Vancouver, 10 November 2009 – The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has partnered with the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC), the Government of Canada and Panasonic Corporation to launch in Canada “Do Your Part” -  a national youth video contest focused on the theme of sustainability.

Canadian youth between the ages of 13 and 24 are invited to submit a 30- to 90- second video or animation clip, which shows how they could do their part to live more sustainably during the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games and beyond.

Contestants are encouraged to involve sport in the content of their submission to demonstrate, in a variety of ways, how they could live more sustainably. For example, recycling, conserving energy or using sustainable transportation.

The winner of the grand prize will receive a Panasonic VIERA high-definition plasma television as well as an invitation to the 2010 UNEP TUNZA youth conference in Japan in August 2010.  Panasonic will also provide limited edition Vancouver 2010 Panasonic LUMIX digital cameras to the three runners-up. Winning entries may be shown to various audiences during the Games, or used in promotional materials developed by VANOC, UNEP, the Government of Canada and Panasonic.

“This video contest is a wonderful means for youth to raise awareness about the environment among young people.  UNEP is proud to support this initiative,” says Amy Fraenkel, Director of UNEP’s Regional Office for North America.

“The Games are a platform to inspire greatness. Through this contest the world will see the creative solutions to environmental challenges that Canadian youth are capable of,” said Donna Wilson, Executive Vice President of People and Sustainability at VANOC. “We are delighted by the support provided by UNEP, the Government of Canada and Panasonic to enable this contest - an opportunity to proudly engage the world through sport for more sustainable living.”

“The Do Your Part sustainability youth video contest is a great opportunity for young Canadians to tackle some of Canada's greatest sustainability challenges.  From coast to coast to coast, it will be exciting to see our creative youth, inspired by the Games, help us develop made-in-Canada solutions from which we can all benefit,” said Canada’s Environment Minister Jim Prentice.

Panasonic remains committed to the environment and is proud to support this sustainability youth initiative,” said Mike Kitadeya, Director of the Panasonic Kid Witness News (KWN) video education program. “From the experience of running our KWN program, we find video is an excellent platform for students to show their passion and ingenuity in caring for the global environment.”

Eligible applicants can upload their video submissions to the web or a video-sharing site of their choice. Once uploaded, they are to send the link with their name, age contact details to sustainability@vancouver2010.com.

Videos must be submitted by Sunday December 6, 2009 to be eligible to win. Submissions by youth under the age of 19 require parental permission. Full contest details, including a list of contest rules and regulations can be found at vancouver2010.com/edu.