as per the contestant guidelines on the embassy’s website and social media platforms.
Contacting the winners and distributing the prizes as per the guidelines issued by ICCR/MEA.
Communicating the details of the country-specific winners to MoA, ICCR and MEA.

Contest Guidelines

Visit the dedicated contest page on MyGov.
Select your application category and fill in your details, as requested in the participation form.
Upload your entry on the contest page.
Go through the terms and conditions and click on submit.

Contest Timelines

The entries can be submitted from 9th June 2023
The deadline for the submission of the entries is 10th July 2023 17.00 hrs.
In order to participate in this contest, all the entries must be received by this deadline, as per the aforementioned guidelines.

The shortlisted applicants may be contacted by MoA/concerned Indian Missions in the other countries, for verification of any information, if required.

Award Categories and Prizes

The contest is proposed to be organized in six categories, as below:

S. No	Female Categories	S. No.	Male Categories
01.	Youth (Below 18 years)	04.	Youth (Below 18 years)
02.	Adult (18 years and above)	05.	Adult (18 years and above)
03.	Yoga Professionals	06.	Yoga Professionals

The winners will be announced within the aforementioned six categories.
For the contest, the Yoga Professionals are defined as follows:
- Certified Yoga Trainers/Instructors, by reputed Yoga institutions in their country, or certification agencies.
- Those with undergraduate or postgraduate degrees in Yoga and/or Naturopathy, from recognized universities or universities’ affiliated institutions, are called Yoga professionals for this contest. The age group for such professionals is 18 years or above, of age at the time of submission of their entries.
Prizes will be announced in each of the aforementioned six categories:

A. Country-Specific Prizes

India

First Prize – INR 100000/-
Second Prize – INR 75000/-
Third Prize – INR 50000/-

Other Countries

To be determined and communicated by local country Missions.

B. Global Prize

The top 3 entries from each country are further considered for global-level prizes.

First Prize – $1000/-
Second Prize – $750/-
Third Prize – $500/-

MoA will publish the results through its official channels such as the Website and Social Media handles and will reach out to the winners for further details. If unreachable/unresponsive, MoA reserves the right to select alternate winners for the contest.
Any changes/updates to the contest will be published through the official communication channels of MoA, the MyGov platform, and their official social media channels.

Evaluation Process

Country-level evaluation will be conducted in two stages as provided below,

Shortlisting of entries
Final evaluation

The entries will be shortlisted by the screening committee, based on the contest guidelines to provide a filtered number of entries to the final evaluation panel for consideration and selection.
The winners will be selected from the shortlisted entries, by an evaluation committee consisting of prominent Yoga experts Constituted by MoA and CCRYN for Indian entries and by respective Indian Missions in foreign countries.
Once country-level winners are decided, the top 3 entries in each category will be evaluated by an evaluation committee to decide on the global prize winners.

Suggestive Evaluation Criteria

Marks can be given on each criterion ranging from 0-5, where 0-1 will be for non-compliance/moderate compliance, 2 for compliance, 3 and above depending on the performance. The following criteria and the accompanying scoring are only indicative/suggestive and may be revised as deemed appropriate by the respective evaluation and screening committees.

S. No	Suggestive Criteria	Maximum Marks (Out of 50)
01.	Correctness of the yoga pose	10
02.	Appropriateness of the slogan to the photograph	10
03.	Quality of the photograph, (Colour, lighting, exposure and focus)	10
04.	Creativity and clarity of expression and inspirational power	10
05.	Background of the photograph	10
	TOTAL MARKS	50

