THE 99-SECOND LIMIT - Some of you may ask: Is 99 seconds enough? Yes! 1 minute and 39 seconds is more than enough to make a great argument and lay out some of your own ideas. Experience shows that on average, a debater will say about 200-250 words during this period of time, depending on your style and speed. By limiting the length, we make the challenge the same for all participants and consumption of your videos easier for more people. It’s important for videos to be comparable because we will be choosing winners during the voting period based on these parameters.

LANGUAGE - If possible, please try to speak in your own Arabic dialect. Remember this is not a language competition or some academic forum; it’s a debate contest discussing things of concern to all Arabs. We will accept contributions in Standard Arabic but we encourage you to speak in your dialect, regardless which Arab country you are from. In debates geared towards all Arab countries, we ask that you avoid using French or English vocabulary where possible.

FILMING - As long as you can be seen and your voice clearly heard, the quality of the video doesn’t matter. This isn’t about who has the fanciest camera; it’s about the best arguments. So, don’t worry about lighting, make-up or anything of the sort; focus on what you’re going to say. To improve sound quality, however, we strongly recommend that you use a headset/microphone. We also recommend using a white wall as a background.

STARTING YOUR VIDEO - At the beginning of your contribution, you don’t need to state your name as this will all be done through inlays after editing at a later stage. Also, there’s no need to thank anyone for your chance to be part of this – just go straight to the argument. Start by summarizing the main argument of your contribution. Be creative, there are many ways you could do it.

YOUR ARGUMENT - Then, in the rest of your debate contribution, try to corroborate what you said at the beginning. Try to be argumentative – you know what the sticking points are. Try to focus on a limited number of arguments. Give examples. Most importantly: Be bold in declaring your own vision.

CONCLUSION - To conclude your argument, use the last few seconds of your video to come back to the main point you are making. Reiterate, in a sentence or two, what your contribution was really about, maybe using different words than you did in the beginning. This is important because those watching your video will remember the final words. Don’t worry if the first time is not perfect, you can always retry!