YouTube generation crucial to solving world hunger

A man lies dead by the time a single orange has been eaten ... a well-to-do family fights over whose turn it is to have dinner at a candlelit table ... a tin can proves maddeningly impervious to being opened by someone who has "no access" to food...

It's the viewer's turn now to vote on scenes like these from a juried selection of five videos, submitted as part of a unique contest launched by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), the world's largest humanitarian agency.

Last November, WFP called on students, would-be filmmakers and other interested folks in the web universe to put their creativity towards raising awareness about global hunger, through a unique, international competition, Hungerbytes, hosted on YouTube.

The goal? To create a top-rated viral video which creates buzz, and gets people to talk and learn more about hunger. More than 850 million people in the world know what it's like to go to bed hungry.

Since the contest launch, some 70 videos have been entered from countries
including Brazil, Canada, China, the Czech Republic, France, Greece, Italy,
Lithuania, Poland, and the United States.

The creator of the video viewed most often by 16 October (World Food Day) wins a trip to shoot a video at a relief operation in one of the hot-spots where WFP is locked in a feverish struggle to slow starvation and save lives.

A blue-ribbon panel of leaders in film, web and humanitarian aid have now voted on the five finalist videos.

Juror Edward Zwick, Director of "Blood Diamond" and The Last Samurai", applauded the talent represented in several entries, noting that leading submissions "not only demonstrated a strong graphic sense as well as a strong theatrical sense, they also were able to present a simple idea clearly and - perhaps just as important - with wit and power".

"If you can't grab his attention within 10 seconds, he's already on his way to the refrigerator or clicking through to another YouTube stupid pet trick," added Zwick.

"We absolutely need the YouTube generation if we are going get ahead of the hunger curve," said juror and WFP's Director of Communications and Public Policy Strategy, Nancy Roman, adding that a child dies of hunger somewhere in the world every six seconds.

Other jurors in the competition are: Oscar-winning producer Cathy Schulman ("Crash", "Darfur Now", "The Illusionist"), Steve Grove, head of YouTube News and Politics, and Slate Executive Producer Bill Smee.

Smee at Slate.com commended some of the entries' "powerful visual metaphor"
and "elegant simplicity" - work he found to be "short, original and
direct" and able to communicate "epic waste and how little sacrifices could
make a big difference".

"There's a whole generation of people who haven't yet been exposed to the
hunger that's in the world - and when they are, they really connect," said
Roman.

The finalist-videos are on view for two months of voting at
www.youtube.com/hungerbytes. Competitors can increase their chances of
winning by sharing the link with friends and online communities such as
Facebook, MySpace and through blogs.

On the web: www.youtube.com/hungerbytes www.wfp.org/hungerbytes