Terms and Conditions/ Contest Guidelines

The entries must include a photograph of yoga pose of the applicant (OF ONESELF) against a background and a short slogan/theme not more than 15 words depicting that photograph. The photograph should resonate with the theme or description. The entry should also include the name of the asana or posture.
The photograph can be taken in a background such as Heritage Sites, iconic places, Scenic Nature, Tourist destinations, lakes, rivers, hills, forests, studio, home etc.
The contest is open to all, irrespective of their age, gender, profession, nationality etc. However, MoA’s employees and their relatives will not be eligible to participate in the contest due to a potential conflict of interest.
The applicants must not disclose their personal identity, i.e. name, caste, country etc., in the photo entry submitted.
A person can participate only under one category and can upload only one photo. People submitting entries under more than one category, or submitting multiple entries/ photos will be disqualified and their entries not evaluated.
All the entries/photos must be in a digital format uploaded on My.Gov platform
Participants should upload photographs in JPEG/PNG/SVG format only, and the file size should not exceed 2MB.
The entries are to be submitted only through the MyGov contest link; no other submissions will be accepted.
Submissions/entries will not be accepted once the deadline lapses i.e 10th July 17.00 hrs IST. The Ministry reserves the right to shorten/extend the deadline of the contest at its discretion.
An entry may be disregarded if category related information or any other relevant information crucial for the administration of the contest is incomplete or deficient. Participants should select the appropriate category such as Male/Female and Youth/Adult/Professional within which they are submitting their entry, and ensure that all the information provided by them is complete. Absence of email and Phone number in the online application will also entail awarding the prize to the subsequent shortlisted applicant in case of winning the prize.
Photos that portray or otherwise include inappropriate and/or offensive content, including provocative nudity, violence, human rights and/or environmental violation, and/or any other contents deemed to be contrary to the law, religious, cultural & moral traditions and practices of India, are strictly prohibited and will be immediately discarded and disqualified. The Ministry reserves the right to disregard any other such entry that the evaluation committee may deem inappropriate and offensive, apart from the criteria mentioned above.
The applicant will be disqualified from the contest if it is found that he/she is trying to influence any member of the evaluation committee by writing letters, sending emails, making telephone calls, approaching in person or any other similar activity.
Any applicant found to give a false declaration of age is bound to be disqualified. Winners will have to produce Aadhar card/passport for bonafide proof of age, failing to do so would again entail disqualification.
The applicants below 18 years of age may getlogin ID created by the parents, and also obtain the consent of their parents to participate in this category.
The decisions of the screening committee and the evaluation committee will be final and binding for all the applicants. The evaluation committee may seek clarifications on any aspect (including age) of the entry from the applicant, and if the same is not furnished within the given time, the entry could be disqualified.
By entering the contest, the participants acknowledge that they have read the terms and conditions governing the contest, and agree to them, including,
- Photo submitted in the contest is an original image created and does not infringe on the copyrights and intellectual property rights of any person or entity.
- Abiding by any and all final decisions taken by the evaluation committee and MoA.
- Providing consent to the Ministry to announce the names of winners, their State and Country of residence as applicable.
Any copyright infringement will lead to disqualification and forfeiture of prize money. The decision of the selection committee and evaluation committee will be final in this regard.
The applicants who are shortlisted may be requested to furnish additional information if required. A failure to do so within 5 working days may lead to the disqualification of their entry from further consideration.
The Ministry bears no responsibility for any costs or damages incurred by the participant in the process of participating in the contest. Entry to the contest is completely free of charge and neither the Ministry nor any of its affiliated bodies charge any fees for participation in this contest.
MoA will own all rights, titles, interests including all related Intellectual Property Rights in the contents submitted by the applicants for this contest. The applicants may understand that their consent for the use of their entries, by MoA, for any promotional activities in future, is inherent and included in their act of submission of their entries for this contest.

Confidentiality

The personal information of all the applicants will be kept confidential.
The announcements will only reveal the identities of the winners of the contest, with information such as name, age, gender, category of award, and city.
By entering the contest, the participants provide the Ministry, the consent to use their names and basic information for contest related announcements—such as the announcement of shortlisted entries, and of winners.
The Ministry does not bear any responsibility for any copyright or IPR infringement. Participants are solely responsible for any copyright infringement arising from their contest submission.
The applicants may understand that their consent for the use of their entries, by MoA, for any promotional activities in future, is inherent and included in their act of submission of their entries for this contest.

Declaration by the Applicant

I hereby declare that the photograph for the contest is submitted my me and that the subject in the photograph is myself. The information provided by me in the application form are true. In the event of winning, If any information provided by me turns out to be false or if the photograph has copyright infringement then I understand that I may be disqualified from the contest and will have no right or say whatsoever on the decisions taken by the evaluation committee. I give consent to use this photograph for online promotional activities of the Ministry of Ayush in future.