Contest Eligibility and Rules 参赛资格与规则

1. Eligibility

1. Open to individuals, families, or groups who identify as Teochew.
2. Entries featuring participants under 18 must be submitted with written parental or guardian consent confirmed in the contest submission form.

一、参赛资格

1. 欢迎所有拥有潮籍身份的个人、家庭或团体参与。
2. 若参赛作品中出现未满18岁参与者，须在投稿邮件中附上经家长或监护人确认的书面同意书。

2. Submission Requirements

1. A video featuring a birthday song with Teochew as the sole or primary language (as a guideline, at least 80% of the lyrics), with subtitles provided for the song lyrics. The song may be a Teochew cover of “Happy Birthday to You” or an original composition.
2. Performances may be vocal only or include musical accompaniment. Keep lyrics simple and the melody catchy, so it's easy for young and old to sing along.
3. Video requirements:
   • Length: 30 seconds to 3 minutes
   • Format: MP4, minimum resolution 720p; 16:9 aspect ratio preferred
   • Subtitles: English and/or Chinese lyrics included
4. Lyrics and video content must be birthday-themed, suitable for general family viewing, and free of any political, religious, racial, or ideological messages.
5. Song must be new for this contest and must not have been previously published or publicly shared on any social media platform (e.g., YouTube, TikTok, Douyin, Instagram, Facebook), personal websites, or other online channels.
6. Participants may submit multiple entries. All submissions must be original and must not infringe any third-party rights.
7. Participants are responsible for ensuring that all materials used in their entry (e.g., music, backing tracks, etc.) are properly licensed or authorised and do not infringe any third-party rights. If the organiser receives a credible complaint or claim of infringement, the organiser may remove the entry from all platforms and disqualify it. Participants remain solely responsible for any legal consequences.

二、作品要求

1. 参赛视频须呈现以潮语生日歌为主要内容（歌词主体建议不低于80%使用潮语）；并配有与演唱内容一致的歌词字幕。歌曲可为潮语版《祝你生日快乐》或原创作品。
2. 表演形式不限（纯人声或包含乐器伴奏均可）。歌词应简洁，旋律需朗朗上口，易于各年龄段传唱。
3. 视频技术要求：
   • 时长：30 秒至 3 分钟
   • 格式：MP4，最低分辨率 720p；建议画面比例为 16:9
   • 歌词字幕：须包含英文字幕和/或中文字幕
4. 歌词与视频内容须紧扣生日主题，适合家庭共同观赏，不得包含任何涉及政治、宗教、种族或意识形态的内容。
5. 作品须为本次活动全新创作，且未在任何社交媒体平台（如 YouTube、TikTok、抖音、Instagram、Facebook）、个人网站或其他网络渠道公开发布过。
6. 每位参赛者可提交多份作品。所有提交的作品均须为原创，不得侵犯任何第三方的合法权益。
7. 参赛者须确保其作品中使用的所有素材（包括但不限于音乐、伴奏等）均已获得合法授权，且未侵犯任何第三方权利。若主办方收到可信的侵权投诉或经其他途径获悉潜在侵权情况，有权将相关作品从所有平台移除并取消其参赛资格。由此产生的一切法律后果均由参赛者自行承担。

3. Submission Process

1. Submission period: 1–31 January 2026, closing at 2359 hrs. All times listed are Singapore Time (GMT+8). Late submissions will not be accepted.
2. Fill in the form: Complete the contest submission form in English or Chinese at using this link https://forms.gle/cJac6KF6DH1DhnoN6. The form requires you to provide:
   • Names (real or artistic) of performer(s) and composer and lyricist (if applicable)
   • Country and city
   • Contact email (for family or group entries, the email of a designated contact person)
   • Title of entry song
   • A brief description of you and your song (maximum 300 words). Feel free to share your Teochew background, team information, creative story, etc.
3. Upload your video: Upload your MP4 video to a cloud storage service (e.g., Google Drive, WeTransfer, Baidu Wangpan) and paste the public download link into the “Video download link” field of the submission form. Make sure the link is accessible without login.
4. Need help? If you have difficulties accessing or completing the submission form, email us at teochewbirthdaysong@gmail.com.
5. Data use: Your personal information and video will be used solely for contest administration, shortlisting, public voting, and non-commercial promotion of the contest and Teochew culture. We will not share your contact details with third parties except as necessary for prize delivery or technical administration. Shortlisted videos will be publicly viewable on YouTube, the organiser’s website, and social media as part of the contest.

