Project Overview: March through June of 2004 will bear witness to hopeful breastfeeding mothers sealing up packages of their most precious photos. These family heirlooms will be sent from all over the world in the hopes of helping millions of yet to be born babies all over the world, as well as the possibility of winning a prize in the 2004 International Breastfeeding Photography Competition. The winning images from this event will not only grace the halls of the judging room but they will go on to serve a greater purpose in the world. One and a half million lives could be saved every year by reversing the decline in breastfeeding, says the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). In this climate, the artificial formula industry continues to pour millions of dollars into marketing, while lactation consultants and breastfeeding promoters around the world struggle to find just one image that they can legally use to promote breastfeeding. The 2004 International Breastfeeding Competition is being held to correct this situation. All of the winning entries will be available on the Internet in high-resolution files for use by non-profit breastfeeding promoters all over the world. The mothers who are entering this competition have the satisfaction of knowing that they are doing their part to protect infant health worldwide. Amongst a swirl of media attention and surrounded by hundreds of enthusiastic breastfeeding mothers, breastfeeding promoters, and dignitaries, The New Zealand Minister of Health, the Honourable Annette King, will announce the winners of the competition in the New Zealand Parliament as a kick of to World Breastfeeding Week 2004. 50 of the most emotive images will be selected for a world tour of artistic and educational significance. These images will be displayed in professional conferences, hospitals, clinics, malls, community houses, and galleries. The non-winning images will be gifted to breastfeeding promotion organizations and individuals all over the world to further their work. Calendars, posters, and CD ROMS will be produced from the winning images to further promote breastfeeding worldwide. Synergy Proposal: This is the vision that our coalition hopes to achieve and we need world support in able to see our dream through. We are BESTPART (Breastfeeding Empowerment, Support, Training, Promotion, Advocacy, and Research Team, formerly the Hutt Valley Breastfeeding Coalition). We are a non-profit organization made up of breastfeeding mothers, La Leche League members, Doctors, Community Health Providers, Nurses, Midwives, and Lactation Consultants. Last year after struggling to find non-copyrighted breastfeeding images to promote breastfeeding in our area, we decided to hold our first ever breastfeeding photography competition. It was a huge success and we received entries from all over the world. After word spread of the competition we were inundated with requests to use the images, but due to our contest rules we were not able to allow it. That gave us the idea for this year’s competition and now we need the support of other Breastfeeding Supportive Patrons, and Breastfeeding Coalitions and Organizations around the world to help us to realize our dream. What we are asking: 1. An official letter of Support for the competition and exhibit from your organization. 2. Details of your organizations membership. 3. Assistance getting the word spread about the competition through out the world to breastfeeding mothers in some of the following manners. a. By means of a link on your Internet site. b. Emails to your network of interested friends and colleagues. c. By writing a story about the project in your literature or placing an advert for the competition (we will provide the advert). d. By sending out press releases to your local media (we will provide the press releases). e. By distributing the entry forms to your membership or posting them on your website. f. By sharing the information about the competition with any local photography societies or clubs. 4. Letters of interest for subcategories of images that would be most useful for your region ie African, Chinese, Native North American, Hispanic etc. Your organization would need to find sponsorship for the prize and then the winning image would be given to your organization for display and the digital version of the image would be available for people to use all over the world. 5. Shipping cost to send you the gifted images. 6. Sponsorship and coordination of the exhibit in your area if you choose to stage the exhibit. What we are offering: 1. Full coordination of a competition that will enrich breastfeeding promotion efforts around the world. 2. Advertising of your group as a supporting organization of the 2004 International Breastfeeding Competition in contest information and contest advertising. 3. Gifting of selected entries from the competition for use in breastfeeding promotion. 4. The opportunity to host the exhibit. 5. The opportunity to support breastfeeding advocates around the world in a novel way. 6. A database of winning images that can be used by your membership to illustrate literature and promote breastfeeding in your community. 7. Naming rights to special categories that your organization finds sponsorship for. Such as The Lactville Breastfeeding Coalition’s Purple haired Nursing Mother Photography Award. And the gifting of the winning image to your organization at the end of the tour of the exhibits. Competition and Exhibition Details Dates & Times: Competition Entry Deadline: 30 May 2004 Judging of Entries: 9 June 2004 Awards Ceremony: July 29th 2004 Beginning of World Tour of Exhibit: August 2004 Location of Awards Ceremony: The Grand Hall, Parliament, Wellington New Zealand Participants: We are anticipating over 500 entries to the competition. Target Demographics: Our competition primary audience is highly targeted to breastfeeding mothers, La Leche League Leaders, lactation consultants, nurses, physicians, childbirth educators, health care providers, and parents. Our secondary demographics are student, Amateur, and Professional Photographers. Our Exhibit primary audience is the general public in an effort to raise awareness of the health benefits of breastfeeding and to attempt to influence community acceptance of breastfeeding in public. Cost: The competition is free to enter. And the exhibits will be free to view. The winning images will be available free to all breastfeeding promoters worldwide via the Internet. Contact Details: Mandi Porta, BSN, IBCLC, Chairperson BESTPART, BFHI Coordinator Hutt Valley District Health Board. International (64)4-570-9248 Hutt Valley District Health Board Private Bag 31-907 Lower Hutt, New Zealand [log in to unmask] www.breastfeeding.org.nz *********************************************** To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest) To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet All commands go to [log in to unmask] The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(R) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html