三、投稿流程

1. 提交期限：2026年1月1日至1月31日，截止时间为当日23:59。本文件所列时间均为新加坡时间（GMT+8）。逾期提交的作品将不予受理。
2. 填写表格：请通过以下链接使用英文或中文填写参赛表格：https://forms.gle/cJac6KF6DH1DhnoN6  

   表格中需提供以下信息： 

   1. • 表演者和（如为原创作品）作曲人及作词人的真实姓名或艺名
      • 国家与城市
      • 联系电邮（家庭或团体参赛，请填写指定联系人的电邮）
      • 参赛歌曲名称
      • 自我介绍与歌曲说明（限300字内），可自由分享您的潮籍背景、团队信息、创作故事等内容
3. 上传视频：请将您的MP4视频上传至云存储服务（例如 Google Drive、WeTransfer 或百度网盘），然后将无需登录即可访问的公开下载链接粘贴至参赛表格的 “视频下载链接” 栏中。
4. 需要帮助？如果您在访问或填写参赛表格时遇到困难，请发送邮件至 teochewbirthdaysong@gmail.com 与我们联系。
5. 数据使用说明：您提交的个人信息与视频作品，将仅用于本次比赛的管理、评选（包括入围与公开投票）以及对本赛事和潮州文化的非商业推广。除颁奖及技术管理等必要环节外，我们不会将您的联系方式提供给第三方。入围作品视频将在 YouTube、主办方官网及社交媒体平台公开展示，作为比赛的组成部分。

4. Timeline at a Glance 

(all times in Singapore Time, GMT+8)

• Submissions: 1–31 January 2026 (closing at 2359 hrs)
• Shortlist published: 8 February 2026 (0000 hrs)
• Public voting: 8 February 2026 (0000 hrs) to 21 February 2026 (2359 hrs)
• Winner announced: 22 February 2026

四、重要时间

（以下时间均为新加坡时间，GMT+8）

• 投稿期：2026年1月1日00:00 - 1月31日23:59
• 入围名单公布：2026年2月8日00:00
• 公众投票期：2026年2月8日00:00 - 2月21日23:59
• 比赛结果公布：2026年2月22日

5. Winning and Prize

1. Of course, the greatest reward is the chance for your song to become the beloved Teochew birthday anthem, sung by families around the world. We're also offering a cash prize of SGD 200 (or equivalent in foreign currency) to the entry with the most YouTube “likes” during public voting.
2. The prize will be paid via PayPal, WeChat, or bank transfer to the winner (or the designated main contact person for family/group entries).

五、奖项设置

1. 本次活动最大奖励，是您的作品有机会成为全球潮人传唱的生日金曲。同时，公众投票阶段在 YouTube 获得最高“点赞”数的作品将获得 200 新元奖金（或等值外币）。
2. 奖金将通过 PayPal、微信或银行转账等方式发放。对于家庭或团体参赛者，奖金将支付给其报名时指定的主要联系人。

6. Shortlisting and Public Voting

Shortlisting

1. The organiser will review all submissions and shortlist 8 entries for public voting (the shortlist may be expanded to up to 16 entries depending on the number and overall quality of submissions).
2. Shortlisting is based solely on compliance with the Submission Requirements.
3. All shortlisted entries will be published on 8 February 2026 at 0000 hrs in an official YouTube playlist on The Teochew Store YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/@theteochewstore).

Public Voting

1. Voting is based exclusively on YouTube “likes” received during the official voting period: 8 February 2026 at 0000 hrs to 21 February 2026 at 2359 hrs.
2. The entry with the highest number of likes at the cut-off time will be declared the winner and announced on 22 February 2026 via the organiser’s website and official social media channels (Facebook, Instagram, and Telegram).
3. In the event of a tie, the organiser may declare joint winners and divide the cash prize equally.

Fair Play (Voting Integrity)

1. Public voting is intended to reflect genuine community support. Purchased, automated, scripted, or otherwise artificial engagement (including likes, views, comments, or other forms of manipulation) is strictly prohibited. The organiser may use YouTube Analytics and third-party tools to detect unusual activity and, in its sole discretion acting reasonably, disqualify any entry where there is reasonable evidence of suspicious or non-genuine voting behaviour, irrespective of the number of likes. The organiser is not obliged to disclose the details of its detection methods.

六、评选与投票

入围评选

1. 主办方将审核所有作品，选出8件入围作品进入公众投票（根据投稿数量与质量，入围作品可增至最多16件）。
2. 入围的唯一标准是作品是否符合作品要求。
3. 所有入围作品将于2026年2月8日00:00在 The Teochew Store 潮舗 YouTube 频道 (www.youtube.com/@theteochewstore) 的官方播放列表中公布。

公众投票

1. 投票结果将完全根据作品在官方投票期（2026年2月8日00:00至2月21日23:59）获得的 YouTube “点赞”数决定。
2. 投票截止时获赞最多的作品将被宣布获胜，获胜结果将于2026年2月22日通过主办方网站及官方社交媒体（Facebook、Instagram、Telegram）公布。
3. 若出现平票，主办方可宣布并列获奖者并平均分配奖金。

公平竞赛原则

1. 公众投票旨在反映真实的社群支持。严禁购买、使用自动化工具、脚本或任何其他形式的人工互动（包括但不限于刷点赞、观看量、评论等任何形式的操纵行为）。主办方可能使用 YouTube Analytics 及第三方工具监测异常活动，并保留在发现合理证据表明存在可疑或非真实投票行为时，单方面取消相关作品参赛资格的权利（主办方可对此自行作出合理判断）。此决定不受该作品所获点赞数量影响。主办方无义务对外公开其具体的监测方法与细节。

7. Contest Rules

1. By entering, participants retain ownership of their songs and videos, but grant the organiser a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to host, reproduce, adapt, and share the submitted videos for non-commercial cultural and promotional purposes (including translation of titles and descriptions), with reasonable attribution where practicable. For the avoidance of doubt, the organiser will not monetise submitted videos on YouTube or any other platforms.
2. To encourage the free singing and sharing of Teochew birthday songs within our community, participants whose entries are shortlisted agree to release both (a) the musical work (melody and lyrics) and (b) the audio-visual recording of their song under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International licence (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0). This licence allows anyone to share, perform, and adapt the work for non-commercial purposes, provided that appropriate credit is given and any adaptations are licensed under the same or a compatible licence. Participants understand that the CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence is irrevocable once granted, to the extent permitted by applicable law.
3. The organiser may disqualify any entry that does not meet the Submission Requirements or shows evidence of suspicious voting activity.
4. All decisions by the organiser are final. In the event of any dispute, the English version of the rules shall prevail.
5. By submitting an entry, participants confirm that they have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these rules.

七、活动规则

1. 参赛者保留其歌曲及视频作品的所有权。参赛即视为参与者授予主办方一项全球性、非独占、免版税的许可，允许主办方为非商业的文化及宣传用途（包括翻译标题与描述）对所提交的视频进行托管、复制、改编及传播，并在可行情况下予以合理署名。特此明确：主办方不会在 YouTube 或任何其他平台将提交的视频用于盈利。
2. 为鼓励在我们的社群内自由传唱与分享潮语生日歌曲，入围作品的参赛者同意，将（a）其音乐作品（旋律与歌词）与（b）其歌曲的视听录制，以《知识共享 署名—非商业性使用—相同方式共享 4.0 国际许可协议》（CC BY-NC-SA 4.0）向公众发布。该许可允许任何人为非商业目的分享、表演及改编该作品，但前提是必须给予适当的署名，且任何改编作品必须基于相同或兼容的许可协议进行再授权。参赛者知悉并确认，在法律允许的范围内，一旦授予此 CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 许可，该许可是不可撤销的。
3. 主办方有权取消不符合“作品要求”或存在可疑或非真实投票行为证据的作品的参赛资格。
4. 主办方就本次活动相关的所有事宜拥有最终决定权。若本规则的不同语言版本之间存在歧义，应以英文版本为准。
5. 投稿即视为已阅读、理解并无条件同意遵守本规则。
   
   Any questions? 有疑问？
   teochewbirthdaysong@gmail.com